Dones
A rare surname that most likely developed as a variant spelling of a personal or place-based name related to Done or Dunn.
The #6,971 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 64,148 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Dones is not well documented in the provided excerpts, and the historical references appear to be incidental rather than a direct dictionary entry. As a family name, it is most plausibly a spelling variant of Done, with possible links either to a nickname or to a locational name; in some cases it may also reflect assimilation from Gaelic or English forms such as Dunn or Donne. The final -s may be a late spelling addition or a patronymic-looking ending, but the exact source is uncertain.
History
The name is uncommon in modern records, which makes its history hard to trace confidently from the available evidence. The excerpts point toward comparison with Done and related forms, suggesting that Dones may have arisen as a regional spelling variant rather than an independent surname tradition. Its present-day distribution in the United States is consistent with a small number of immigrant family lines preserving an uncommon spelling.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because the historical sources here only mention the name in passing, Dones is one of those surnames whose story is often reconstructed from its near-relatives rather than from a single definitive origin note.
From the historical record
“Quatre chapons bien sejomez Lor avoit on boijois dones. Rem, du Hen., ▼. 15t08. S^oumé est le part, passé du vieux verbe séjourner ^ reposer. Le lat. subdiu, pendant le jour, a pu donner au bas-Iat. une”
— Noms de famille normands