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Vickers History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Vickers History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Vickers surname is was a patronymic name meaning "son of the vicar;" or, perhaps, an occupational name for a servant of the vicar.

Early Origins of the Vickers family

The surname Vickers was first found in Durham, where they had been seated as Lords of the manor in that shire. Although there is a tradition in the family that they were descended from a Spanish Don Vicaro who entered England in the train of Queen Catharine of Aragon, this source should be seriously questioned since the family held a family seat in Durham almost 300 years before when Nickolas Vigrus (Vickers) was Steward or Governor of Tynemouth in 1295. 1

Early History of the Vickers family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Vickers research. Another 253 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1215, 1296, 1310, 1338, 1340, 1361, 1396, 1399, 1503, 1580, 1581, 1590, 1591, 1604, 1607, 1611, 1618, 1636, 1641, 1646, 1648, 1652, 1655, 1656, 1660 and 1700 are included under the topic Early Vickers History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Vickers Spelling Variations

Although the name, Vickers, appeared in many references, from time to time, the surname was shown with the spellings Vickers, Vickars, Viccars, Vicars, Vigours, Vicax and many more.

Early Notables of the Vickers family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was John Vicars (1580?-1652), English schoolmaster, poetaster, and polemic, descended from a Cumberland stock, was born in London of poor parents about 1580.Thomas Vicars (fl. 1607-1641), was an English theologian, born in 1590 or 1591, a native of Carlisle. John Viccars (1604-1660), was an English biblical scholar, elder son of Gregory Viccars of Treswell in Nottinghamshire. "His sister Helen was the wife of the dramatist William Sampson (1590?-1636?) " 2Richard Vickris (d. 1700), was an "English Quaker writer, the son...
Another 89 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Vickers Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Vickers World Ranking

In the United States, the name Vickers is the 1,294^th most popular surname with an estimated 24,870 people with that name. 3 However, in Australia, the name Vickers is ranked the 991^st most popular surname with an estimated 4,015 people with that name. 4 And in New Zealand, the name Vickers is the 763^rd popular surname with an estimated 958 people with that name. 5 The United Kingdom ranks Vickers as 570^th with 11,395 people. 6

Migration of the Vickers family to Ireland

Some of the Vickers family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Vickers migration to the United States +

Gradually becoming disenchanted with life in Ireland many of these uprooted families sailed aboard the armada of sailing ships known as the "White Sails" which plied the stormy Atlantic. These overcrowded ships often arrived with only 60 to 70% of their original passenger list, many dying of cholera, typhoid, dysentery or small pox. In North America, some of the first immigrants who could be considered kinsmen of the Vickers family name Vickers, or who bore a variation of the surname were

Vickers Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Edward Vickers, who settled in New Haven, CT in 1670
John Vickers, who landed in Maryland in 1675 7
Francis Vickers, who arrived in Maryland in 1677 7

Vickers Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Samuel Vickers, who arrived in New England in 1716 7
Samuel Vickers, who arrived in Boston in 1716

Vickers Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Vickers, who landed in St Clair County, Illinois in 1870 7
Arthur W. Vickers, aged 25, who immigrated to the United States, in 1892

Vickers Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Alfd Vickers, aged 60, who landed in America from Liverpool, in 1903
Albert H. Vickers, aged 31, who landed in America, in 1904
Annie Vickers, aged 32, who immigrated to the United States from Manchester, in 1906
Arthur W Vickers, aged 39, who settled in America from Liverpool, in 1906
Arthur Vickers, aged 23, who landed in America from Nottingham, England, in 1907
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Vickers migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Vickers Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

William Vickers, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1749

Vickers migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Vickers Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Vickers, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 4th December 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
Miss Isabella Vickers, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for life for stealing, transported aboard the "Canada" in March 1810, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. John Vickers (Edwards), British Convict who was convicted in Chester, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 5th November 1835, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land)1836 10
Mr. William Vickers, English convict who was convicted in Knutsford (Nether Knutsford), Cheshire, England for 7 years transported aboard the "Forfarshire" on 24th June 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 11
Mr. William Vickers, English convict who was convicted in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Blundell" on 13th March 1844, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 12

Vickers migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Vickers Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Vickers, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Simlah" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand in 1851 13
Mrs. Vickers, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Simlah" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand in 1851 13
Mr. S. Vickers, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Simlah" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand in 1851 13
Miss Mary Vickers, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Simlah" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand in 1851 13
Miss Louisa Vickers, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Simlah" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand in 1851 13
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Vickers (post 1700) +

Edward Vickers (1804-1897), English co-founder of Vickers, Sons & Company in 1828 that grew to be one of the largest British engineering companies that included Vickers Aircraft Company, Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd, Vickers Defence Systems and more
Squire Joseph Vickers (1872-1947), American chief architect of the New York City subway system, according to The New York Times, he was an "underground Renaissance man"
Lawrence Blanchard Vickers Jr. (b. 1983), American NFL football fullback for the Dallas Cowboys
George Vickers (1801-1879), American politician, United States Senator from Maryland
Harry Franklin Vickers (1898-1977), American inventor and industrialist, known as the "Father of Industrial Hydraulics"
Brian Vickers (b. 1983), American stock car driver
David Vickers, American politician, U.S. Consul in Matanzas, 1884 14
Mrs. Dan Vickers, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Wisconsin, 1936; Member of Wisconsin Democratic State Central Committee, 1954 14
Carl B. Vickers, American Democratic Party politician, Chair of Fayette County Democratic Party, 1961-63 14
Bartus Vickers, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Maryland, 1952 14
... (Another 21 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Vickers family +

HMS Hood

Mr. Herbert G Vickers (b. 1903), English Chief Petty Officer Cook serving for the Royal Navy from Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 15

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel-and-experiment
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/canada
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1835
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/forfarshire
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/blundell
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm