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From www.HouseOfNames.com Archives copyright © 2000 - 2009
Origins Available: English, Irish, Scottish
Where did the English Wilson family come from? What is the English coat of arms/family crest? When did the Wilson family first arrive in the United States? Where did the various branches of the family go? What is the history of the family name?
The Wilson surname in England is a patronymic, created from the Medieval personal name Will. Thus Wilson means "son of Will."Spelling variations of this family name include: Wilson, Willson, Willison, Willston and others.
First found in Northern England, where the first on record appears to be Robert Willeson, listed in the Court Rolls of the manor of Wakefield, Yorkshire in 1324. Other early records include a Robert Wilson in 1341 in documents from the Cistercian Abbey of Kirkstall, Yorkshire; and John Willison in the Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire of 1366. There was a place named Wilson in Devon that has existed since at least the time of the Domesday Book.
Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Anne Wilson, a bonded passenger, who arrived in Maryland in 1724; Christopher Wilson, a Scotch prisoner sent to Boston in 1652; Daniell Wilson, a servant sent to Nevis in 1658.
For more information on the last name Wilson, the PDF Surname History is available for purchase as well as other products.
Suggested Readings for the name Wilson
- A Brief Account of the Wilsons by Emery Small Wilson.
- The DeMay Family and the Wilson Family by Ida DeMay Wilson.
- The Family of Samuel & Jean Love Wilson by Sara Stewart Hinckley.
Some noteworthy people of the name Wilson
- Olin Chaddock Wilson (1909-1994), American astronomer, stellar spectroscopist. He won the Henry Norris Russell Lectureship in 1977 and the Bruce Medal in 1984
- John Lyde Wilson (1784-1849), Democratic-Republican Governor of South Carolina from 1822 to 1824
- President Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), the twenty-eighth President of the United States
- James Harrison Wilson (1837-1925), Union Army general in the American Civil War, railroad executive, and author
- Ellen Louise Axson Wilson (1860-1914), first wife of Woodrow Wilson, First Lady of the United States from 1913 until her death
- Staci Wilson, American soccer player
- Gahan Wilson (b. 1930), American cartoonist
- Tom Wilson (b. 1931), American cartoonist
- Edmund Wilson (1895-1972), American literary critic
- Edmund Beecher Wilson (1856-1939), American zoologist
- Edward Osborne Wilson (b. 1929), American biologist and two-time winner (1979 and 1991) of the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction
- Ernest Henry Wilson (1876-1930), American botanist
- Henry Wilson (1812-1873), American politician
- James Wilson (1742-1789), American political ideologist
- Kenneth Geddes Wilson (b. 1936), American theoretical physicist
- Robert Wilson (b. 1941), American theatre-maker/director/designer
- Robert Woodrow Wilson (b. 1936), winner of the American 1978 Nobel Prize in physics for detecting microwave noise in the constellation Cassiopeia that proved to be residual radiation from the Big Bang
- Theodore Shaw "Teddy" Wilson (1912-1986), American pianist/bandleader/arranger
- Robert Woodrow Wilson (b. 1936), American astronomer awarded 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Technician Fifth Grade Alfred L. Wilson (1919-1944), who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1944
- General Louis Hugh Wilson Jr. (1920-2005), who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1944 and was 26th Commandant of the Marine Corps
- Private First Class Robert Lee Wilson (1920-1944), American Marine was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1944
- August Wilson (1945-2005), American playwright twice awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1987 and 1990)
- Lanford Wilson (b. 1937), American playwright awarded the 1980 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
- Sir Arthur Knyvet Wilson (1842-1921), English Admiral and First Sea Lord
- Sir Angus Wilson (1913-1991), South African-born English novelist
- Edward Adrian Wilson (1872-1912), English physician
- Sir Erasmus Wilson (1809-1884), English surgeon and antiquarian
- Sir James Harold Wilson (b. 1916), English Labour politician
- Harriette Wilson (1786-1855), English courtesan
- Henry Maitland Wilson (1881-1964), English soldier
- Horace Hayman Wilson (1786-1860), English Orientalist
- John Dover Wilson (1881-1969), Shakespearean scholar
- Sir Robert Thomas Wilson (1777-1849), English soldier
- Royston Warner Wilson (1900-1965), English strip cartoonist
