Contents [hide]

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

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Sources

Derry History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany
Ireland

Etymology of Derry

What does the name Derry mean?

The surname Derry can come from both the original Irish surnames Ó Daighre and Ó Doireidh. The names Derry and Deery are used synonymously, but originally the name Derry came from Ó Doireidh, and Deery from Ó Daighre. 1

Early Origins of the Derry family

The surname Derry was first found in north-west Ulster (Irish: Ulaidh), where the O Daighre were the erenagh family of Derry Church and the O Doireidh were the erenagh family of nearby Donaghmore in the diocese of Raphoe in Donegal. In 1609, the O Doireidh family were listed as erenagh of Columbkil, where in the 13th century Maeliosa O Dioreidh was bishop.

Early History of the Derry family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Derry research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1574, 1576, 1609, 1663, 1666, 1671, 1801, 1820, 1847 and 1870 are included under the topic Early Derry History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Derry Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Derry, Deery, O'Derry, O'Deery, O'Diera, O'Deary and many more.

Early Notables of the Derry family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was

Edmund Derry, who was bishop of Dromore from 1801 to 1820

Derry Ranking

In the United States, the name Derry is the 6,553^rd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2

Derry migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Derry Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Robert Derry, who arrived in Virginia in 1634 3
Orsell Derry, who landed in Virginia in 1656 3

Derry Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Thomas Derry, who landed in America in 1764 3

Derry Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Valentine Derry, who settled in New York in 1808
Valentine Derry, who arrived in New York in 1809 3
John Derry, aged 48, who arrived in New York in 1812 3

Derry migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Derry Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. London Derry U.E. who settled in Eastern District [Cornwall], Ontario c. 1786 4

Derry Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Nancy Derry, who immigrated to Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833
John Derry, who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834
Mr. Jerry Derry, aged 1 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Lady Flora Hastings" departing 11th May 1847 from Cork, Ireland; the ship arrived on 26th June 1847 but he died on board 5
Mr. John Derry, aged 3 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Lady Flora Hastings" departing 11th May 1847 from Cork, Ireland; the ship arrived on 26th June 1847 but he died on board 5

Derry migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Derry Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Andrew Derry, English convict who was convicted in Liverpool, Merseyside, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Champion" on 24th May 1827, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. Anthony Derry, (b. 1823), aged 30, Cornish agricultural labourer departing from Plymouth on 7th April 1853 aboard the ship "Euphemus" arriving in Geelong, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 18th July 1853 7
Mrs. Margaret Derry, (b. 1833), aged 20, Cornish settler departing from Plymouth on 7th April 1853 aboard the ship "Euphemus" arriving in Geelong, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 18th July 1853 7

Derry 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:

Derry Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Fanny Derry, aged 30, a servant, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "John Wickliffe" in 1848 8
Mr. Henry Derry, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Zambesi" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 20th September 1863 9
Elias Derry, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Empress" in 1865
Evens Derry, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "City of Auckland" in 1870
Charles Derry, aged 29, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Camperdown" in 1876
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Derry (post 1700) +

Robert D. Derry, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Florida, 2004; Candidate for U.S. Representative from Florida 10th District, 2004 10
Guy C. Derry, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Montana, 1928, 1932 11
George Hermann Derry, American Republican politician, Candidate in primary for U.S. Representative from Michigan 15th District, 1940 12
George H. Derry, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 30th District, 1922 12
Charles H. Derry, American politician, U.S. Consul in Paris, 1929-32; Perth, 1938-40; Sydney, 1941-46 13
Alva Russell Derry (1916-2004), American Major League Baseball outfielder
Spencer John Derry (b. 1974), British artist
John Douglas Derry DFC (1921-1952), British test pilot, the first Briton to exceed the speed of sound
Duncan Ramsay Derry (b. 1906), Canadian geologist
Shaun Derry (b. 1977), English professional footballer

Historic Events for the Derry family +

HMS Royal Oak

John Oswald Harold Derry (1922-1939), British Boy 1st Class with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 14

The Derry Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Be watchful

Sources +

MacLysaght, Edward, Supplement to Irish Families. Baltimore: Genealogical Book Company, 1964. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 72)
Convict Records of Australia. Retreived 18th January 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/champion
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_australia_victoria.pdf
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2017, April 12) Robert Derry. Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2017, April 12) Guy Derry. Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2017, April 12) George Derry. Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2017, April 12) Charles Derry. Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html