Downs Name Study

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An Irish, Scottish and English surname, Downs comes from the Gaelic term ‘dubh’ which means black. There is the Old English term ‘dun’ which means a low hill. The spelling variations for Downs include Down, Downe and Downes. In Ireland the County of Sligo was where the original Downs families settled. Many left Ireland in the 19th century to resettle in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. All across England and parts of Wales the Downs family name is established. The most populated areas with the Downs name are the city of London, Kent, Somerset and Devon. In Scotland the major locations for those with the Downs surname include to the north, Caithness, Ross & Cromarty. Then the central region with Perthshire and Fife and to the south the Downs name is in Midlothian, Lanarkshire, Dumfries-shire and Renfrewshire counties. Within the United States the Downs families first settled in New York, Vermont, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, Texas and California. Famous: Hugh Malcolm Downs (television host, journalist, broadcaster, producer and author), Scott Jeremy Downs (professional baseball player), Johnny Downs (actor), Bill Downs (radio news journalist), Ephraim Downs (19th century clockmaker), Nicholas W. Downs (movie film and television actor), Thomas Nelson Downs (magician, known as the ‘King of Koins’ for his coin tricks), Matt Downs (professional baseball player), Jason Downs (singer and actor) and George W. Downs (co-founder of Applied Physics Corp. which was later called Cary Instruments).

from - https://www.familytree.com/surnames/Downs

The family of DOWN(E)S is one of the oldest which had its seat in England.The name of DOWNS comes from a locality in England called "The Downes" or the hills.The family name was originally de Dunes, called also Dounis, dunes, del Dunes, Downs and Downe.History traces the family back as far as 864AD when certain of their estates belonged to the "Ancient family of Downes and Taxall."- Colonial & Revoluntary Families of Penna.Vol.IV 1932

"There appear to have been originally two families in England who assumed the surname of Downes.In the XII century, these families were located in the counties of Cheshire and Suffolk and they both bore different Coats of Arms." Early Records of Downes' Family by Lt.Col. Leonard Downs, Woolwich, 1892

from - http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/downs/481/

More details can be found on the links below -

• http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Downs

• https://www.houseofnames.com/downs-family-crest

For a list of the DOWNS that have been tagged at Wikitree: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Downs_Name_Study

To help tag untagged Downs, open the bio, & paste at the top - One Name Study|name=Downs *place double brackets before and after*

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