Dewey Family History

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Dewey Name Meaning

Welsh: from the personal name Dewi, Welsh form of David. Anglicized form of a French Huguenot name of uncertain form and origin. Traditionally it is recorded as Douai, from a place in northern France, but it could also be from Old Norman French du we(z) ‘of the ford’, from a variant of standard French gué ‘ford’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press


Similar surnames: Newey, Dey, Mewes, Denny, Downey, Demey, Ewy, Denby, Dede, Deter

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Dewey Ethnicity Estimate

What are the common regions with the Dewey name?

These results combine data from everyone in the AncestryDNA® database with the last name Dewey. The Ancestry® ethnicity regions shown are top five most common on average for these people.

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  • England & Wales

    50%

  • Ireland & Scotland

    20%

  • Germanic Europe

    9%

  • Norway

    4%

  • Eastern Europe & Russia

    4%

Your own DNA-based ethnicity estimate will differ from what you see here. To get your personalized ethnicity estimate, order an AncestryDNA® kit.order an AncestryDNA® kit.

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Dewey Family Origin

Where is the Dewey family from?

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You can see how Dewey families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Dewey family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Dewey families were found in the USA in 1880. In 1911 there were 158 Dewey families living in Ontario. This was about 67% of all the recorded Dewey's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Dewey families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Dewey surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

View Census Data for Dewey

Dewey Family Occupations

What did your Dewey ancestors do for a living?

In 1881, a less common occupation for the Dewey family was Machinest. The most common Dewey occupation in Canada was Farmer. 23% of Dewey's were Farmers. Farmer, Laborer and Servant were the top 3 reported jobs worked by Dewey.

View Census data for Dewey | Data not to scale

  • Farmer

    23%

  • Laborer

    10%

  • Servant

    10%

  • Machinest

    6%

Census records can tell you a lot of little known facts about your Dewey ancestors, such as occupation. Occupation can tell you about your ancestor's social and economic status.

Dewey Historical Records

What Dewey family records will you find?

Census Record

There are 130,000 census records available for the last name Dewey. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Dewey census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search 1881 Canadian census records for Dewey

Passenger List

There are 9,000 immigration records available for the last name Dewey. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Dewey immigration records

Draft Card

There are 24,000 military records available for the last name Dewey. For the veterans among your Dewey ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Dewey military records

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Dewey Life Expectancy

What is the average Dewey lifespan?

Between 1941 and 2004, in the United States, Dewey life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1950, and highest in 1997. The average life expectancy for Dewey in 1941 was 66, and 74 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Dewey

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Dewey ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

Famous Dewey Family Ancestors

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