Contents [hide]

Duffield History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Duffield History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Duffield name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived in either of the towns named Duffield in Derbyshire and in North Yorkshire. The surname Duffield belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Duffield family

The surname Duffield was first found in North Yorkshire at either North or South Duffield, villages and civil parishes in the Selby District. The place name dates back to the Domesday Book where it was listed as Dufeld.

Alternatively, the name could have originated from Duffield, a village, beside the River Derwent, at its junction with the River Ecclesbourne in Derbyshire. This locale also dates back to the Domesday Book where it was listed as Duvelle, but by the 12th century, the locale was known as Duffeld. The place name literally means "open land frequented by doves." 1

"In Domesday Book it is called Dunelle, and is described as having 'a church, a priest, and two mills;' it afterwards formed part of the demesne of Henry de Ferrers, who, in 1096, possessed a castle on an eminence north-west of the village, the site of which is now named Castle-Orchard." 2

Early History of the Duffield family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Duffield research. Another 200 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1190, 1273, 1379, 1383 and 1678 are included under the topic Early Duffield History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Duffield Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Duffield has undergone many spelling variations, including Duffield, Duffeld, Duffell, Duffill, Duffitt and others.

Early Notables of the Duffield family

Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Duffield Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Duffield Ranking

In the United States, the name Duffield is the 10,366^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Duffield family to Ireland

Some of the Duffield family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Duffield migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Duffield were among those contributors:

Duffield Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Duffield, a boy of 14, who landed in Virginia in 1622
Benjamin Duffield, who made New Jersey his home in 1678
Benjamin Duffield, who landed in New Jersey in 1678 4

Duffield migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Duffield Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

John Duffield, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1829
John Duffield, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1834
John Duffield, who arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1843

Duffield migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Duffield Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Duffield, English convict who was convicted in Derby, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Dromedary" on 11th September 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5
Mr. James Duffield, British convict who was convicted in Norwich, Norfolk, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 29th September 1831, settling in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. William Duffield, English convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Barossa" on 8th December 1839, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Francis Duffield, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Delhi" in 1839 8
Alice Duffield, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Delhi" in 1839 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Duffield 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:

Duffield Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

George Duffield, aged 29, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bolton" in 1840
Martha Duffield, aged 26, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bolton" in 1840
George Duffield, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1842
Mr. John Duffield, (b. 1852), aged 22, British settler travelling from England aboard the ship "Varuna" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 27th May 1874 9
Mr. Duffield, British settler travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Tongariro" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand in 1887 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Duffield (post 1700) +

William Ward Duffield (1823-1907), American executive in the coal industry, and railroad construction engineer
George Duffield (1794-1868), American leading nineteenth-century New School Presbyterian minister
Henry Martyn Duffield (1842-1912), American Colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War
David Duffield (b. 1941), American businessman in the software industry and known for his philanthropic activities
William Duffield (1816-1863), English still-life painter, born at Bath and educated in that city, was the second son of Charles Duffield, at one time proprietor of the Royal Union Library 10
Thomas Duffield (1782-1854), English farmer and Tory politician
Peter Duffield (b. 1969), English former professional footballer
George Duffield (b. 1946), retired English flat racing jockey
David Duffield (1931-2016), British sports commentator and cyclist
Dr Lee Richard Duffield (b. 1947), ABC (Australia) correspondent
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Duffield family +

HMS Hood

Mr. John Duffield (b. 1917), English Stoker 2nd Class serving for the Royal Navy from Pye Bridge, Derbyshire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 11

The Duffield Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Semper fidelis
Motto Translation: Always faithful.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
"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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dromedary
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1831
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barossa
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) DELHI 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Delhi.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm