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Duke Family History

Duke Name Meaning

English: nickname from Middle English duk(ke) duck doke dook ‘duck’ (Old English dūce) either from a perceived resemblance (perhaps a waddling gait) or from association with wild fowling. Compare Duck Drake . English: from the Middle English personal name Duk or Duke. In northern England this is usually a pet form of Marmaduke. It may alternatively be a survival of one or more Old English personal names though it is uncertain whether they were still current in the period of surname formation. Old English Ducc(a) is attested in placenames like Duxford (Cambridgeshire) and Duckington (Cheshire) and was perhaps interchangeable with Docc attested in Doxey (Staffordshire) and Doxford (Northumberland). Duke could also represent Old English Deowuc (as in Deuxhill Shropshire). A surname from Marmaduke is on record until at least 1881 and derives from the personal name Marmaduke apparently an Anglo-Norman French pronunciation of Old Irish Maolmaedóc ‘devotee of Maedóc’; see Duckett . Americanized form of Polish Duk: nickname from dukać ‘to stammer or falter’. Americanized form (translation into English) of French Leduc or Breton Le Duc ‘the duke’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Due, Dube, Duce, Dyke, Luke, Lake, Dade, Duch, Tukes, Ducker

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Where is the Duke family from?

You can see how Duke families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Duke family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Duke families were found in USA in 1880. In 1911 there were 222 Duke families living in Ontario. This was about 52% of all the recorded Duke's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Duke families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Duke surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Duke ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Teacher were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Duke. 32% of Duke men worked as a Farmer and 13% of Duke women worked as a Teacher. Some less common occupations for Americans named Duke were Clerk and Farmer. .

View Census Data for Duke | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    32%
  • Laborer
    13%
  • Labourer
    11%
  • Clerk
    5%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Teacher
    13%
  • Stenographer
    10%
  • Servant
    10%
  • Farmer
    10%
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What Duke family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 220,000 census records available for the last name Duke. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Duke census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

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Passenger Lists

There are 17,000 immigration records available for the last name Duke. 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.

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Draft Cards

There are 48,000 military records available for the last name Duke. For the veterans among your Duke ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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What is the average Duke lifespan?

Between 1940 and 2004, in the United States, Duke life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1944, and highest in 2000. The average life expectancy for Duke in 1940 was 35, and 74 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Duke

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