Downie Surname

29,328th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 18,285 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Scotland

Downie Surname Definition:

Of territorial origin from the old barony of Duny or Downie (in 1331 Douney) in the parish of Monikie, Angus. The surname is still common in the district, and there was also an old Stirling family of the name. Downie is also said to be probably one of the oldest names in the parish of Kemnay (AEI.

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Downie Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States3,8781:93,46510,494
Australia3,8391:7,0321,036
Scotland3,6901:1,451252
England3,1041:17,9502,569
Canada1,5351:24,0043,265
Jamaica1,0611:2,705426
New Zealand4291:10,5561,838
South Africa1521:356,43232,570
Northern Ireland1001:18,4502,325
Wales971:31,9023,216
Barbados691:4,166533
Argentina681:628,58044,177
Panama221:177,8305,396
Singapore171:323,98313,856
Greece151:738,65380,079
Norway141:367,30634,015
United Arab Emirates141:654,44824,061
Spain121:3,896,00372,236
Jersey121:8,2671,718
Sweden101:984,67673,605
Isle of Man101:8,5821,778
Italy91:6,795,188113,457
Germany91:8,945,051266,530
Thailand91:7,848,705447,191
Malaysia91:3,277,136121,952
India81:95,883,173728,828
Trinidad and Tobago81:170,4978,814
Brazil81:26,759,292405,030
Netherlands61:2,814,529101,176
Chile51:3,523,29539,650
Switzerland51:1,642,58387,307
Hong Kong41:1,833,8716,220
France41:16,605,680368,153
Poland41:9,502,187181,606
Bangladesh41:39,839,19317,324
Bahamas31:130,5841,472
United States Virgin Islands31:36,7924,502
Ireland31:1,569,64617,286
Romania31:6,692,62378,504
Philippines31:33,746,074302,898
Mexico31:41,375,40271,397
South Korea21:25,620,1284,175
El Salvador21:3,171,9446,376
Finland21:2,748,35172,663
Indonesia21:66,124,597756,638
Azerbaijan21:4,824,56142,415
Turkey11:77,821,422191,047
China11:1,367,321,56651,149
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
Ecuador11:15,905,84650,210
Afghanistan11:32,153,18360,828
Iraq11:35,021,65431,813
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Uganda11:39,039,279258,887
Qatar11:2,357,99976,403
Japan11:127,844,29373,547
Tonga11:107,313791
Malawi11:17,119,10934,144
Mongolia11:2,825,28917,010
Montserrat11:4,947471
Namibia11:2,409,40119,676
Senegal11:14,579,34211,705
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland591:75,0825,404
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland2,9871:1,253221
England5401:45,1405,624
Guernsey81:4,082713
Wales51:313,68310,604
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States4871:103,11810,416

Downie (98) may also be a first name.

Downie Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

Of territorial origin from the old barony of Duny or Downie (in 1331 Douney) in the parish of Monikie, Angus. The surname is still common in the district, and there was also an old Stirling family of the name. Downie is also said to be probably one of the oldest names in the parish of Kemnay (AEI., I, p. 24). The first of the name recorded is Duncan de Dunny who witnessed a composition regarding the boundaries between the lands of Tulloes (Tulloch) and Conon in 1254 (RAA., I, p. 325). Jervise's suggestion that the Downies were probably vassals of some lord, as the name is so rarely found in early record, is probably correct (Jervise LL., p. 384). Alexander Downy or Douny held land of the abbot of Arbroath in 1330 (RAA., II, p. 7, 8), and Mury Dunny, forestaller in Aberdeen, is mentioned in 1402 (CRA., p. 383). Thomas Downy was burgess of Glasgow in 1550 (Protocols, I), and three years later an annual rent was sold by Peter Downy in the same city (ibid.). James Dewinny was chosen berlaw man in the berony of Urie in 1620 (Urie, p. 33), and Isobel Dewnie is recorded in Brechin in 1675 (Brechin). A genealogy of the Ferquharsons claims that the Dons and Downies are descended from James Farquharson, grandson of the Ferquhard "who was called Don or Doun from his Brown Hair" (Farquharsons of Invercauld, p. 4), but as shown above the name was in existence before there was a clan Farquherson. Davenie 1628, Dewiny, Dewney, and Dewny 1621, Down 1760, Downe 1619, Downye 1565.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

1 for Daunay, q.v.

2 = Down(e (q.v.) + the English diminutive suff. -y, -ie.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(Scottish, Irish) One who came from Downie, the name of several places in Scotland; dweller at the little hill; the brown-haired man; grandson of Dunadhach (belonging to a fort).

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

A range of hills in Forfarshire, and a headland in Kincardineshire.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Downie Last Name Facts

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

The surname Downie is most common in The United States. It can be rendered as:. Click here for further potential spellings of Downie.

How Common Is The Last Name Downie? popularity and diffusion

The surname is the 29,328th most frequently occurring last name throughout the world, borne by approximately 1 in 398,553 people. This surname occurs predominantly in Europe, where 39 percent of Downie live; 39 percent live in Northern Europe and 38 percent live in British Isles. It is also the 956,749th most numerous first name throughout the world It is held by 98 people.

The last name is most frequent in The United States, where it is borne by 3,878 people, or 1 in 93,465. In The United States Downie is primarily found in: Ohio, where 8 percent are found, Massachusetts, where 7 percent are found and New York, where 7 percent are found. Barring The United States this surname occurs in 62 countries. It also occurs in Australia, where 21 percent are found and Scotland, where 20 percent are found.

Downie Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Downie has changed over time. In The United States the number of people bearing the Downie surname grew 796 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Scotland it grew 124 percent between 1881 and 2014; in England it grew 575 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it grew 1,940 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it decreased 95 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Downie Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those bearing the surname is principally Methodist (36%) in Ireland.

In The United States Downie are 0.57% more likely to be registered Democrats than The US average, with 52.66% being registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Downie earn in different countries varies somewhat. In Norway they earn 7.42% more than the national average, earning 371,750 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 20.86% more than the national average, earning R 287,220 per year; in United States they earn 7.88% more than the national average, earning $46,551 USD per year and in Canada they earn 8.86% more than the national average, earning $54,086 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Downies9211/
Downnie924/
Downier921/
Downiey921/
Downe91713/
Downi9143/
Downey8358,148/
Dawnie8312/
Downee836/
Downed833/
Downeu833/
Downye831/
Downiy831/
Downet831/
Downei831/
Downoi831/
Downea830/
Downney774/
Downest774/
Downnes772/
Dowenne771/
Downner771/
Doownes771/
Dawhnie771/
Doowney770/
Dawnnie770/
Downy73255/
Dawne73143/
Dobni7339/
Dobne7314/
Dawni736/
Dewne732/
Dovne731/
Downé731/
Downh731/
Dewni731/
Dovni731/
Dewinnie713/
Dobney671,086/
Dovner67317/
Dawney67250/
Dhawne6748/
Doubne6711/
Davnie677/
Duowna675/
Dawnne675/
Dewney674/
Douvne673/
Dhawni672/
Duwner672/
Dubnie672/
Deewni671/
Douwna671/
Downay671/
Dobneh671/
Dawnge671/
Dawniś671/
Dowhny670/
Downny670/
Dovney670/

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Downie Reference & Research

Downey FamilyTree DNA Group - A group collating DNA test results for those who bear the surname, includes results of DNA tests and discussions.

Downey FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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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 Downie
  • 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