Dudley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Dudley

What does the name Dudley mean?

The Anglo-Saxon name Dudley comes from when the family resided in the important town of Dudley in the county of Worcestershire. The name of this town was originally derived from the Old English personal name Dudda and the Old English word leah, which means woodland clearing; thus it means Dudda's glade. 1The surname Dudley belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Dudley family

The surname Dudley was first found in Worcestershire at Dudley, a town that dates back to the Domesday Book where it was listed as Dudelei. "This place derives its name from Dodo, or Dudo, a Saxon prince, by whom it was owned at the time of the heptarchy, and who built a castle here about the year 700, which, during the contest between Stephen and the Empress Matilda, was garrisoned for the latter by Gervase Paganell, to whom the barony at that time belonged. Gervase having subsequently taken part in the rebellion of Prince Henry against his father, Henry II., his castle was demolished in the 20th year of that monarch's reign. The present keep, with the gateway and chapel, is of the architecture of the 13th century; the other buildings were erected by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, in the time of Edward VI. " 2

Dudley Castle was listed there and at that time Earl Edwin held the manor also located there. Dudley and much of the surrounding area was held by William fitzAnsculf and was part of the Came hundred. 3

Today Dudley Castle is a ruined castle but has a visitor's center that was opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in June 1994. At one time, the family was found in the chapelry of Singleton-in-the-Fylde (Little Singleton) in Lancashire as evidenced by this entry: "Edmund Dudley, who was attainted and executed in 1510, possessed Little Singleton." 2

The same Sir Edmund Dudley's lands were lost also lost at Balderston, again in Lancashire. "A portion subsequently passed to the Dudley family; and after the execution of the celebrated Sir Edmund Dudley for high treason, an inquisition was taken, 1st Henry VIII., when it was found that the manor was an escheat to the crown." 2

Early History of the Dudley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dudley research. Another 352 words (25 lines of text) covering the years 1225, 1379, 1462, 1504, 1510, 1532, 1547, 1550, 1553, 1561, 1576, 1588, 1597, 1600, 1647, 1653, 1661, 1670, 1684, 1686, 1720 and 1721 are included under the topic Early Dudley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dudley Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Dudley has been recorded under many different variations, including Dudley, Dudlie, Dudly and others.

Early Notables of the Dudley family

Distinguished members of the family include

Sir John Dudley of Atherington; and his son, Edmund Dudley (c.1462-1510), an English administrator and a financial agent of King Henry VII, Speaker of the House of Commons and President of the King's...
Thomas Dudley (1576-1653), was an American colonial magistrate from Yardley Hastings, England who served as 3rd, 7th, 11th and 14th Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and was founder of the famo...
Dudd "Dud" Dudley (1600-1684), was English metallurgist who was one of the first Englishmen to smelt iron ore using coke, illegitimate son of Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley of Dudley Castle; Joseph D...

Dudley Ranking

In the United States, the name Dudley is the 740^th most popular surname with an estimated 39,792 people with that name. 4 However, in the United Kingdom, the name Dudley is ranked the 961^st most popular surname with an estimated 7,244 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Dudley family to Ireland

Some of the Dudley family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dudley migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Dudley or a variant listed above:

Dudley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Andrew Dudley, who landed in Virginia in 1622 aboard the ship "Truelove", died by 1624 6
Miss Anne Dudley of Northamtpon, who sailed from Isle of Wight arriving in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630 aboard the ship "Ambrose" as part of the Winthrop Fleet, found in Cambridge. 6
Mr. Samuel Dudley of Northamtpon, who sailed from Isle of Wight arriving in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630 aboard the ship "Ambrose" as part of the Winthrop Fleet, found in Cambridge. 6
Thomas Dudley of Northamtpon, who sailed from Isle of Wight arriving in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630 aboard the ship "Ambrose" as part of the Winthrop Fleet, found in Cambridge. 6
Mrs. Dorothy Dudley of Northamtpon, who sailed from Isle of Wight arriving in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630 aboard the ship "Ambrose" as part of the Winthrop Fleet, found in Cambridge. 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dudley Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Greenhill Dudley, who landed in Virginia in 1714 6
Thomas Dudley, who landed in Virginia in 1714 6
Ann Dudley, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1729-1730 6
Abigail Dudley, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1766 6

