Dougherty/Dockerty/Dockwrey/Dockwray Are these surnames interchangeable?

[belfordian]

I'm posting this in Donegal section as that is where I understand these surnames originated although my people lived around Tyneside from end of 18th century.

My ancestor John Charles Dougherty born in Deptford Durham was baptised as such in 1853 but was later known as J...C...DOCKWREY. Our family always understood he changed his surname after marriage in 1878. However I have seen documentation dating before this that he and his father or grandfather used the name DOCKWREY or DOCKRAY long before 1878.

Does anyone know if these names were interchangeable? Were they pronounced differently?
I'd be grateful for any information.

[KGarrad]

It's all dependent on what the Registrar or Vicar/Priest heard.
Someone in Ireland trying to listen to a Durham accent may well have written it wrong!

The pronunciation of Dockwrey and Dockwray are probably indistinguishable to most people