Question My last name is Daniel, however, my ancestry includes Keatons, Allen, Stewart,
Laverty, Wallis and Hankins and I am sure many more. I have not been able to
find out if Daniel is Scottish, Irish, English or Welsh. Can you help me out? I
believe the Daniels came to Brunswick County, Virginia in the early 1700s.
Answer Hi Sherman,
Thanks for the question. It is really hard to tell you much from the information you gave me. The surname Daniel as you know is a popular name in Wales, England, and Scotland, as well as France where it dates from the 12th century. In Scotland, they seem to have originally settled around the Sussex area, where seated with manor and estates. If your name is derived from the Gaelic name MacDhomnul it might have been translated to Donald or Daniel as far back as the late Middle Ages.
You are going to have to search your ancestors back at a good genealogy library. Try to find out when and on what ship they travelled to America (I am assuming you are from the United States). Try various spellings of the name to get the country of origin. Use the Census to trace back your family and the Social Security Death index.
It will be a long and arduous project but I am sure you will find your answers. I would use your other family names to find marriages and news articles of the marriages to find more relatives to give you more of a guide.
