A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Dayman family of England.
fusilTravail and industrySir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, London: Harrison & Sons, 1884
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Gu. four fusils in fesse erm”
The Dayman arms were recorded in Devon, c. 1620.
Devon was a county of small manors and seafaring families. Its gentry were spread thickly across the countryside, and money made at sea often bought an estate, which in turn brought a coat of arms.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
The body that granted and recorded arms in England in this period.
Reigning in England when the Dayman arms are first recorded.
English heraldry allowed arms to be shared by all legitimate descendants of the original owner. These symbols were treated as personal property that moved through the generations to all children. While the eldest son kept the original design, other family members could use the same shield without needing to change it or register their own unique versions.
The surname Dayman has deep roots in the English county of Devon, where members of the family were firmly established by the early seventeenth century. The name is believed to be an occupational surname, likely originating from the Middle English word "deyman," which referred to a dairy worker or a person who managed a dairy farm. During the 1600s, families in Devon were often deeply connected to the local agricultural economy, and the name would have served as a clear identifier of a person’s trade within their rural community. As the family grew, they became part of the social fabric of the region, appearing in parish registers and local land records that document their daily lives and contributions to village life. By 1620, the Dayman name was already well-integrated into the local population, reflecting a long history of labor and community involvement in the southwest of England.
Old English word for day or daylight.
