Douse History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Douse is an ancient Anglo-Saxon name. It was a name given to a person who was a good-tempered person. The surname Douse is derived from the Old English words douce and dowce, which mean sweet, pleasant. These words, which later became doux, were ultimately derived from the Old French words dolz and dous, which had the same meaning. As a personal name, Douse was often given to females and occasionally was borne by males.

Early Origins of the Douse family

The surname Douse was first found in Wiltshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Douse family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Douse research. Another 59 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1582, 1619, 1630, 1640, 1648 and 1683 are included under the topic Early Douse History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Douse Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Douse has appeared include Dowse, Dowcett, Dowsett, Dorset, Dorsett, Dowser, Dowsey and many more.

Early Notables of the Douse family

Notables of the family at this time include William Dowse of Collingborn; Edward Dowse (1582-1648), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1648; and Thomas Dowse,(c. 1630-1683), also...
Another 34 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Douse Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Douse Ranking

In the United States, the name Douse is the 14,349^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Douse family to Ireland

Some of the Douse family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 36 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Douse migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Douse arrived in North America very early:

Douse Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Barbara Douse, who arrived in Virginia in 1645 2

Douse 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:

Douse Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Robert Henry Douse, aged 22, a tailor, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Hannibal" in 1875

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)