« Reply #1 on: Tuesday 07 July 15 14:14 BST (UK) »
My Great Grandfather Hugh Deery
By 1901 census he had changed their surname to Adair
Hi Kate,
This looks to have been what I originally thought.....a transition from gaelic so I checked it out

"This most interesting and unusual surname is the Anglicized form of the Gaelic name "O' Daighre", which is composed of the Gaelic prefix "O", meaning "male descendant of" and the personal name "Daighre", fiery"
http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/DeeryHope this helps,
Annie
South Uist, Inverness-shire, Scotland:- Bowie, Campbell, Cumming, Currie
Ireland:- Cullen, Flannigan (Derry), Donahoe/Donaghue (variants) (Cork), McCrate (Tipperary), Mellon, Tol(l)and (Donegal & Tyrone)
Newcastle-on-Tyne/Durham (Northumberland):- Harrison, Jude, Kemp, Lunn, Mellon, Robson, Stirling
Kettering, Northampton:- MacKinnon
Canada:- Callaghan, Cumming, MacPhee
"OLD GENEALOGISTS NEVER DIE - THEY JUST LOSE THEIR CENSUS"