Show ContentsWiard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Norman Conquest of England of 1066 added many new elements to the already vibrant culture. Among these were thousands of new names. The Wiard name is derived from Guyat, a pet form of the Old French given name Guy. [1]

Early Origins of the Wiard family

The surname Wiard was first found in Sussex though the name "has gone through the various forms of Wyat, Wiat, Wyot, and Guyot, or Guiot. The last-named three are used indifferently in the time of King John, and clearly prove the derivation of the name as a diminutive, from the Norman-French personal name Gui or Guido, which we have also received in the form of Guy. The name Guyatt is still found in West Sussex." [2]

Another noted source provides early entries for the name as a forename: Wiot de Acham in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1192; Wioth de Cratella in Northumberland (no date given); Gwiot in the Curia Regis Rolls for Gloucestershire in 1203; and Wyot in the Assize Rolls for Yorkshire in 1219. [3] Rolling back to earlier spellings as a surname, Reaney notes Thomas Guyot in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1295 and Henry Guyot in the Subsidy Rolls for Somerset in 1327.

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 proved the widespread use of the name both as a forename and surname: Ayote uxor Wyot, Shropshire; Henry Wyot, Cambridgeshire; Wyott le Carpentier, Buckinghamshire; and Wyot de Dudelebury in Shropshire. [4]

There are scat records of the name in Scotland as Black notes "Maucolum Wyet of county Anegos rendered homage, 1296. Nothing more is known of him. James Vyot, Wyot, or Wyat, [was] burgess of Arnbroath, in record 1461-1468." [5]

Early History of the Wiard family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wiard research. Another 167 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1460, 1503, 1506, 1509, 1513, 1521, 1536, 1537, 1542, 1543, 1550, 1554, 1588, 1616, 1623, 1624, 1644, 1663, 1685, 1731, 1746 and 1813 are included under the topic Early Wiard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wiard Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Wyatt, Wyat and others.

Early Notables of the Wiard family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir Henry Wyatt (1460-1537), an English courtier from Yorkshire; and his son, Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542), an early English language poet and statesman, knighted by Henry VIII in 1536; Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger (1521-1554), an English rebel leader during the reign of Mary I of England; his rising is traditionally called "Wyatt's rebellion"; George...
Another 63 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wiard Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Wiard family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Wiard or a variant listed above were: Sir Francis and Lady Margaret Wyatt, who settled in Virginia in 1621; George Wyatt, who arrived in Virginia in 1662; Christopher Wyatt, who settled in Barbados with his servants in 1680.


Contemporary Notables of the name Wiard (post 1700) +

  • Tucker Wiard (1941-2022), American five-time Primetime Emmy Award winning television editor, known for Murphy Brown (1988), The Carol Burnett Show (1967) and The Scarlet Letter (1979)


The Wiard Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Duriora virtus
Motto Translation: Virtue tries harder things.


  1. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  4. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  5. 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)


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