Dwite History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Dwite family

The surname Dwite was first found in Derbyshire where the first record of the family was in the Latin form: Henry Duyhts who was listed in the Subsidy Rolls there in 1327. 1

There is much speculation about the origin of this name. One source notes that it is a "corruption of the once common Dyot (v. Dyet and Dyson.) 2

Another presumes that is was a "pet name of Dionisia (Greek god of wine.)" 3

Another believes that the name was "possibly a corruption of Thwaite." 4 And finally, another source believes that the name was Norman in origin, as according to the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae, the name is "from Doit. William de Doito, Ralph, Walter, Rainald, Richard, 1185-95, in Normandy" 5

Moving on from the aforementioned listing in 1327, fifty-two years later there was another found in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379: Magota Duyott and this source notes that "the usual form in this register of names is Dyot and Diot." 2

John Dwight was listed in the 1524 Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk and Josiah Dwight was listed in Oxfordshire in 1665. 1

Early History of the Dwite family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dwite research. Another 86 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1327, 1455, 1487, 1511, 1524, 1628, 1669, 1674, 1676, 1687, 1703, 1708, 1729 and 1737 are included under the topic Early Dwite History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dwite Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Dwight, Dwite, Dwit, Dweight, Dwyte, Dight and others.

Early Notables of the Dwite family

Distinguished members of the family include John Dwight (1628-1703), generally considered the first distinguished English potter, his work can be found today in the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. On 3 March 1674, Dwight's six-year-old daughter Lydia died. Her statue made in 1674 entitled "Lydia Dwight Resurrected" can be found today in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London...
Another 62 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dwite Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dwite migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dwite Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Walter Dwite, who arrived in Virginia in 1719 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Dwite (post 1700) +

Dwite Pedersen (1941-2021), American politician who served as a Nebraska state senator from Elkhorn, Nebraska in the Nebraska Legislature
First Lieutenant Dwite H. Schaffner (1889-1955), American soldier in the United States Army who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the World War I

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
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)