Contents [hide]

Wickham History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Wickham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Wickham surname is a habitation name, derived from any of various places so named.

Early Origins of the Wickham family

The surname Wickham was first found in Hampshire at Wickham, anciently spelt Wykeham, a village and civil parish which dates back to c. 925-941 when it was spelt Wicham. 1 By the time of the Domesday Book of 1086, it was listed as Wicheham. 2

William de Wycheham or Wickwane (d. 1285), was Archbishop of York and Canon and Chancellor of York. 3

This village was the birth place of William of Wykeham (c. 1320-1404), Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England. He founded New College Oxford and New College School in 1379, and later founded Winchester College in 1382. 4

The "Bishop of Winchester and chancellor of England, took his name from Wickham, near Fareham, Hampshire, where he was born in the summer of 1324. His mother, Sibill Bowade, had some gentle blood, but his father, John Long, is merely described as of free condition. They were poor, and Wykeham was sent to school at Winchester by some unnamed patrons, perhaps Sir Ralph Sutton and Sir John Scures. " 3 The place name literally means "homestead associated with a vicus (reference to its ancient Roman settlement)." 1

"[Birchanger in Essex] was given by Richard II. to William of Wykeham, for the endowment of New College, Oxford, the Warden and Fellows of which are the present proprietors." 4

The parish of Garsington in Oxfordshire was another ancient family seat. "The church [of Garsington], an ancient and venerable structure, contains some handsome monuments to the family of Wickham." 4

The Wycombe variant was first recorded in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1326 as John de Wycoumbe. 5

Early History of the Wickham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wickham research. Another 111 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1218, 1305, 1335, 1400, 1539, 1550, 1559, 1584 and 1595 are included under the topic Early Wickham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wickham Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Wickham, Wickombe, Wycombe, Wickholm, Wigham, Wickcombe, Wigholm, Wickholme, Wykham, Wyckham, Wygholme, Wiggam, Wiggham and many more.

Early Notables of the Wickham family

Distinguished members of the family include

William Wickham (Wykeham) (1539-1595), an English bishop, Bishop of Lincoln (1584-1595) and Bishop of Winchester in 1595...

Wickham Ranking

In the United States, the name Wickham is the 4,736^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 6

Migration of the Wickham family to Ireland

Some of the Wickham family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wickham migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Wickham Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Wickham, who landed in Connecticut in 1648 7
Ann Wickham, who arrived in Maryland in 1652
Xpian Wickham, who landed in Virginia in 1665 7
John Wickham, who arrived in Maryland in 1669 7

Wickham Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Moses Wickham, who settled in New York in 1713
Matthew Wickham, who settled in Virginia in 1764

Wickham Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

D L Wickham, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 7
Edward Wickham, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1856 7

Wickham migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Wickham Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

William Wickham, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1749-1752

Wickham Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Patrick Wickham, who was granted land near Freshwater, St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1839 8

Wickham migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Wickham Settlers in Australia in the 18th Century

Miss Mary Wickham, (b. 1755), aged 32, English convict who was convicted in Wilts New Sarum Quarter Sessions for 14 years for receiving stolen goods, transported aboard the "Charlotte" on 13th May 1787, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, she died in 1789 9

Wickham Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Edward Wickham, English convict from Norfolk, who was transported aboard the "Albion" on May 17, 1823, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 10
George Wickham, a glazier, who arrived in New South Wales, Australia sometime between 1825 and 1832
Henry Wickham, English convict from Somerset, who was transported aboard the "Albion" on September 21, 1826, settling in New South Wales, Australia 11
Samuel Wickham, English convict from Norfolk, who was transported aboard the "Andromeda" on November 13, 1832, settling in New South Wales, Australia 12
Mr. John Wickham, English convict who was convicted in Norfolk, Norfolkshire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Augusta Jessie" on 27 September 1834, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 13
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Wickham migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Wickham Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. William Wickham, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Euphemus" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 12th February 1857 14
Miss Sarah A. Wickham, (b. 1870), aged 4 months, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Monarch" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 6th September 1870 14
Mr. Wm. Benjamin Wickham, (b. 1842), aged 28, British millwright travelling from London aboard the ship "Monarch" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 6th September 1870 14
Mrs. Sarah Ann Wickham, (b. 1848), aged 22, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Monarch" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 6th September 1870 14
Miss Mary P. Wickham, (b. 1868), aged 2, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Monarch" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 6th September 1870 14
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Wickham migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 15

Wickham Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Alice Wickham, who arrived in Barbados in 1679
Joseph Wickham, who settled in Barbados in 1685

Contemporary Notables of the name Wickham (post 1700) +

John Wickham (1763-1839), American Loyalist and attorney, represented Vice-President Aaron Burr at his treason trial
William Wickham (1761-1840), English politician, eldest son of Henry Wickham of Cottingley in Yorkshire, a colonel in the 1st foot guards 16
Glynne Wickham (1922-2004), English (South African born) Professor of Drama University of Bristol
John Wickham (1950-2023), British co-founder of Spirit Racing was a racing car constructor and racing team, founded in 1981
John Adams Wickham (b. 1928), United States Army Chief of Staff (1983-87)
Saskia Wickham (b. 1967), British actress, best known for her role as Dr. Erica Matthews in the television drama series Peak Practice between 1996 and 1998
Jeffry Wickham (1933-2014), British film and television actor, father of Saskia Wickhman
John Clements Wickham (1798-1864), Captain of the HMS Beagle (the vessel previously used by Charles Darwin), conducted surveying expeditions along the Australian coastline
Henry Wickham Steed (1871-1956), British journalist and historian
Charles Wickham LaRue (1922-2006), American trombonist and jazz arranger

Historic Events for the Wickham family +

RMS Lusitania

Mrs. Nina Wickham, New Zealander 2nd Class passenger from New Zealand, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking and was recovered 17

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/charlotte
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Albion voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1823 with 200 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/albion/1823
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Albion voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1826 with 192 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/albion/1826
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 27) Andromeda voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1832 with 186 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/andromeda/1832
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/augusta-jessie
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 Jan. 2019
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/