Doubleday History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The first people to use the distinguished Doubleday family name were found in the French town of Doublett, in Holland, and was a Huguenot surname. It was brought to England, in the 15th and 16th centuries when the Huguenots fled the homeland because of the religious persecution which threatened their survival there. Under the Protestant King Henri IV, in the late 15th century, the Edict of Nantes was signed, which ended the Wars of Religion, and promised greater tolerance to the non-Catholic sects in France. For the Huguenots, this came as a relief to centuries of marginalization and harassment. Unfortuantely, this Edict was overturned in the 17th century, at which time, many Huguenot families came to England. The Doubleday family settled in the county of Middlesex in England.

Early Origins of the Doubleday family

The surname Doubleday was first found in Middlesex where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the Doubleday family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Doubleday research. Another 36 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1808, 1811, 1849 and 1875 are included under the topic Early Doubleday History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Doubleday Spelling Variations

Huguenot surnames were only slightly Anglicized, and they remain to this day a distinct group of surnames in England. Nevertheless, Huguenot surnames have been subject to numerous spelling alterations since the names emerged in France. French surnames have a variety of spelling variations because the French language has changed drastically over the centuries. French was developed from the vernacular Latin of the Roman Empire. It is divided into three historic and linguistic periods: Old French, which developed before the 14th century; Middle French, which was used between the 14th and 16th centuries; and Modern French, which was used after the 16th century and continues to be in use today. In all of these periods, the French language was heavily influenced by other languages. For example, Old French was infused with Germanic words and sounds when the barbarian tribes invaded and settled in France after the fall of the Roman Empire. Middle French also borrowed heaviliy from the Italian language during the Renaissance. Huguenot names have numerous variations. The name may be spelled Doubleday, Dubleday and others.

Early Notables of the Doubleday family

Notable in the family at this time was

Edward Doubleday (1811-1849), an English entomologist and his brother Henry Doubleday (1808-1875), an English entomologist and ornithologist

Doubleday migration to the United States +

Discovered in the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Doubleday:

Doubleday Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Roger Doubleday, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1690 1

Doubleday Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Henry Doubleday who settled in San Francisco in 1852
Michael Doubleday, who arrived in 1853 in the same port

Contemporary Notables of the name Doubleday (post 1700) +

Ulysses Freeman Doubleday (1792-1866), American politician, Representative from New York 24th District, 1831-33, 1835-37
Henry Mather Doubleday (b. 1855), American politician, U.S. Consular Agent in Montego Bay, 1907-18
Nelson Doubleday Jr. (1933-2015), American businessman and publisher, the last president of Doubleday and Company (1978-1986)
Thomas Donnelly Doubleday (1815-1864), American bookstore owner and a Union Army officer in the American Civil War, son of Ulysses F. Doubleday
Kaitlin Janette Doubleday (b. 1984), American actress
Ulysses Freeman Doubleday (1792-1866), American politician, U.S. Representative from New York (1831-1833) and (1835-1837)
Richard Doubleday (d. 1975), American director, writer and producer
Richard Doubleday, American actor, known for The Wipers Times (2013), Good Vibrations (2012) and An Actor Prepares (2014)
Kay Doubleday (d. 1995), American actress, known for Mad Dog Coll (1961), Across the River (1965) and The Slender Thread (1965)
Portia Ann Doubleday (b. 1988), American actress, known for Youth in Revolt (2009), Carrie (2013) and Her (2013), younger sister of Kaitlin Doubleday
... (Another 11 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

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)