Davenport Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Davenport Family History

Davenport Family History

The Davenport ancient family history was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Davenport include Devenport, Davinport and Devonport. Meaning 'of Davenport' this is a locational name from a township in the parish of Astbury, East Cheshire. This name is of Anglo-Saxon descent spreading to the Celtic countries of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts throughout these countries. Examples of such are a Thomas Davemporte who was baptised at Prestbury Church, County Chester, in the year 1594. A Richarde Davemporte was burried at Prestbury Church, County Chester, in the year 1593.

In Ireland this name and its variants were introduced into Ulster Province by settlers who arrived from England and Scotland, especially during the seventeenth century. During the 'Plantations of Ireland' in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Ireland was colonized by the English Crown with this period marking the end of Gaelic supremacy in Ireland. This period brought an influx of settlers into the country but, unlike the earlier Anglo-Norman invasion of the twelfth century that resulted in a full integration into Irish society of the new arrivals, the same never occurred with the Ulster Planters who maintained their own distinct identity.

The name has been recorded in Dublin as early as the year 1477. The O'Donndubhartaigh sept of County Tipperary sometimes adopted Davenport as the anglicized form of their name, as well as Donarty and Dunworth.The Davenport family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Davenport descendants.