Show ContentsDowce History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Dowce

What does the name Dowce mean?

The ancient Anglo-Saxon culture once found in Britain is the soil from which the many generations of the Dowce family have grown. The name Dowce was given to a member of the family who was a good-tempered person. The surname Dowce 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, Dowce was often given to females and occasionally was borne by males.

Early Origins of the Dowce family

The surname Dowce 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 Dowce family

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

Dowce 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 Dowce family name include Dowse, Dowcett, Dowsett, Dorset, Dorsett, Dowser, Dowsey and many more.

Early Notables of the Dowce family

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 known as Thomas Dawse and Thomas Dawles, an...
Another 34 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dowce Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Dowce family to Ireland

Some of the Dowce 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.

Migration of the Dowce 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 Dowce surname or a spelling variation of the name include : Thomas and Katherine Dowse who settled in Virginia in 1623; Charles Dowse settled in Virginia in 1643; Lawrence Dowse settled in Charlestown Massachusetts in 1630.


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