Show ContentsDillon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Dillon family

The surname Dillon was first found in Baden, where the name was anciently associated with the tribal conflicts of the area. They declared allegiances to many nobles and princes of early history, lending their influence in struggles for power and status within the region. They branched into many houses, and their contributions were sought by many leaders in their search for power.

Early History of the Dillon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dillon research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1806 and 1811 are included under the topic Early Dillon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dillon Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Dillen, Dilen, Dilens, Diller, Dillene, Dillherr, Dilling, Dillingen, Dillinger, Dillon, Dillenbach and many more.

Early Notables of the Dillon family

More information is included under the topic Early Dillon Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dillon World Ranking

In the United States, the name Dillon is the 825th most popular surname with an estimated 37,305 people with that name. 1 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Dillon is ranked the 425th most popular surname with an estimated 110 people with that name. 2 And in Australia, the name Dillon is the 488th popular surname with an estimated 7,819 people with that name. 3 New Zealand ranks Dillon as 651st with 1,098 people. 4 The United Kingdom ranks Dillon as 914th with 7,543 people. 5


United States Dillon migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dillon Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • John Dillon, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1763 6
  • Hannah Dillon, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1796 6
Dillon Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Pierce N Dillon, aged 17, who arrived in New York in 1811 6
  • Patrick Dillon, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1815 6
  • Ellen Dillon, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 6
  • Mrs. Dillon, who landed in New York, NY in 1817 6
  • Alice Dillon, who settled in New York in 1820
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Dillon Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Agnes M. Dillon, who settled in Vermont in 1867-1937

Canada Dillon migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dillon Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Mr. Amos Dillon U.E. who arrived at Port Roseway [Shelburne], Nova Scotia on December 13, 1783 was passenger number 446 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on November 14, 1783 at East River, New York, USA 7
  • Mrs. Jane Dillon U.E. who arrived at Port Roseway [Shelburne], Nova Scotia on December 13, 1783 was passenger number 533 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on November 14, 1783 at East River, New York, USA 7
  • Miss. Jane Dillon D.U.E. (b. 1770), aged 13 who arrived at Port Roseway [Shelburne], Nova Scotia on December 13, 1783 was passenger number 578 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on November 14, 1783 at East River, New York, USA 7
  • Mr. William Dillon U.E. who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 7
  • William Dillon who settled in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1796 8
Dillon Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Australia Dillon migration to Australia +

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

Dillon Settlers in Australia in the 18th Century
  • Miss Ann Dillon, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years , transported aboard the "Britannia III" on 18th July 1798, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Dillon Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Luke Dillon, Irish convict who was convicted in Roscommon, Ireland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Boyd" on 10th March 1809, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
  • Mr. Thomas Dillon, (b. 1803), aged 19, Irish whitesmith who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 3rd September 1822, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 11
  • John Dillon, a tailor, who arrived in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) sometime between 1825 and 1832
  • Miss Catherine Dillon, (b. 1793), aged 36, Irish convict who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 14 years for uttering forged notes, transported aboard the "Edward" on 1st January 1829, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, she died in 1829 aboard the ship 12
  • Mr. Handy Dillon, British convict who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Bussorah Merchant" on 1st October 1829, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 13
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Dillon migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Dillon Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Thomas Dillon, aged 25, a carpenter, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Fifeshire" in 1842 14
  • Eleanor Dillon, aged 22, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Fifeshire" in 1842 14
  • Ellen Jane Dillon, aged 1, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Fifeshire" in 1842 14
  • Thomas Harford Dillon, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Fifeshire" in 1842 14
  • Fanny Dillon, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "George Fyfe" in 1842
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Dillon (post 1700) +

  • Francis R. Dillon (1939-2023), United States Air Force brigadier general (Special Agent) who served as the 11th Commander of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C
  • Brigadier-General Theodore Harwood Dillon (1884-1961), American Deputy Chief of the Transport Corps (1942-1943) 15
  • Major-General Joseph Vincent DePaul Dillon (1899-1971), American Air Provost Marshal, US Army Air Forces (1946-1953) 16
  • George Hill Dillon (1906-1968), American editor and poet awarded the 1932 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
  • Robert A. Dillon (1889-1944), American screenwriter and film director of the silent era
  • Sidney Dillon (1812-1892), President of Union Pacific Railroad from 1874 to 1884 and from 1890 until his death in 1892
  • Matthew Raymond "Matt" Dillon (b. 1964), American Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated actor
  • Jack Dillon (1891-1942), American light heavyweight boxing champion of the world in 1914
  • David Dillon (b. 1951), CEO and Chairman of Kroger Company
  • Clarence Douglas Dillon (1909-2003), American politician, 57th United States Secretary of the Treasury and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
  • ... (Another 75 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

RMS Titanic
  • Mr. Thomas Patrick Dillon, aged 24, English Trimmer from Southampton, Hampshire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and survived the sinking escaping on life boat 4 17
Senghenydd colliery
  • Mr. John Dillon (b. 1877), Welsh coal miner from Senghenydd, Caerphilly, Wales who was working at the Senghenydd colliery when there was an explosion on the 14th October 1913; he died


Suggested Readings for the name Dillon +

  • The Chimm (also Dillon) Book by Ruth Wilson Dillon.
  • The Dillon Family by Elaine Egenes.

  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
  3. "Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
  4. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  5. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  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)
  7. Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
  8. Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
  9. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Britannia
  10. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 27th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Boyd
  11. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
  12. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th November 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/edward
  13. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 10th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bussorah-merchant
  14. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 4th November 2011). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  15. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2012, January 24) Theodore Dillon. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Dillon/Theodore_Harwood/USA.html
  16. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2012, January 24) Joseph Dillon. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Dillon/Joseph_Vincent_DePaul/USA.html
  17. Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html


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