Chat
|
Daily Search
|
My GenForum
|
Community Standards
|
Terms of Service
|
|
|
Dundon in Somerset is not the origin for the surname (a pity because it is a beautiful place!). The name is Norman in origin, reputed to come from de auno, and is first found in County Limerick in Ireland, especially the Askeaton/Ballystine area in Elizabethan times. That is the scholarly view, but personally, I susect that it is from the French nickname "dondon", given to a person who is ungainly and fat! This nickname was certainly in use in Medieavel France and Normandy, so it could well tie in.
However, there were also instances in Somerset where Dundon was used as a surname, presumably from the village of the same name, in the early part of the 17th century. I believe this to be a very isolated thing, and you can be assured that 99.9% of living Dundons are related to the Limerick families.
Dunden is a fairly common variant spelling, especially in the USA. Remember that the majority of Irish immigrants were illiterate, and hence there was a reliance on officials interpreting the spoken name. Heavy Irish accents and officials do not always mix! In my own branch of the family, official records are often in the form of "Dondon" - think of London and the error is easily excused. If you use the IGI or FamilySearch you need to use both Dundon and Dondon to get the full range of available records, because the Soundex system will not pick up all the variants!
Paul Dundon
Followups:No followups yet |
| http://genforum.genealogy.com/dundon/messages/8.html | ||
 |
Agreement of Use Link to GenForum Add Forum |
|