Dudley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Henry Dudley, aged 19, who arrived in New York in 1804 6
Edward Dudley, who landed in New York in 1810 6
William Dudley, who arrived in New York in 1815 6
Margaret Dudley, who landed in New York, NY in 1815 6
Robert Dudley, who landed in New York, NY in 1817 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dudley migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dudley Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

John Dudley, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750

Dudley Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Nathaniel Stevens Dudley, who arrived in Canada in 1834
John Dudley, who arrived in Canada in 1836
Levi Dudley, who arrived in Canada in 1840
Alvin Dudley, who arrived in Canada in 1840
Charles Dudley, who landed in Esquimalt, British Columbia in 1862

Dudley migration to Australia +

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

Dudley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. George Dudley, English butcher who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years for pick pocketing, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 27th October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1868 8
George Dudley, English convict from Bristol, who was transported aboard the "Andromeda" on October 16, 1826, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 9
Mr. Thomas Dudley, British convict who was convicted in Chester, Cheshire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Bussorah Merchant" on 1st October 1829, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 10
Mr. John Dudley, Irish groom who was convicted in County Cork, Ireland for 14 years, transported aboard the "Forth" on 1st January 1830, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 11
Mr. Henry Dudley, (b. 1807), aged 29, English convict who was convicted in Somerset, England for life for larceny, transported aboard the "Eden" on 27th August 1836, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 12
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dudley 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:

Dudley Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

M Dudley, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1841
W. C. Dudley, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Cashmere" in 1851 13
Thomas Dudley, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ann Wilson" in 1857
Thomas A. Dudley, aged 21, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bombay" in 1865 14
Miss Ann Dudley, (b. 1851), aged 17, British general servant travelling from London aboard the ship "Matoaka" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 8th February 1869 15
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dudley migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 16

Dudley Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

John Dudley, who chose the islands of Barbados as his home in 1679

Contemporary Notables of the name Dudley (post 1700) +

Joe Louis Dudley Sr. (1937-2024), American businessman and hair-care entrepreneur
Anne Dallas Dudley (1876-1955), née Dallas, American activist in the women's suffrage movement in the United States. mother of Guilford Dudley
Guilford Dudley (1907-2002), American diplomat, United States Ambassador to Denmark (1969â€“1971)
Richard Mansfield Dudley, American Professor of Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Edward Bishop "Ed" Dudley (1901-1963), American professional golfer of the late 1920s and 1930s, a 15-time winner on the PGA Tour
Christen Guilford "Chris" Dudley (b. 1965), retired American NBA basketball player and politician, Republican nominee for Governor of Oregon in 2010
William McGarvey "Bullet Bill" Dudley (1921-2010), professional American NFL football player, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966
Jane Dudley (1912-2001), American modern dancer, choreographer, and teacher
Edward Bishop Dudley (1789-1855), American politician, two-term Whig Governor of North Carolina from 1836 to 1841
Charles Benjamin Dudley (1842-1909), American chemist
... (Another 6 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Dudley family +

Flight 191

J Dudley (d. 1979), American passenger from Los Angeles, California, USA, who flew aboard American Airlines Flight 191 and died in the crash 17

Sources +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
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)
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's. Retrieved January 6th 2023 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Andromeda voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1826 with 147 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/andromeda/1826
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 10th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bussorah-merchant
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/forth
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th October 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eden
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 5th November 2010). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 7th November 2010). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Flight 191's Victims - latimes. (Retrieved 2014, April 16) . Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/1985-08-04/news/mn-4349_1_fort-lauderdale-area