O'Dubhain or DeVane
Searles O'Dubhain
Devane, O'Dubhain, Ó Dubháin):
First of all, it is spelled and pronounced in a variety of ways in both
English and Irish. Sometimes the "v" is capitalized and sometimes not. When
I spell my name in English, I capitalize it as "DeVane." Others where I was
born spell DeVane as Devane. Most folks understand they're the same name (in
fact some folks think it's uppity to use a capital "V"). I'm thinking to put
up a webpage with additional information. That way I can also post the
images that are available for those who have further interest. It's spelled
with a small "v" in my great x 6 grandfather's will (I have a photocopy from
the library archives that I'll probably scan for the webpage).
Here's a link to the Devane chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution,
which is named for my great x 5 grandfather (where the spelling is also with
a small "v"):
http://www.flssar.org/fl-deva.htm
In Irish, the "fada" sometimes is used and sometimes not and the "bh"
sometimes is pronounced as a "v" and other times as a "w" (or it is almost
silent).
My family history has a lot of gaps in it but Ireland is the only place
where I've seen the name "Devane" or "DeVane" used outside of the New World
(Americas and Australia/New Zeeland). I've seen it spelled both ways in
America and in Ireland so this variance in spelling goes back a long way! :)
The earliest references to Devanes in Ireland are found in the annals for
the 9th century CE where a Margaret Devane is the abbess of Kildare. In
Keating's History of Ireland the Devanes are said to be lords of Knowth
(Cnogba) and Slane. As Old Irish families of the Pale, Devanes moved to the
west during the Norman Conquest. Many are found in County Kerry and on the
Dingle peninsula nowadays.
My original ancestor in the Americas is Thomas Devane who married a French
woman, Margaret de Conde, while fighting for her uncle in France (as was
common for many Irish of the 17th and 18th centuries CE). They came to
North Carolina in the early years of the 18th century, settling near
Wilmington at the confluence of the Cape Fear and the Black rivers. I found
this to be appropriate for a person whose name has the root of "dubh" (or
black) in Irish.
Here's some additional Irish material on the family name:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlkik/ihm/irenames.htm
Ó Diubháin - Duane or Devane - Co Galway - erenaghs of Killursa
Ó Diubháin - Dwane, Devane or Duane - Co Meath - of Knowth
Ó Diubháin - Dwane, Devane or Duane - Co Cork - Corcu Laiodhe
http://www.hoganstand.com/general/identity/lists/d.htm
Devane
O Dubháin, the black one. Divane in Kerry, Devane is usually associated with
Connacht.
http://www.failteromhat.com/clonlds.htm
Ballyduvana: Baile Ui Dhubhain-The town of Dubhan (Devane).
http://www.devanesfarmhouse.com/
http://www.moorings.ie/newyear2.htm
(see John Devane playing the "old year")
Other spellings:
http://www.geocities.com/edgarbook/names/d/dewayne.html
Dewayne
Gender: Masculine
Language: English
Etymology and History:
Dewayne began use as an alternative form of the Irish name Duane, or Dwayne.
Duane is the Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name Dubhán (or it s
surname Ó Dubháin), from "dubh" meaning "Black."
Later, Dewayne was probably taken as the prefix "de" added to the popular
name Wayne. Wayne is an Old English surname. It means "Wagon-Maker," from
"waegn" (wagon).
Please see Duane, or Wayne for more information.
Pronunciation: dee-wayn, duh-wayne.
Duane
Gender: Masculine
Language: English, Irish
Etymology:
Duane is the Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name Dubhán (or it s
surname Ó Dubháin), from "dubh" meaning "Black."
History:
Duane reached its peak of popularity during the mid-twentieth century,
helped along by the trend for Gaelic names.
Pronunciation: dwain.
Alternates: Dwayne, Dwain.
