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From www.HouseOfNames.com Archives copyright © 2000 - 2008

Origins Available: English, Irish, Scottish

Where did the Scottish Wilson family come from? What is the Scottish 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 ancient Viking-Scottish name Wilson is derived from the personal name William, and means "son of William" or "son of Wil."

Intuition and sound were the primary sources medieval scribes used to judge appropriate spellings and translations for names. The spelling of a name thus varied according to who was doing the recording. The different spelling variations of Wilson include Wilson, Willson, Wilsone, Wulson, Wilsoun and others.

First found in Berwickshire, where the Wilson family held a seat from ancient times.

In their new home, Scots found land and opportunity, and some even fought for their new freedom in the American War of Independence. Some, who remained loyal to the crown went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. In this century, the ancestors of both of these groups have begun recovering their illustrious national heritage through clan societies and other Scottish historical organizations. Early immigration and passenger lists indicate many people bearing the Wilson name: John Wilson, who settled in Virginia in 1623; Christopher Wilson, a Scotch prisoner sent to Boston in 1651; Andrew Wilson, who arrived in New England in 1651.

Motto Translated: He conquers, who conquers himself.

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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Finn Wilson, Scottish musician
  • Sir Arthur Knyvet Wilson (1842-1921), English Admiral and First Sea Lord
  • John Lyde Wilson (1784-1849), Democratic-Republican Governor of South Carolina from 1822 to 1824
  • Charles McMoran Wilson (1882-1977), 1st Baron Moran, most famous for being Sir Winston Churchill's personal physician, saving his life in 1943
  • Sir Archibald Wilson, diplomat
  • 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)
  • Sir Angus Wilson (1913-1991), South African-born English novelist
  • 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
  • Ellen Louise Axson Wilson (1860-1914), first wife of Woodrow Wilson, First Lady of the United States from 1913 until her death
  • Edith Bolling Galt Wilson (1872-1961), second wife of President Woodrow Wilson, First Lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921
  • 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
  • Sir Henry Hughes Wilson (1864-1922), Irish soldier
  • Henry Maitland Wilson (1881-1964), English soldier
  • Horace Hayman Wilson (1786-1860), English Orientalist
  • John Dover Wilson (1881-1969), Shakespearean scholar
  • Richard Wilson (1714-1782), Welsh landscape painter
  • Sir Robert Thomas Wilson (1777-1849), English soldier
  • Alexander Wilson (1766-1813), Scottish/American ornithologist
  • Betty Wilson (b. 1943), British peace activist
  • Royston Warner Wilson (1900-1965), English strip cartoonist
  • Thomas Wilson (1663-1755), English churchman
  • Robert W Wilson (b. 1936), won 1978 Nobel Prize in physics for detecting microwave noise in the constellation Cassiopeia that proved to be residual radiation from the Big Bang
  • Technician Fifth Grade Alfred L Wilson, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1944
  • Captain Louis Hugh Wilson Jr., who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1944
  • Private First Class Robert Lee Wilson, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1944
  • 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.
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Armorial histories for the name Wilson.
Ceramics emphasing the Wilson family crest.
Clip art of all the most used heraldic pieces.
Coat of Arms for the name Wilson.
Downloads with a Wilson family crest.
Family Crest for the name Wilson.
Family Tree emphasing the family crest for the name Wilson.
Hand Painted Plaques with a Wilson family crest.
Keychains emphasing the family crest for the name Wilson.
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New Products revealing the family crest for the surname Wilson.
Packages with a Wilson coat of arms.
Plaques and Frames emphasing the family crest for the name Wilson.
Surname Histories for the name Wilson.
Travel Mugs for the Wilson family crest.
Popular Products
Armorial History With Coat of Arms
Coat of Arms & Surname History Package
Family Crest Image (jpg) Heritage Series - 300 DPI
Key-chain
Coffee Mug
Armorial History with Frame
Framed Surname History and Coat of Arms
 

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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