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Deal History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Deal History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Etymology of Deal

What does the name Deal mean?

The history of the Deal family goes back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from the family living in various counties throughout ancient Britain, as the name literally means "at the dale," or "of the dole," (a division of land.) 1

"The medieval form was At Dale, softened afterwards to A'Dale, as often found in parish registers of the XVI. cent., and widely renowned through the ballad of Robin Hood and Allin a'Dale." 2

Deal is "a sea-port, market-town, and parish, and a member of the town and port of Sandwich, in the union of Eastry, hundred of Cornilo, lathe of St. Augustine, E. division of Kent. The origin of this place is involved in obscurity: it has been considered as the spot where Cæsar first landed when he invaded Britain; but this hypothesis is very doubtful. Leland gives the town the name of Dela, and Nennius says that "Cæsar battled at Dola," which Camden supposes to mean Deal; there are no records, however, of any town existing here till several centuries after the Romans had quitted Britain." 3

Early Origins of the Deal family

The surname Deal was first found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273-1275 where Roger de le Dele and John Dele were listed in Norfolk, 4 Ralph de la Dale and Thomas de la Dale were registered in Suffolk and William dela Dole was registered in Cambridgeshire. 1

The Assize Rolls for Kent recorded John de Dele in 1317 and Hubert de Dele was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1327. 4

Back in Norfolk, we found Thomas atte Dela, de Fodeston, rector of Foston, Norfolk in 1361 and John atte Dele, vicar of Wigenhale, Norfolk in 1374. 5

In Yorkshire, we found Thomas del Dale; Robertus del Dale; Willelmus at Dale; and Johannes at Dale as all holding lands there at the time according to the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. The Lay Subsidy Rolls for Lancashire include a listing for Richard del Dale in 1332. 1

In Scotland, early records there show "Johannes de Dale was charter witness at Yester, 1374, Syme of Daile and Jok of Dail of the Newtoun occur in Ayrshire, 1470, and John Daill [was found] in Fouldaine, 1653." 6

Early History of the Deal family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Deal research. Another 108 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1545, 1567, 1602 and 1671 are included under the topic Early Deal History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Deal Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Deal include Deal, Deale, Dealey, Dealy, Deel and others.

Early Notables of the Deal family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Sir Richard Deal

Deal Ranking

In the United States, the name Deal is the 1,434^th most popular surname with an estimated 22,383 people with that name. 7 However, in France, the name Deal is ranked the 8,421^st most popular surname with an estimated 500 - 1,000 people with that name. 8

Deal migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Deal or a variant listed above:

Deal Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Han Har Deal, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1738 9
Mary Deal, who settled in Maryland in 1739
George Christ Deal, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1750 9
Casper Deal, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1753 9
Peter Deal, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1760 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Deal Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Alexander, Casper, Daniel, George, James, John, Jeremiah, Samuel Deal, all, who settled in Philadelphia between 1750 and 1800
Henry Deal, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1818 9
John Deal, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1852 9
Lewis Deal, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1852 9
Manuel Deal, aged 35, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1852 9

Deal migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Deal Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Jeffrey Deal, (b. 1807), aged 46, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Egmont" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 23rd December 1853 10
Mrs. Eliza Deal, (b. 1808), aged 45, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Egmont" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 23rd December 1853 10
Mr. William Deal, (b. 1817), aged 36, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Egmont" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 23rd December 1853 10
Mr. James Deal, (b. 1819), aged 34, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Egmont" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 23rd December 1853 10
Mrs. Harriett Deal, (b. 1824), aged 29, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Egmont" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 23rd December 1853 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Deal (post 1700) +

Emilie Sandra Deal (1942-2022), née Dunagan, an American education advocate and public school language arts teacher, wife of the U.S. state of Georgia's 82nd Governor, Nathan Deal
Frank Deal (b. 1958), American actor, known for The Outsider (2020) and his role as Capt. Bill Daly in Manifest (2018-2021)
Karen Deal (d. 2010), American keyboard player from Tampa, Florida, member of the Johnny Charrow Review
Arch Deal (1931-2020), American newscaster with WFLA-TV in Tampa, Florida, father of Tampa musician Karen Deal
Rufus Copeland Deal (1917-2005), American football running back
LtCol Sarah Deal, American aviator who became the Marine Corps' first female aviator in 1993
Jae Deal, American composer, arranger, music producer and orchestrator in various genres
Kenneth Eugene Deal (1927-1993), American pitcher and manager in minor league baseball
Borden Deal (b. 1922), American novelist and short story writer
Charles Albert Deal (1891-1979), American professional baseball player
... (Another 27 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html