Done
One-Name Study

Topics

• About the Done One-Name Study
• Variants
• Origin of the surname
• Historical occurrences
• Frequency of the name
• Distribution of the name
• Data
• DNA project
• Links
• Contact Details

About the Done One-Name Study

Although the Done One–Name Study was only formally registered with the Guild in 2010, I have been researching the name for many years, both as part of my own family history project, and more recently in support of a research project being undertaken by the Doane Family Association of America (DFA). Their objective has been to discover the antecedents of John Done, the family’s first immigrant ancestor who arrived in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts in 1630. This project has involved the analysis of several thousand records of individuals bearing the name and its variants worldwide.

Variants

Done is the predominant name, although in North America from the earliest colonial times, the name was spelled Doane, to ensure the correct pronunciation (see origin of the surname - below). In North America, the name is also frequently spelled Doan, an early Quaker branch of the family, unaware of the reason for the Doane spelling, having decided to remove the final ‘e’, wrongly assuming it to have been an ostentatious addition. In parish records, the name is sometimes recorded as Donne. Y-DNA research also suggests that Done and Donne are alternative spellings of a name with the same origin rather than names with different origins. Other variants are Doon, Doun and (in Wales) Dwnn.

Origin of the surname

It is generally agreed that the name is topographical, i.e. related to a geographical feature, namely a hill, a ‘down’ or a ‘dune’, the person given the name being a person who lived by a hill. It is unlikely to be an alternative spelling for the name Dunn, since all people I have met who bear the name invariably pronounce it to rhyme with ‘Bone’ and not with ‘Dunn’. Also the geographical distribution of the two names across the British Isles is very different.

Historical occurrences

Among the most well known Dones are:

Richard of Done, Lord of Utkinton (1190 – 1240), whose descendants became Master Foresters of Delamere Forest in Cheshire.

Sir John Dwnn (a.k.a.Done, Donne) - a Welshman who was appointed to the Privy Council in 1474.

Deacon John Done (b.circa 1592) - the founder of the Doane/ Doan family in North America.

John Donne (1572 - 1631) - metaphysical poet and Dean of St Paul's Cathedral in London.

Frequency of the name

According to the 1881 census, as recorded in the index produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at that time there were 1029 Dones in Great Britain or around 1 in 25,000 or .0041% of the population.

Distribution of the name

In 1881, according to the census that took place in that year, people bearing the name Done were concentrated in the North West of England, centred on Cheshire and adjacent areas of Lancashire, Staffordshire, Shropshire and Flintshire and into Worcestershire.

Data

I have a database of some 8000 Done and variant name records. These are mainly pre- 19th century births marriages and deaths, but later records are being added continually.

DNA project

I am co-administrator of the Y-DNA genealogy research project of the Doane Family Association of America (DFA) that aims to discover present day links between members of the Doane family and male line descendants of an ancestor of their famous founder. With some exceptions, the Association is funding a Y-DNA test worldwide for males with the names Done or Donne.

Links

The Doane Family Association of America:

- website: www.doanefamilyassociation.org

- e-mail: research@doanefamilyassociation.org

Contact details

For further information, contact:

Mr Derek Done
13 Harwood Rd,
Marlow,
Buckinghamshire
SL7 2AR
UNITED KINGDOM
E-mail:

This page last updated 13 January 2012.

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Profiles of other one-name studies registered with the Guild may be found here.