Show ContentsWaybright History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Waybright is tied to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of England. It comes from Wigburh, a feminine name meaning "war-fortress." It was recorded once in 901 (as a personal name) and did not appear again until the 12th century. The record of the name from the 12th century is from Suffolk, where Wyburgh was recorded in church records in Bury, sometime between the years 1182 and 1211. This makes this name a metronymic vernacular name. The vernacular or regional naming tradition is the oldest and most pervasive type of metronymic surname. According to this custom, names were originally composed of vocabulary elements from the local language. Vernacular names that were derived from ancient Germanic personal names have cognates in most European languages. For example, the court of Charlemagne (742-814) was Christian and Latin-speaking, but the Frankish dialect of Old German was commonly used for personal names. Vernacular names were widespread throughout Normandy. Accordingly, many typical English and French names are in fact, originally of Germanic origin and often have cognates in other European countries.

Early Origins of the Waybright family

The surname Waybright was first found in Devon where they held a family seat from ancient times, some say before the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Early History of the Waybright family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Waybright research. Another 67 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1461 is included under the topic Early Waybright History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Waybright Spelling Variations

Only 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 Waybright has undergone many spelling variations, including Wybrew, Wibbery, Wybbery, Whybrew, Whybrow, Wyebrough, Wybrow and many more.

Early Notables of the Waybright family

More information is included under the topic Early Waybright Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Waybright migration to the United States +

To 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 Waybright were among those contributors:

Waybright Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Hans Martin Waybright, aged 17, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1732 1

Contemporary Notables of the name Waybright (post 1700) +

  • H. C. Waybright, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for West Virginia State Senate 14th District, 1928 2
  • Edgar W. Waybright, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Florida, 1928, 1952 (alternate) 2


  1. 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)
  2. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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