Doody Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Doody Family History

Doody Family History

The family history of the ancient name Doody was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. The names Doody, Dowd, O'Dowd, Dowda and Duddy are all derived from the Gaelic O'Dubhda sept that was located in Counties Sligo and Kerry. This sept name is taken from the word 'dubh' meaning 'black'.

A sept or clan is a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. It is also the case that many Irish septs or clans that are related often belong to a larger groups, sometimes called tribes. For example the 'Tribes of Galway' consisted of fourteen distinct families. The 'Tribes of Kilkenny' were ten families, etc.

The sept traces its descent from Fiachra, brother of the famous 'Niall of the Nine Hostages', through Daithi, the last pagan King of Ireland. For centuries they were the leading sept of the northern Ui Fiachrach. The name has been well represented in its original homeland throughout the centuries up to the present day. A quite distinct minor sept of O'Dubhda was located in County Derry. Modern ancestors of this sept in Ulster are usually called Duddy. The Doody family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Doody descendants.