Whitchurch History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Early Origins of the Whitchurch family

The surname Whitchurch was first found in Buckingham, Devon, Glamorgan, Hereford, Oxford, Pembroke, Shropshire, Somerset, Warwickshire at Whitechurch. Literally meaning "at the White Church," it was anciently recorded as Alibum Monasterium in Latin. In many cases dated before the Domesday Book of 1086, the oldest recording was found in Hampshire where it was listed as Hwitancyrice in 909.

The Shropshire parish has an interesting note: "This place was anciently called Album Monasterium, and Blancminster, which terms have the same signification as its present name, and appear to imply the existence of a monastery. In 1211, King John assembled his forces here, prior to attacking the Welsh, on which occasion he penetrated to the foot of Snowdon, in North Wales. " 1

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list some of the first records of the family in various early spellings: William de Witchirch, Oxfordshire; and Nicholas de Withcharch, Buckinghamshire. 2

Early History of the Whitchurch family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Whitchurch research. Another 125 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1455, 1487, 1510, 1544 and 1600 are included under the topic Early Whitchurch History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Whitchurch Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Whitchurch, Whitechurch, Wittchurch, Witchurch and many more.

Early Notables of the Whitchurch family

Distinguished members of the family include

the Whitchurch family of Hampshire

Whitchurch Ranking

In the United States, the name Whitchurch is the 18,385^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Whitchurch family to Ireland

Some of the Whitchurch family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 62 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Whitchurch migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Whitchurch Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Hen Whitchurch, who arrived in Virginia in 1664 4

Whitchurch migration to Australia +

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

Whitchurch Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Whitchurch, (b. 1800), aged 18, cabinet maker who was convicted in Bristol, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Baring" in December 1818, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1882 5

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/baring