Wintle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The distinguished surname Wintle emerged among the industrious people of Flanders, which was an important trading partner and political ally of Britain during the Middle Ages. As a result of the frequent commercial intercourse between the Flemish and English nations, many Flemish migrants settled in Britain. In early times, people were known by only a single name. However, as the population grew and people traveled further afield, it became increasingly necessary to assume an additional name to differentiate between bearers of the same personal name. The manner in which hereditary surnames arose is interesting. Local surnames are derived from where the original bearer lived, was born, or held land. Flemish surnames of this type frequently are prefixed by de la or de le, which mean of the or from the. The Wintle family originally lived in the settlement of Wynkel in Flanders. The surname Wintle belongs to the category of habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads, or other places. Alternatively the name could have been a nickname referring to "the winkle" as in a periwinkle.

Early Origins of the Wintle family

The surname Wintle was first found in Cheshire at Wincle, a chapelry, in the parish of Prestbury, union and hundred of Macclesfield. 1 The parish dates back to c. 1190 when it was known as Winchul and literally meant "hill of a man called Wineca or by a bend," from the Old English personal name or "wince" + "hill." 2

On of the first records of the name was "Winchul" c. 1200 in East Cheshire. 3 Later, we found John le Wenchel listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1271 in Buckinghamshire. 4

"The Wintles of Gloucester and its neighbourhood probably possess an ancestor in Christopher Windle, who was incumbent of the parish of Side in 1592 (A.). The Wintles were influential Gloucester citizens last century; at the same time there was a family of the name in Long Hope. This surname may hail originally from the north, Windle being the name of a Lancashire township and Windhill of a district in the West Riding." 5

Early History of the Wintle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wintle research. Another 41 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1753, 1756, 1759, 1767, 1768, 1774 and 1814 are included under the topic Early Wintle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wintle Spelling Variations

Flemish surnames are characterized by a large number of spelling variations. One reason for this is that medieval English lacked definite spelling rules. The spellings of surnames were also influenced by the official court languages, which were French and Latin. Names were rarely spelled consistently in medieval times. Scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to specific spelling rules, and people often had their names registered in several different forms throughout their lives. One of the greatest reasons for change is the linguistic uniqueness of the Flemish settlers in England, who spoke a language closely related to Dutch. The pronunciation and spelling of Flemish names were often altered to suit the tastes of English-speaking people. In many cases, the first, final, or middle syllables of surnames were eliminated. The name has been spelled Winkler, Winkle, Windle, Winkel, Wynkler, Wynkle and others.

Early Notables of the Wintle family

Prominent in the family at this time was

Thomas Wintle (died 1814), was a Member of the University of Oxford having matriculated on 26 March, 1753, aged 15. He was a scholar, B.A. 1756, fellow, M.A. 1759, B.D. 1768, tutor, Rector of Wittrish...

Migration of the Wintle family to Ireland

Some of the Wintle 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.

Wintle migration to the United States +

Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Wintle or a variant listed above:

Wintle Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Susanna Wintle, who arrived in Maryland in 1675 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Wintle (post 1700) +

Frederick Ladd Wintle (b. 1953), American politician, former Maine politician who represented six towns and villages in Penobscot and Somerset Counties in the Maine House of Representatives
Walter Wintle, American 20th century poet, best known for his poem "Thinking"
Jack William Wintle (1908-1942), American Navy Lieutenant Commander killed November 12, 1942, posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, eponym of the USS Wintle (DE-25), an Evarts-class destroyer escort
William James Wintle (1861-1934), English journalist and writer from Gloucestershire
Francis Edward Wintle (b. 1948), English author from Salisbury, England who under his pen name Edward Rutherfurd is best known as a writer of epic historical novels which span long periods of history but are set in particular places
Justin Wintle (b. 1949), English author, editor and journalist born in London, son of film and television producer Julian Wintle, Chairman of the Bình Hòa massacre Trust Fund
Frank James Wintle (1929-2005), English footballer who played as a defender from 1949 to 1958
Ryan Frank Wintle (b. 1997), English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Cardiff City (2014-)
Professor Ann Grace Wintle, British geophysicist and is the pioneer of luminescence dating, founder of the NERC luminescence dating facility in Aberystwyth, Wales
Darryl Wintle (b. 1976), Australian rules footballer who played with Adelaide in the Australian Football League in 1999
... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. 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)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
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)