My last name is Doughty. Can anyone tell me where i can find out where my name is from?

Question

I dont know anyone on my dads side. I want to know what country it is from. i iknow my moms side is german, but i want to konw my dads side. Thanks!

Answer 1

your english and your coat of arms is on the link

Answer 2

Normally, I check the 1880 census for leads on origins, because it has the first records showing both birth place for the person, but also for the parents.  Between 1850 - 1880, you'll find only for the person, and nothing in the census prior to 1850.  

Based on that.. I looked for the OLDEST men in 1880 and where were their parents born? There is a huge cluster of the name in New York, Pennsylvania, some in Vermont.. all of those indicate the name was there prior to 1800.  Meaning.. these origins have to come from other records.  

I also find a few men named Doughty born in England; at least one born in Ireland.  That supports the other answers.

Not knowing anyone on dad's side is not going to keep you from getting info, because research comes from records. For example.. if you can identify dad's father, and if he was in the US before 1930, then you can usually pick him up in the census and work it back.  Many people here do census lookups, or you can get a free trial with ancestry. Serious researchers feel that the fee is well worth it.

The bottom line is that dad's ancestry depends on the actual place of birth for his ancestor.  This is NOT always the same as where a name originates. As you already see.. names are not limited to one country. The probability is England.. but this is not a guarantee.

We'd love to entice you into research.  

http://rwguide.rootsweb.ancestry.com/

You may want to take a few minutes to browse this guide. There are literally thousands of sites online to work with, plus other info off the internet.

Answer 3

This is what www.ancestry.com has to say about the name,

Doughty Name Meaning and History

English and Scottish (also established in Ireland, especially Dublin): nickname for a powerful or brave man, especially a champion jouster, from Middle English doughty, Old English dohtig, dyhtig ‘valiant’, ‘strong’.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

According to "SearchAncestors.com", Doughty is of British roots and means brave and strong.. Your last name is a word used in old english! I hope that this helped!

- Lei Ying Lo <3