Devey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Wales
Ireland
Scotland

The surname Devey is from the unique Celtic culture that developed in Wales. This particular surname is from the personal name David, which means darling or friend. This name was common in England and Scotland from the 12th century onward, but was particularly popular in Wales even earlier. One of the most famous bearers of this personal name in Wales was David ap Gryffydd, the last Prince of North Wales, who was executed c. 1276 by King Edward I of England.

Early Origins of the Devey family

The surname Devey was first found in London where the first record appears as a forename as Daui Capriht in 1292. As a surname, again in London, Walter dauy was listed 1198-1212. Later, Richard Davy was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in 1275. 1

In Somerset, the first record there was of Henry Davy, 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edward III's reign) 2 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed: Richard Davi, Suffolk; and William Davy, Oxfordshire. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included Jahannes Dauyman (i.e. the servant of Davy) and Matilda Dauy, doghter. 3

Early History of the Devey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Devey research. Another 154 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1588, 1612, 1621, 1622, 1629, 1630, 1640, 1641, 1654, 1660, 1661, 1662, 1670, 1671, 1678, 1679, 1684, 1685, 1692, 1707, 1710, 1765 and 1846 are included under the topic Early Devey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Devey Spelling Variations

The Welsh have an extremely large amount of spelling variations of their native surnames to their credit. It was up to the priest or the scribe taking the official records to determine how the spoken name was to be made literal. As time progressed, the old Brythonic names of Wales were recorded in English, which was especially problematic since the English language had extreme difficulty recording the highly inflected sounds of Cymraeg. Spelling variations were, however, also carried out according to an individual's design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by spelling variations of one's name. The spelling variations of the name Devey have included Davy, Davey, Davie, Daivey, Daivy, Daivie, Dayvy, Dayvie, Dayvey, Devy, Devie and many more.

Early Notables of the Devey family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was Sir John Davie, 1st Baronet (1588-1654), an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1621 to 1622, High Sheriff of Devon from 1629 to 1630; Sir John Davie, 2nd Baronet (1612-1678), an English politician who sat in the...
Another 52 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Devey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Devey family to Ireland

Some of the Devey family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 40 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Devey migration to the United States +

North America in the 1800s and 1900s saw the arrival of many Welsh people hoping to share in the wealth of land, work, and freedom that they felt North America held. Those who made the journey often attained those expectations, but only through an enormous amount of hard work, perseverance, and often a bout of good luck. These immigrants helped contribute to the growth of industry, commerce, and culture of both Canada and the United States. Discovered in the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Devey:

Devey Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Peter Devey, who landed in Maryland in 1676 4

Devey migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Devey Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss. Mary Ann Devey, English convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Baretto Junior" on 5th April 1850, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Devey (post 1700) +

Jordan Devey (b. 1988), American football offensive lineman for the New England Patriots
Raymond "Ray" Devey (1917-2001), English professional footballer
Harry Percival Devey (1860-1924), English footballer who played for Aston Villa (1888-1892)
Edwin James "Ted" Devey (1862-1946), English professional footballer
Hilary Lorraine Devey CBE (b. 1957), English businesswoman, television personality and entrepreneur, best known for her role on BBC Two programme Dragons' Den
John Henry George "Jack" Devey (1866-1940), British footballer who played from 1889 to 1902, member of the England National Team (1892-1894)
William "Will" Devey (1865-1935), English professional footballer who played from 1884 to 1899
George Devey (1820-1886), British architect, most of whose work was on country houses and estates for the Rothschild family
Phil Devey (b. 1977), Canadian baseball pitcher and Olympian

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/baretto-junior