SurnameDB – The Internet Surname Database

Underlined words are explained in our glossary.

Double-barrelled surnames, usually created following a marriage between two families, have no overall meaning as a unit, but the separate parts have their own meaning and derivation. In this instance, de'-Ancy is of French origin from a place in Calvados, Normandy, called Anizy, recorded in 1155 in the form "Anisie". The placename is believed to derive from the Gallo-Roman "Anitius", with the local "acum", enclosure, settlement. The name was introduced into England after the of 1066, and has the distinction of being first recorded in the Book. Other early recordings include: Richard Danesi, (Kent 1210), and Roger Anesye, (Wiltshire, 1236). In the modern idiom the surname has a number of spellings ranging from De'-Ancy, Danc(e)y, and Dansey to Dauncey, Dansie and Densey. The surname Willis is a form of the male given name Will, itself a of William, the form of the personal name "Guillaume", from the "Willhelm", composed of the elements "wil", will, desire, plus "helm", helmet, protection.

List Ancestral records for:- de'-Ancy Willis

One, Walter Willys was recorded in the 1327 of Staffordshire, and on October 1st 1598 the marriage of Alexander Willis to Jane Smalwood took place at St. Dunstan's, Stepney, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de Anesi, which was dated 1086, in the Domesday Book for Hampshire, during the reign of King William 1st, William the Conqueror, 1066-1087. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as . Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
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