IrelandWhile many Irish names are familiar, their past incarnations are often shrouded in mystery, reflecting the ancient Gaelic heritage of their bearers. The original Gaelic form of the name Dolly is O Dubhlaoich, derived from the words dubh, which means "dark featured, great, prodigious, burned" [1], and laoch, referring to a hero or champion.
The surname Dolly was first found in Westmeath (Irish: An Iarmhí) in the Irish Midlands, province of Leinster, where they held a family seat from very ancient times. According to O'Hart, the family claim descent through the MacMorough family which are descendants of the Heremon Kings of Ireland and were Chiefs in the County Wicklow and Queen's County. [1]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dolly research. Another 86 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1622, 1702, 1787, 1844, 1787 and 1801 are included under the topic Early Dolly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The scribes who created documents long before either the Gaelic or English language resembled their standardized versions of today recorded words as they sounded. Consequently, in the Middle Ages the names of many people were recorded under different spellings each time they were written down. Research on the Dolly family name revealed numerous spelling variations, including Dooley, Dooly, O'Dooley, O'Dooly and others.
Notable amongst the family name at this time was Richard Dowley (1622-1702), English nonconformist divine, son of John Dowley, vicar of Alveston, near Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire.
Sir James Dowling (1787-1844), was a Australian colonial judge, born in London on 25 Nov. 1787. His father, Vincent Dowling, was a native of Queen's...
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dolly Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Dolly is the 16,188th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [2]
Dolly migration to the United States +Under the rule of England, land ownership in Ireland changed dramatically, and many native Irish families found themselves renting out land to farm from absentee owners. This was one of the prime reasons that immigration to North America began in the late 18th century: Irish farmers dreamed of owning their own parcel of land to work for themselves. At this point, the immigrants were at least of modest means for the passage across the Atlantic was often quite dear. In the 1840s the Great Potato Famine created an exodus of people of quite different means. These people were most often destitute: they either sold anything they had to gain a passage or they were sponsored by philanthropic societies. Many of these immigrants were sick from disease and starvation: as a result many did not survive the long transatlantic journey. Although those settlers that did survive were often despised and discriminated against by people already established in these nations, they were critical to rapid development of the powerful industrial nations of the United States and the country that would later become known as Canada. An examination of immigration and passenger lists shows many persons bearing the name of Dolly or one of its variants:
Dolly migration to Canada +Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
