Dooney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Scotland

The ancestors of the Dooney surname are thought to have lived in the ancient Scottish kingdom of Dalriada. The name Dooney was given to someone who lived in the old barony of Duny or Downy, which was also called Douney in 1331, in the parish of Monikie, Angus. The surname is still commonplace in the district and Downie is one of the oldest names in the parish of Kemnay. 1

Early Origins of the Dooney family

The surname Dooney was first found in the parish of Monikie in Angus (Gaelic: Aonghas), part of the Tayside region of northeastern Scotland, and present day Council Area of Angus, formerly known as Forfar or Forfarshire.

One of the first records of the name was Duncan de Dunny who witnessed a discussion of boundaries of Tulloes (Tulloch) and Conon in 1254. Alexander Downy or Douny held land of the abbot of Arbroath in 1330, and Mury Dunny, forestaller in Aberdeen, is mentioned in 1402. 1

Early History of the Dooney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dooney research. Another 158 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1330, 1402, 1550, 1614, 1620, 1675, 1800, 1823, 1838, 1843 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Dooney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dooney Spelling Variations

The translation of Gaelic names in the Middle Ages was not a task undertaken with great care. Records from that era show an enormous number of spelling variations, even in names referring to the same person. Over the years Dooney has appeared as Downey, Downie, Downy, MacIldowney, MacIldownie, MacDowney, MacDownie, O'Downey and many more.

Early Notables of the Dooney family

Notable amongst the Clan from early times was William Dauney, " son of William Dauney of Falmouth, Jamaica, was born at Aberdeen in the year 1800. He commenced his education at Dulwich, and completed it at the University of Edinburgh. On June 13, 1823, he was called to the Scottish bar. He found in the Advocates' Library at Edinburgh a MS. collection of music, written between 1614 and 1620 and known as the Skene Manuscript. It consists of 114 English and Scottish ballad, song, and dance tunes, written in tableture. This manuscript Dauney deciphered and published...
Another 95 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dooney Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Dooney family to Ireland

Some of the Dooney family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 95 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dooney migration to the United States +

Significant portions of the populations of both the United States and Canada are still made up of the ancestors of Dalriadan families. Some of those in Canada originally settled the United States, but went north as United Empire Loyalists in the American War of Independence. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the ancestors of many Scots on both sides of the border begin to recover their collective national heritage through Clan societies and highland games. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:

Dooney Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Dooney, who arrived in New York, NY in 1816 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Dooney (post 1700) +

Michael Dooney, American comic book writer and artist, known for his work on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series
Tom Dooney (b. 1939), New Zealand sprint canoeist at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Citations +

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)
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)