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Wakeman History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Wakeman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Wakeman family

The surname Wakeman was first found in Devon where they were mentioned as men of great influence in the Church and public affairs. Traditionally, the Wakeman, in the ancient Saxon village before the Norman Conquest in 1066, was a man who sounded the horn during the evening to mark the time when criminal offences took on a greater penalty.

The Wakeman of Ripon, Yorkshire has blown his horn faithfully every day at 9:00pm at the four corners of the obelisk in Ripon Market since 886. This "Setting the Watch" tradition is further shown by having the horn on the Arms of Ripon and again appearing on the Harrogate borough coat of arms.

Early History of the Wakeman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wakeman research. Another 71 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1539, 1541, 1549, 1592, 1659, 1662, 1679 and 1688 are included under the topic Early Wakeman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wakeman Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Wakeman family name include Wakeman, Wakman, Wakeham, Waikham and others.

Early Notables of the Wakeman family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

John Wakeman (died 1549) an English Benedictine, the last Abbot of Tewkesbury and first Bishop of Gloucester
Sir George Wakeman (died 1688), English royal physician to Catherine of Braganza, Consort of Charles II of England

Wakeman Ranking

In the United States, the name Wakeman is the 11,433^rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Wakeman migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Wakeman surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Wakeman Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Wakeman, who arrived in New England aboard the ship "Fellowship" in 1626, bound for New Haven Connecticut
Samuel Wakeman, who arrived in Nantasket, Massachusetts in 1631 aboard the ship "Lyon", bound for Roxbury
Mrs. Elizabeth Wakeman, who arrived in Nantasket, Massachusetts in 1631 aboard the ship "Lyon", bound for Roxbury 2
Samuel Wakeman, who landed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1632 3
John Wakeman, who arrived in New Haven, Connecticut in 1656 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Wakeman Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

A C Wakeman, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 3
Theo A Wakeman, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1855 3
Cephas Wakeman, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1876 3

Wakeman migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Wakeman Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Elihu Wakeman, who arrived in Canada in 1833
Ellen Wakeman, who landed in Esquimalt, British Columbia in 1862
Louisa Wakeman, who landed in Esquimalt, British Columbia in 1862
Matilda Wakeman, who landed in Esquimalt, British Columbia in 1862
Plowden Wakeman, who arrived in Esquimalt, British Columbia in 1862
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Wakeman migration to Australia +

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

Wakeman Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

William Wakeman, English convict from London, who was transported aboard the "Ann" on August 1809, settling in New South Wales, Australia 4
Mr. George Wakeman, British Convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 27th October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5
Mr. John Wakeman, English gardener who was convicted in Surrey, England for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Clyde" on 20th August 1830, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1863 6
Mr. James Wakeman, (b. 1819), aged 38, Cornish carpenter departing from Liverpool on 19th November 1856 aboard the ship "Herald of the Morning" arriving in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 1st March 1857 7
Mrs. Mary Wakeman, (b. 1817), aged 40, Cornish settler departing from Liverpool on 19th November 1856 aboard the ship "Herald of the Morning" arriving in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 1st March 1857 7

Wakeman 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:

Wakeman Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Samuel Wakeman, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Surat" in 1864

Contemporary Notables of the name Wakeman (post 1700) +

Abram Wakeman (1824-1889), American politician, U.S. Representative from New York
Sarah Rosetta Wakeman (1843-1864), American woman who disguised themselves as men to fight for the Union in the U.S. Civil War
Frederic Evans Wakeman Jr. (1937-2006), American scholar of Chinese history
Nathan Wakeman, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Seneca County, 1838 8
Lewis P. Wakeman, American politician, First Selectman of Westport, Connecticut, 1897-99, 1909-11 8
Jesup Wakeman, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Fairfield, 1820, 1823 8
Jesse Wakeman, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Weston, 1833-35 8
F. B. Wakeman, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Connecticut State House of Representatives from Fairfield, 1918 8
Eli Wakeman, American Republican politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Weston; Elected 1918 8
Austin Wakeman, American politician, First Selectman of Westport, Connecticut, 1920-22 8
... (Another 13 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's Retrieved January 6th 2023, retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
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)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Ann voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1809 with 200 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/ann/1809
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/clyde
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_australia_victoria.pdf
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html