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Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: Stevie8485 on Monday 23 December 24 09:05 GMT (UK)
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Having discovered that DUNN is a surname found in Denmark (FamilySearch), and Denmark showing in my autosomal DNA test (Ancestry and FTDNA) and no place of birth for my 3 x g grandfather Dunn (approx dob 1780's), I am very interested to discover how Dunns were in Denmark in at least the 1800's and presumably earlier.
Can anyone suggest how I might research that question? I really can't think where I might start or who the body might be to probe.
I attach a small sample of the FamilySearch births 1st page. :-\ :)
Thank you.
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Danishfamilysearch.com
a free to use site, census church books emigration,
have you looked at this site,
one chap named Anders Dunn aged 84 , death recorded in 1835,
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Seems like you wish to spend the next few years on a study of anyone in Denmark who happens to be called DUNN.
Why?
You have only flimsy evidence that they have any connection to you.
Maybe you should start by seeing if there is a One Names Study for that surname.
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Have you exhausted all of the records in Britain and Ireland? Parish records, census, wills, landholding, military, legal records, taxation, etc?
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Hello - thank you both for both your consideration and responses.
I think my question/point of how do I research this, is really not who is my (possible) ancestor but more, how come?, as there were apparently many, many Dunns in Denmark going back in time but the general theme in the UK is always that Dunns came from Ireland/Scotland originally, no mention of Scandinavian countries - so how does Denmark arrive at having a very healthy Dunn population - and who to ask.
The name just isn't typically Danish when compared to all the dottirs and sons/sens.
Thank you
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Danishfamilysearch.com
a free to use site, census church books emigration,
have you looked at this site,
one chap named Anders Dunn aged 84 , death recorded in 1835,
I will look at this site, thank you.
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Have you exhausted all of the records in Britain and Ireland? Parish records, census, wills, landholding, military, legal records, taxation, etc?
I have nothing beyond some census records, occupation and death to go on. He just appears to 'arrive', a fully fledged adult but with no background. It is certainly worth considering if there is something more in the way of a direction.
It isn't that I think he was Danish, as such, but with the DNA I think understanding how come there are Dunns in Denmark could be useful, since it does not look to be typically Danish as a surname. Thank you.
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Two problems that I can see here. Firstly is the assumption that ethnicity origins are accurate. There are many posts here which query the results from not just Ancestry but other companies. Quite simply they are estimates and subject to change based on the test samples available at the time.
Secondly, often surnames found in different countries may sound and even be spelt the same but have completely different origins. To give an example, I live in Ireland and my mother's maiden name is pronounced very, very similar to an Irish surname although the spelling is different.
However, the name is actually German and adopted by one of my ancestor (born as the result of a morganatic marriage) in the late 1600s. Further generations, and branches, changed the spelling every generation or two. The current spelling of my mother's surname only dates back to her grandfather.
Not sure how reliable this site is but might be worth taking a look at-
https://forebears.io/surnames/dunn
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I think it would be worthwhile exploring the contention that Dunn/e does not look like a 'typically Danish surname'. The Danes had words that have come from the German. Dunn, with an umlaut over the 'u' is a German word. (Thin)
Schleswig-Holstein that joins Denmark & Germany to the north has been part of Germany/German States at times. There was much journeying to and from Denmark/Germany and this took palce irrespective of the political boundaries at the time.
'The northern part of North Schleswig voted 70 percent to join Denmark, while the southern part voted 80 percent to remain within Germany. The northern part of North Schleswig thus became part of Denmark, and the southern portion became part of Germany. The resulting Danish-German boundary in Schleswig has lasted to the present day and is no longer a matter of contention. After World War II the German part of Schleswig was joined with Holstein to form the constituent state of the Federal Republic of Germany.' WikiBritannica
I think that it would be worthwhile tracking back as far as you can in England etc. While you may have Danish/Scandinavian origins it does not follow that it comes from the surname Dunn, unless you have proved this. It may have come from other sources particularly if you are from the north of England around the ports on the east coast.
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According to Black's Surnames of Scotland, the name Dunn has two likely origins. First from the place in Angus called Dun, secondly from the Celtic donn, meaning brown. The latter also gave rise to Dunn/Dunna/Dunne as an Old English personal name.
The Danish name might have arisen quite independently there. In addition, there were Scottish merchants and mercenaries in Scandinavian countries in the 15th - 17th centuries.
It is far more likely that your ancestor has origins in Britain which you have yet to unearth. If he did indeed come from Denmark, there is probably more likelihood of finding evidence for it here than in Denmark.
What was his occupation?
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Hi. Thank you - lots to think about there. My cousin's Ydna brings up many, many Scandinavian matches which, together with my Danish Ancestry results, made me think there was may be something in this that would justify understanding the Danish Dunn aspect.
My brother raised that point of merchants and mercenaries - they could provide dna but would they have left surnames behind them, unless they settled of course ... the point about Dunn may have arisen independently there would be worth understanding too - another contributor suggested that.
His occupation: He first appears as a stonemason and then morphs to a taxidermist from which he became an 'ornithologist'. I only know he was 'born out of County', which isn't much help. Lots of Dunns around!
Thank you again for your input, this is going to be interesting!
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Here´s Peder Dunn and Arnold Marinus
https://www.danishfamilysearch.com/cid20169330
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Here´s another. Jane Dunn
died 1965
born England 1899
married to the Wholesaler Christian Jannsen Jörgensen
22 Jan 1947 in Northumberland
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Hi Dave - thank you for passing on the details of this website, really kind of you - should be very interesting and definitely worth exploring. :)
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:) I just want to thank everyone for some really useful thoughts, ideas and research possibilities. I'll be trying to answer my question in the New Year. Thank you again. :)
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I also like to use distribution of surname maps, such as this familyearch one:-
https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/DUNN.html
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Thank you, I was just looking at a similar website 'Forebears' - I'll compare the two. I have also discovered that Dunn is an Icelandic name (it has an accent over the 'u' and in that context is actually an old Norse name) via nordicnames.de - it all just helps to build that general picture. I'm just hoping to reach some understanding of how it is we have so many Scandinavian Ydna matches.👍
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In the far reaches of my mind is the recollection of our school teacher informing us of the time the Vikings sailed down the River Humber on the east coast of England, and after pillaging and plundering demanded a ransome called "Danegeld" be paid to them regularly in order that they wouldn't attack the people again. Eventually the vikings became peacable people.
When I was young the term "gelt" (geld) was often used by my dad when he asked if my mother had any loose gelt (cash).