Dawnay Surname

1,637,889th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 122 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
England

Dawnay Surname Definition:

= Daunay, q.v.

Dawnay Surname Distribution Map

By incidenceBy frequencyBy rank
Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ARank (high to low)Rank (low to high)
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England971:574,41334,909
Scotland71:764,83125,488
Canada41:9,211,398321,528
Croatia31:1,409,53570,997
Philippines31:33,746,074302,898
Switzerland21:4,106,458122,336
Ireland11:4,708,93929,543
Argentina11:42,743,414282,706
France11:66,422,722504,397
South Africa11:54,177,704343,732
United States11:362,458,9331,988,048
Wales11:3,094,53244,023
Show All Nations
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England201:1,218,76844,985
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States91:5,579,854232,921

Dawnay (17) may also be a first name.

Dawnay Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

= Daunay, q.v.

— Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

The genealogists of Viscount Downe's family set out with a statement that "Sir Paine Dawnay, of Dawnay Castle in Normandy, came in with the Conqueror but this off-hand account requires a little examination. In the first place, I do not see the surname in Domesday, and secondly, though somewhat versed in the topography of Normandy, I cannot find ' Dawnay Castle' where the respectable knight had his residence. Yet substantial truth is probably conveyed in this sparkling sentence. Daunay is doubtless D'Aunai, and there are at least seven places called Aunai in Normandy, one of which, Aunai l'Abbaye, in the arrondissement of Vire, was an ancient barony, and from thence probably the family came. At all events the D'Aunays were eminent in Cornwall in the fourteenth century. As a "Curiosity of Heraldry," I may note that the crest of the family is a Demi-Saracen, holding in one hand a lion's paw, and in the other a gold ring set with a sapphire. This cognizance originated, it is said, in manner following. Sir William D. was made a ' general' at Acre by King Coeur-de-Lion in 1192, for having killed, first a chief prince of the Saracens, and afterwards a mighty lion, whose paws he cut off and presented to Richard. The king, delighted with the 'general's' exploit, took a ring from his royal finger and presented it to him; and that sapphire ring is still in the possession of Lord Downe-tangible evidence of the truth of this circumstantial narration.

— Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

(Northen French) De Aunay or D'Aunay, from the town of Aunay, in Normandy.

— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur
DNA test information
Display Statistics on:

Dawnay Demographics

Average Dawnay Salary in
England

£26,710

Per year
Rank:
44,688 of 88,641
Percentage of all salaries earned by bearers:
9.26621E-5
Rank: 60,086 of 88,641
Percentage of national average salary:
99.01%
Sample size: 8 (2014)

Average Salary in
England

£26,976

Per year
Per month:
£2,248
Per week:
£500
Per day:
£74

View the highest/lowest earning families in England

Dawnay Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Dawnay Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Dawnay is held by more people in England than any other country/territory. It can also be found in the variant forms:. For other possible spellings of this surname click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Dawnay? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 1,637,889th most prevalent family name world-wide, held by around 1 in 59,733,983 people. This surname occurs predominantly in Europe, where 92 percent of Dawnay live; 87 percent live in Northern Europe and 87 percent live in British Isles. It is also the 2,694,839th most frequently held given name globally, held by 17 people.

This surname is most common in England, where it is carried by 97 people, or 1 in 574,413. In England it is most numerous in: Greater London, where 46 percent are found, City of Bristol, where 11 percent are found and Essex, where 9 percent are found. Without taking into account England this last name exists in 11 countries. It is also common in Scotland, where 6 percent are found and Canada, where 3 percent are found.

Dawnay Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Dawnay has changed over time. In England the number of people bearing the Dawnay surname grew 485 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in The United States it contracted 89 percent between 1880 and 2014.

Phonetically Similar Names

Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ASimilarity (high to low)Similarity (low to high)Prevalent jurisdiction A-ZPrevalent jurisdiction Z-A
SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Dawny9111/
Dawna919/
Dawney83250/
Dawnna833/
Dabnay832/
Davnay831/
Downay831/
Dawnny830/
Dawnaha774/
Dawhnai771/
Dawnehy771/
Dawnnah771/
Daubnay771/
Dawenny771/
Dawnatt771/
Dahwnga771/
Deawney770/
Davnnay770/
Dawhney770/
Downy73255/
Davna73175/
Dawne73143/
Dabny7310/
Downa739/
Dewna739/
Davny737/
Dawni736/
Dabna733/
Dewny731/
Dawnawee714/
Dawnhaus710/
Downey6758,148/
Dabney6710,032/
Dhawne6748/
Davnyi6725/
Davney6719/
Davniy6718/
Dawnie6712/
Downat6711/
Dawinnuha6710/
Dawnne675/
Duowna675/
Dewney674/
Devnay673/
Dhawni672/
Downah672/
Davnai672/
Dhavna672/
Daubny671/
Dabnoy671/
Dewnha671/
Dabniy671/
Davnaj671/
Dawnge671/
Downiy671/
Deawennah671/
Davnah671/
Dawniś671/
Douwna671/
Davhna671/
Downny670/
Downea670/
Dowhny670/
Deavny670/
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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Dawnay
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis