Downie or Downey is a surname. There appears to be a number of sources of the Downie/Downey surname in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, with the intermittent mix in

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

. The spelling of the surname as Downie is almost unique to Scotland with minor instances in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

( Antrim). The following information on the origins of the name are taken from.

In Scotland

There are Dounie/Doune/Downie place names or hill forts or Dun in most parishes in Scotland, including

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...

, Stirling,

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

and the

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis ( gd, Eilean Leòdhais) or simply Lewis ( gd, Leòdhas, ) is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as ...

. The name may derive from any of these, or from the Barony of Downie in Angus. It is also a derivative of the Gaelic Mac Gille/Maol Domhnaich or McAldonich "son of the servant of the Lord (Sunday)" which both are anglicised to Macgildownie, Mcildownie and Gildownie (and many variations) to Downie, mainly in the parishes of

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

, western

and

In Ireland

O’Dunadhaigh is a person identified with a fort or Dun. This surname is found mostly in

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, South West

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

and

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

. The surname is often anglicised to Downey. Mac Dunadhaigh, identified with a fort or Dun, is the surname of an old

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

family.

Patronymics

The first name such as Maol Domhnaich, or Muldonich meaning the "Lord's Devotee" have been used in Scotland and may have been the precursors to the Mac variations.

Notable people

Notable people with the surname Downie include: *

Alex Downie Alexander Frank Downie, OBE, MLC (born 1945, Douglas) is a Manx politician and former marine engineer. He is a member of the Legislative Council of the Isle of Man and a former Trade and Industry Minister of the Government. He was a Membe ...

, member of the Legislative Council of the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

Allan Watt Downie Allan Watt Downie FRS (5 September 1901 – 26 January 1988) was a Scottish microbiologist involved in the eradication of smallpox. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is ...

(1901–1988), Scottish microbiologist *

Becky Downie Rebecca "Becky" Downie (born 24 January 1992 in Nottingham) is a British artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast who competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2008 and 2016 Summer Olympics. She is a double European champion (2014 and 2016) and 2014 C ...

(or Rebecca Downie), British gymnast European and world medalist * Ellie Downie, British gymnast world and European medalist *

David Downie David D. Downie (born in San Francisco in 1958) is a multilingual Paris-based American nonfiction author, crime novelist and journalist who writes most often about culture, food and travel. Biography Downie's father, a Californian from Garden ...

, American author *

David L. Downie David Leonard Downie (born 1961) is an American scholar focusing on international environmental politics and policy. He currently writes and teaches at Fairfield University. Research and writings Downie's research focuses on factors that can promot ...

, American scholar *

Dorothy G. Downie Dorothy G. Downie (1894–1960) was a Scottish botanist and forester. She is known for her research on the fungal symbionts and nutritional requirements of orchids. Biography Dorothy G. Downie graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 19 ...

(1894–1960), British botanist *

Freda Downie Freda Downie (20 October 1929 – 4 May 1993) was an English poet. Downie was born in London, growing up in the outskirts of Shooters Hill. The family were evacuated to Northamptonshire at the start of World War II in September 1939. They retur ...

(1929-1993), English poet * Gary Downie, production manager * Gord Downie (1964–2017), Canadian rock musician *

Jack Downie Jack Downie (September 1919 – 1963) was a British economist who is famous for writing ''The Competitive Process''. Nightingale discusses the "short but brilliant career" of economist Jack Downie, emphasising the importance of his theory of ''T ...

, Scottish footballer *

James Downie James Downie may refer to: * James Downie (footballer) * James Downie (cyclist) James Stewart Downie (19 July 1922 – 29 September 1995) was a New Zealand racing cyclist who represented his country at the 1950 British Empire Games in Auck ...

, 19th century footballer * James Downie (cyclist), New Zealand racing cyclist * Johnny Downie, Scottish footballer * John Wallace Downie, Scottish businessman and politician *

Kenneth Downie Kenneth Downie is a composer of brass band music. He was born in Glasgow in 1946 and educated at Greenock High School, the Royal Manchester College of Music and Durham University. He then became a specialist music teacher in schools before leavi ...

, Scottish composer *

Leonard Downie Jr. Leonard "Len" Downie Jr. (born May 1, 1942) is an American journalist who was executive editor of ''The Washington Post'' from 1991 to 2008. He worked in the ''Post'' newsroom for 44 years. His roles at the newspaper included executive editor, manag ...

, American journalist * Penny Downie, Australian actress *

Nick Downie Nicolas Jon Downie (27 May 1946 – 12 May 2021) was a British journalist and soldier. Education and early career Nick Downie was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College, at the Middlesex Hospital and Stirling Lines. One year ...

, Soldier and war correspondent * Robert Downie, Scottish soldier * Robert Downie (footballer), Scottish football goalkeeper *

Steve Downie Steve Downie (born April 3, 1987) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, Pittsburgh Penguins and Arizona Coyotes, ...

, Canadian ice hockey player *

Tyrone Downie Tyrone Downie (20 May 1956 – 5 November 2022) was a Jamaican keyboardist and pianist best known for his involvement as a member of Bob Marley and The Wailers.Foster, Chuck (1999) ''Roots Rock Reggae'', Billboard Books, , p. 66, 116 He studi ...

, member of Bob Marley and The Wailers

Places

Downie Hills The Downie Hills are a small range of hills in Angus, Scotland, approximately to the North of Carnoustie. At their highest point is the summit of Camustane Hill, where lies the Panmure Testimonial. To the east of this is a tree-lined avenue th ...

, Scotland * Downiehills, Scotland *

Downie Point Downie Point is a prominent headland located at the southern edge of Stonehaven Bay in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. (United Kingdom, 2004) From the Stonehaven Harbour, there is a panoramic view of this cliff landform, especially from the tip of Bel ...

, Scotland * Downie River, California * Downie's Loup, a Scottish waterfall

Other

Downie bodies Downie bodies, also known as a type of A-type inclusion, are a type of inclusion body associated with cowpox. They are named for Allan Watt Downie. A Downie body is different from a ''Downey cell'' which is a reactive lymphocyte In immunology, r ...

Downie's spotted leaf beetle ''Cryptocephalus downiei'', or Downie's spotted leaf beetle, is a species of case-bearing leaf beetle in the family Chrysomelidae. It is found in North America. The specific epithet ''downiei'' honors American psychologist and coleopterist Co ...

References

{{surname, Downie