| ![Show Contents]() Wakem History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England Early Origins of the Wakem familyThe surname Wakem was first found in Devon where they were mentioned as men of great influence in the Church and public affairs. Traditionally, the Wakeman, in the ancient Saxon village before the Norman Conquest in 1066, was a man who sounded the horn during the evening to mark the time when criminal offences took on a greater penalty. The Wakeman of Ripon, Yorkshire has blown his horn faithfully every day at 9:00pm at the four corners of the obelisk in Ripon Market since 886. This "Setting the Watch" tradition is further shown by having the horn on the Arms of Ripon and again appearing on the Harrogate borough coat of arms. Early History of the Wakem familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wakem research. Another 71 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1539, 1541, 1549, 1592, 1659, 1662, 1679 and 1688 are included under the topic Early Wakem History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Wakem Spelling VariationsOnly recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Wakem has undergone many spelling variations, including Wakeman, Wakman, Wakeham, Waikham and others. Early Notables of the Wakem familyNotables of this surname at this time include: - John Wakeman (died 1549) an English Benedictine, the last Abbot of Tewkesbury and first Bishop of Gloucester
- Sir George Wakeman (died 1688), English royal physician to Catherine of Braganza, Consort of Charles II of England
Migration of the Wakem familyTo escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Wakem were among those contributors: John Wakeham settled in Salvage, Newfoundland in 1681; three brothers Wakeham, Jim, John and Ben settled in St John's, Newfoundland; Samuel and Elizabeth Wakeman settled in Nantasket, Massachusetts in 1631.
| Contemporary Notables of the name Wakem (post 1700) | + |
- Mr. Francis Wakem B.E.M., Q.P.M. (b. 1947), British Volunteer for Victim Support (Wiltshire), was appointed Medallist of the British Empire Medal 29th December 2018 for services to Victims of Crime 1
- George Wakem Lindberg (b. 1932), American jurist, Senior United States federal judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- "Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists
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