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Duns Family History

Duns Surname Meaning

from Duns (Berwicks) which is thought to be the place from which John Duns Scotus (see (2) below) came. The word dunce is not recorded in OED before 1527. It is derived from the name of John Duns Scotus the scholastic theologian and in the 16th century was used to denote a disciple or follower of his a schoolman a subtle sophistical reasoner.

When his system was attacked and ridiculed by humanists and reformers it came to denote ‘a blockhead incapable of learning or scholarship’ and hence a dull pedant a dullard. The surname found so soon after the death of the ‘Subtle Doctor’ in 1308 cannot have originated with any derogatory meaning.

It is presumably equivalent to ‘Duns' man’ i.e. a scholar who followed Duns Scotus's system.

Source: The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, 2016


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Where is the Duns family from?

You can see how Duns families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Duns family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Duns families were found in USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 19 Duns families living in Northumberland. This was about 58% of all the recorded Duns's in United Kingdom. Northumberland had the highest population of Duns families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Duns 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 Duns ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, Unpaid Domestic Duties was the top reported job for people in the United Kingdom named Duns. 89% of Duns women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties.

View Census Data for Duns | 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 Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    89%
  • School Teacher
    12%

What Duns family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 3,000 census records available for the last name Duns. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Duns 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 904 immigration records available for the last name Duns. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 415 military records available for the last name Duns. For the veterans among your Duns ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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What is the average Duns lifespan?

Between 1962 and 2004, in the United States, Duns life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1971, and highest in 2002. The average life expectancy for Duns in 1962 was 70, and 55 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Duns

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Duns 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.

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