Show ContentsDonnee History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Donnee Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Donnee

What does the name Donnee mean?

The Donnee surname is a habitational name, taken on from Downhead in Somerset, or Donhead in Wiltshire. These place names both derived from the Old English words "dun," meaning "hill," and "he-afod," meaning the geographic "head" of land. There was also a place named Dunnet in Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland. It is within the Parish of Dunnet.

Early Origins of the Donnee family

The surname Donnee was first found in Wiltshire. Originally from Normandy, the name was originally spelt Dannet, for De Anet or D'Alneto. D'Alnai is mentioned at the Battle of Hastings 1 as 'Sire d'Alnai.' 2

To the north in Scotland, the name is of local origin from Dunnet in Caithness. 3 The local pronunciation is "Dinnet. Sir Gilbert Dynnocht was vicar of Arndurnes (Durness) before 1541, as Sir Gilbert Dunnat, vicar of Ra, is recorded as deceased in 1550. Master John Donat or Dunnat appears as rector of Cannesbe (Canisbay) in 1577 and 1581. Mergaret Dinit appears in Snawburgh, 1648 (Shetlard), and Katharine Donnat in Holand-Mey appears in 1663 (Caithness). Matthew Dunnett and George Dunnett in Gilles, Caithness, to be apprehended as rebels, 1670. Dunet was registered in 1700, " 4

Early History of the Donnee family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Donnee research. Another 278 words (20 lines of text) covering the years 1246, 1296, 1500, 1577, 1648 and 1663 are included under the topic Early Donnee History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Donnee Spelling Variations

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 Donnee family name include Dunnett, Dunnet, Donnatt, Donnat, Downett, Downatt, Dunett, Dunet, Donnett and many more.

Early Notables of the Donnee family

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

Migration of the Donnee family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Donnee surname or a spelling variation of the name include : John Dunnet who settled in America in 1772. By the mid-1800' s, the Dunnetts were among the many who traveled across the mid-west to the coast of California to make their home in San Francisco..
  1. Wace, Robert, Roman de Brut England: 1155. Digital
  2. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  3. Sims, Clifford Stanley The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames. 1862. Print.
  4. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)

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