- Thomas Wilson (1663-1755), English churchman
- Charles McMoran Wilson (1882-1977), 1st Baron Moran, most famous for being Sir Winston Churchill's personal physician, saving his life in 1943
- Colin Wilson (b. 1931), well-known British novelist
- Ian Wilson (b. 1964), Irish composer
- Sammy Wilson, Democratic Unionist Member of the British Parliament for East Antrim (b.2005)
- Prime Minister James Harold Wilson (1916-1995), Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (1916-1995), British politician, Prime Minister (1964-1970, 1974-1976)
- David Clive Wilson (b. 1935), Baron Wilson of Tillyorn, British administrator, last Governor of Hong Kong (1987-1992)
- Sir Alan Geoffrey Wilson (b. 1939), British scientist and social scientist, knighted in 2001
- Edith Bolling Galt Wilson (1872-1961), second wife of President Woodrow Wilson, First Lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921
- Charles Thomson Rees Wilson (1869-1959), Scottish pioneer of atomic and nuclear physics who received the Nobel Prize in 1927
- Sir Daniel Wilson (1816-1892), Scottish archaeologist
- Sir Henry Hughes Wilson (1864-1922), Irish soldier
- James Wilson (1805-1860), Scottish economist
- John Wilson (1785-1854), Scottish critic and essayist
- John Wilson (1804-1875), Scottish missionary
- John MacKay Wilson (1804-1835), Scottish writer and editor
- Richard Wilson (1714-1782), Welsh landscape painter
- Alexander Wilson (1766-1813), Scottish/American ornithologist
- Betty Wilson (b. 1943), British peace activist
- Finn Wilson, Scottish musician
- Captain Eric Charles Twelves Wilson (b. 1912), British soldier awarded the Victoria Cross during WWII
Tell Me More About Family Crests
Family Crests: the Heraldic Artist
We have researched the Wilson family crest in the most recognized sources. Before an artist or craftsman can render a family crest, it must exist. In other words the crest must have been designed and recorded by the heralds from time immemorial.
Heraldic designs matriculated by the lay-artist in many cases becomes uninspired, meretricious and even ugly...
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Family Crests: Timeline
Many of the symbols adopted into armory have been used since the time of the ancient Egyptians, but heraldry itself did not begin until the 11th century. In continental Europe, the most ancient recorded family crest was discovered upon the monumental effigy of a Count of Wasserburg in the church of St. Emeran, at Ratisobon, Germany...
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Family Crests: Elements
In the Wilson coat of arms as in all coat of arms the crest is only one element of the full armorial achievement. Again the Family Crest is just part of the story of Coats of Arms or Heraldry. Heraldry is defined as the hereditary art or science of blazoning, the description is appropriate technical terms of Coats-of-Arms and other heraldic and armorial insignia, and is of very ancient origin...
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Family Crests and Genealogy: how they relate
We encourage you to study the Wilson genealogy to find out if you descend from someone who bore a particular family crest. Anyone making a study of heraldry usually becomes interested in Genealogy or seeking legal claim to a particular family crest. No families, not even the royal houses, can make sound claim to the right to bear arms unless a proven connection is established through attested Genealogical records...
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Wilson Family Crest Products
Anniversary products for the name Wilson. Apparel emphasing the Wilson family crest. Armorial histories for the name Wilson. Ceramics featuring the family crest for the surname Wilson. Clip art of all the most used heraldic pieces. Coat of Arms for the name Wilson. Downloads with the family crest for the name Wilson. Family Crest for the name Wilson. Family Tree proudly displaying the Wilson family crest. Hand Painted Plaques revealing the family crest for the surname Wilson. Keychains featuring the family crest for the surname Wilson. Mouse pads revealing the Wilson family crest. New Products with the coat of arms for the name Wilson. Packages displaying the Wilson family crest. Plaques and Frames emphasing the Wilson family crest. Surname Histories for the name Wilson. Symbolism displaying the family crest for the name Wilson. Travel Mugs revealing the family crest for the surname Wilson. |
The Wilson Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Wilson Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.
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