Wiggington History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Wiggington family

The surname Wiggington was first found in Leicestershire at either Wigston Magna or Wigston Parva. Both parishes date back to the Domesday Book of 1086 where they were listed as Wichingestone and Wicestan, respectively. 1

Wigston Magna literally means "farmstead or estate of a man called Wicing," from the Old English Viking name + "tun." "Magna" means "great." 2

Wigston Parva literally meant "rocking-stone," from the Old English "wigga" + "stan." 2

Anther source notes that the word "Wigston" means "Wigg's (Stone) Castle. Wig, a descendant of Woden (who probably in the 3rd cent. A.D.), was an ancestor of the kings of Wessex." 3

"Wig occurs in the ancestry of Cerdic, king of the West Saxons, and Wiga is found in the Domesday of Yorkshire. Hence perhaps Wigson, Wigget, Wiggin, &c.' 4

The name is rather rare in early rolls. The source "Early London Personal Names" includes Ailmar Wigga, c. 1130, while the Pipe Rolls of Essex list Walter Wigge in 1204. 5

Early History of the Wiggington family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wiggington research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1404, 1548, 1564 and 1597 are included under the topic Early Wiggington History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wiggington Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Wigston, Wigeton, Wiggeton, Wiggstone, Wigstone, Wigton, Wixton, Wickston, Wigginton, Wiggington, Wiginton, Wigginton, Wiginston, Wigingston and many more.

Early Notables of the Wiggington family

Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wiggington Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wiggington 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:

Wiggington Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Martha Wiggington, aged 18, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bombay" in 1865 6

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 7th November 2010). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html