See also: Dwayne.
http://www.ajmorris.com/dig/toc/meares.htm
In Ptolemy's time County Meath was the territory of the Eblani, whose
control extended to present day Dublin and Kildare as well. In ancient times
Ireland was divided into five provinces, rather than the four of the modern
island, and Meath (along with Westmeath) formed the fith province, known
variously as Mithe, Methe, Media, Midia, etc. The area encompassed by County
Meath was called Oireamhoin meaning "the eastern country." The O'Reilly clan
dominated in the west part of the county, and the rest was divided amongst
many smaller clans or septs, including O'Loughnane, Fleming, Netterville,
O'Mulholland, O'Devane, Darcy, Dillon, Cusack, Preston, Dowdall, Plunkett,
O'Kelly, McGogarty, Fagan, Hussey, and O'Connolly.
*** end of quoted material ***
My grandmother DeVane was an O'Neal on her father's side and a Griffin on
her mother's side of the family. My other grandmother was a Draffin. These
are three Irish lines in addition to that of Devane. The other lines are
Norman French and British.
I'm proud of the many different cultural heritages that make up the worlds
of my ancestors. I'm particularly proud of the French and Irish heritage
and connections they provide. Whenever I do anything in this life, I'm
always aware that I have a responsibility to them to honor that heritage and
to attempt excellence with fairness in everything I do.
Now as to my spelling of Searles as a given name this is my variation of the
Irish spelling of Charles. It's actually most often spelled as Séarlas in
Irish. I prefer Searles as most English speakers seem to understand that
better and when I started using the name online about 13 years ago, the fada
above the "e" (é) was difficult to type or even use. It's still easier to
just type the "e." The last "e" is left there as a carry over from English
spellings as otherwise English speakers would be thinking that it was
sear-LASS instead of CHARL-es.
Hopefully, sharing these facts about my name and family history hasn't been
too much of a trial for you to read. It seemed to be necessary in this
particular Internet environment where spin and even distortion are sometimes
the rule rather than clarity and forthrightness.
Searles O'Dubhain (Charles DeVane)
Jim
family names and history can be. My Irish relatives got off the boat in
New Orleans in 1835 totally illiterate. The guy on the dock wrote the
name phonetically and we were stuck with that for years, before we
connected with family back in Ireland.
I always thought De Vane sounded French.
Jim
Daibhaid O'Broder
> Interesting. Thanks for providing this. I realize just how complicated
> family names and history can be. My Irish relatives got off the boat in
> New Orleans in 1835 totally illiterate. The guy on the dock wrote the
> name phonetically and we were stuck with that for years, before we
> connected with family back in Ireland.
>
> I always thought De Vane sounded French.
>
> Jim
Surnames are like that. My clan is Brodie, my families surname within
the sept is O'Broder, formally spelled Uh Bruadhair. Upon our arrival in
1963 my father's name was Anglianized from Sean to John and mine from
Daibhaid to David on their forms, but while my father accepted his
change, I refused and refuse to accept mine and am working now to change
that back to the original. My father's surname _is_ Hicks as Dan
intimated but for personal reasons I have chosen the clan surname for
myself in mundane and list matters.
And yes, without knowing the etymology of a name it is amazing as to
what actually is within the same. Your's for instance in some circles is
noted as James or Seamus in Ireland.
Daibhaid
Jim
Local Druids call me Seamus.
Searles O'Dubhain
same) name:
http://devanfamily.us/Devan_Family.html
http://devanfamily.us/CelticTiger/Ireland_Scenes.html
I was particularly impressed with how the sites owner had researched the
various spellings of the family name in Irish and in English. I also enjoyed
his trip to Ireland and the many pictures that were included.
Searles
moi
discussion.
1) I doubt that most Irish people in 1835 were totally illiterate. Literacy
levels in early times are often disparaged today however the reality is that
most people in Western Europe were more or less literate (to a functional
degree) since at least medieval times - as Terry Jones (of Monty Python fame
but equally a renowned historian) has recently asserted. In the case of
Ireland peasants were much more literate than might be assumed, the country
had the phenomenon of the hedge schools where children would be taught a
wide range of subject matters, often including Latin and Greek. The reality
is that the ancestor probably was illiterate in English, which is not the
same thing as being illiterate!
