EnglandOf all the Anglo-Saxon names to come from Britain, Douthit is one of the most ancient. The name is a result of the original family having lived in either Dowthwaite, in Cumberland or Dowthwaite Hall in the North Riding of Yorkshire. [1] [2]
The name literally means "a piece of ground cleared of wood, from the Anglo-Saxon thweotan, to cut." [3] [4]
The surname Douthit was first found in the Subsidy Rolls of Cumberland where John de Doventhuayt was recorded in 1332. Much later in Yorkshire, John Dowthwayt was recorded there at Whitby in 1540. [1] The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included an entry for Robertas de Dowthwayt. [5]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Douthit research. Another 116 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1572, 1714, 1733, 1667 and 1662 are included under the topic Early Douthit History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Douthit has been spelled many different ways, including Douthwaite, Douthert, Douthet, Douthat, Douthit, Douthirt, Douthwrait, Dowthwaite, Dowthert, Dowthet, Dowthirt and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Douthit Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Douthit is the 14,649th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [6]
Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Douthits to arrive in North America: Abraham Dowthwaite who settled in Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1796 with his brother Robert; William Douthwaite arrived in Philadelphia in 1803.
