EnglandThe ancient Anglo-Saxon surname Decan came from the personal name David. Daw was a common diminutive of David in the Middle Ages. The surname is a compound of daw and kin, and literally means "the kin of David." Over time there were changes in pronunciation and spelling, leading to many different variants of the name.
The surname Decan was first found in Norfolk at Docking, where strong evidence points to another possible origin of the family. "In the charter of endowment of Eton College, mention is made of the alien priory of Dokkyng, the monks whereof are supposed by Tanner to have belonged to the Abbey de Ibreio, in Normandy, to which this church was formerly appropriated. " [1]
Continuing this possible origin, we found Thomas of Docking ( fl. 1250), a "Franciscan, is stated in the Royal MS. 3 B. xii. in the British Museum to have been really named ‘Thomas Gude, i.e. Bonus,’ but called ‘Dochyng’ from the place of his birth (Casley, Catalogue of the Manuscripts of the King's Library, p. 43, London, 1734), evidently the village of Docking in the north of the county of Norfolk. The same manuscript describes him as doctor of divinity at Oxford." [2]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Decan research. Another 71 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1275, 1691, 1654, 1656 and 1607 are included under the topic Early Decan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Decan family name include Dakin, Dakins, Dakyn, Daykin, Daykins, Daken, Deakin, Daikins, Daikyns, Daikin, Dayken, Daiken, Deakyn, Deake, Deaken and many more.
Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Decan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Decan migration to Australia +
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