2) The changes in name from Ó Dubháin to Devane/De Vane etc is quite common
and indeed there are examples of translating the elements in the name and
sometimes mistranslating them to end up with an English sounding name. In
modern Ireland it is not unusual for someone to use the Irish form in Irish
and the English form in English and Irish Government allows a passport to be
issued in either form of the name provided that they are actually forms of
the name - so for example I could have a passport in the name of Mag
Ualghairg (as indeed I do have) or in the name of McGoldrick depending on
which ever version I wish to use!
3) The spelling of names changes from time to time but doesn't affect the
relationship of the members of the family, so using De Vane and Devane
doesn't indicate anything other than personal taste. It is only in recent
history that we have got so hung up on spelling in English (although we
actually have to main systems - the correct one and the one that Americans
use :-) ). My mother's family used to be Tennison and then they started to
be Tennyson this doesn't signify a change in their relationship to any other
family but that the Tennyson spelling had become popular, probably due to
the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. As it happens it is highly likely that we
are in fact distantly related to the poet (very distantly!!) and that the
normal spelling was Tennison at one time.
4) The use of Irish names was illegal in Northern Ireland until the mid
eighties which means that a lot of people who were called 'séamas' were
technically known as 'James' (as was the case of one of my uncles). This
means that the forms of names that were officially registered do not always
correspond to those used in day to day life by those people - although they
would have used the English form for official purposes.
I find all the stuff about Searles's family name to be very interesting and
thought provoking!
Muiris
Searles O'Dubhain
"moi" <m...@moi.net> wrote in message
news:LSwge.1660$sE4...@newsfe3-gui.ntli.net...
The Spelling of names is only important when the memories of the elders are
compromised. My grandmother was a person who had a wonderful memory for
family names and histories and some of what she knew was recorded by my
uncle. Unfortunately, I was too young when she passed to learn much from her
(other than a love of family and a way of looking at the world). Today,
memories are a matter of writing and electronic devices. One hopes that
these tools will help families to recover or retain their histories and
linkages but often more than spelling of names needs to be considered. The
historical records of wills, births, deaths, business dealings, land deeds,
military service and ship logs also need to be investigated. It would be so
much simpler to have a person who inherited this knowledge simply recite it.
:-(
The English system attempted to destroy the Irish language and its
traditions for hundreds of years. It is to the memory of elders and the
efforts of scholars, scribes and Churchmen that we should give thanks that
much has survived.
Searles
ric....@gmail.com
As an added note, my original family name was Davern, also a derivative of Dubhain. John Davern's family, including my third Gr Gf Talcot, are listed in the history of Fairfield, CT. Talcot changed it to Devan, probably because he couldn't read or write, and the names sounded similar in Irish. Dubhain would have been pronounced 'duh-vahn' in Celtic/Irish. 'bh' has a 'v' sound. In many cases the spelling of names was at the mercy of census takers, especially if people, such as Talcot and his son Erastus, couldn't read or write. Erastus eventually learned to read and write and became a lawyer and businessman in NE Ohio.
kde...@cox.net
ambermu...@gmail.com
Colonel Edmund J. Burke
> I've heard similar information recently by my mother who researched my paternal lineage, DeVane. We grew up connected to North Carolina as the heaven of the DeVane family, and my father's birthplace. I've even seen the family members with more if the French influence and then those of us with the black Irish. Do you attend the DeVane reunion?
>
odubh...@gmail.com
> I've heard similar information recently by my mother who researched my paternal lineage, DeVane. We grew up connected to North Carolina as the heaven of the DeVane family, and my father's birthplace. I've even seen the family members with more if the French influence and then those of us with the black Irish. Do you attend the DeVane reunion?
Searles
