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Willcock History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Willcock History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The Willcock surname finds its earliest origins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name is derived from William or Wilhelm. Tracing the origin of the name further, we found the name Willcock was originally derived from the Germanic elements will, meaning resolve, helm, meaning protection, and cock or cox, an affectionate or diminutive suffix commonly used in ancient times. With the additional suffix, cox, the name was taken to mean the son of little William. 1

Early Origins of the Willcock family

The surname Willcock was first found in Lancashire where one of the first records of the name was listed simply as Wilcok with no personal name in the Assize Rolls of that shire in 1246. Wilcoc was listed in the Assize Rolls of Cheshire in 1286 and William Wylecok was listed in Somerset in the Assize Rolls of 1254. Quite of few of the family were found in Yorkshire as shown by John Wilcokes who was listed there in 1316. 2

By the time of the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379, there were numerous entries for the name including those with the "son" extension: Richard Wilokson; Adam Wylkokson; Raddulfus Wycok; and Willelmus Wilkocson. 3

Further to the north in Scotland, entries for the family were later. "Adam Willicok was admitted burgess of Aberdeen in 1578, and Alexander Willicok in Fechill was bewitched in 1597. " 4

Early History of the Willcock family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Willcock research. Another 98 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1480, 1515, 1541, 1549, 1558, 1562, 1566, 1585, 1588, 1600, 1608, 1673, 1723, 1724, 1736, 1756, 1791 and 1929 are included under the topic Early Willcock History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Willcock Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Willcock are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Willcock include: Wilcox, Wilcocks, Willock, Wallock and others.

Early Notables of the Willcock family

Distinguished members of the family include

Joseph Willcocks (1673-1756), was an English divine, Bishop of Gloucester and later Bishop of Rochester. Born on 19 Dec. 1673, he was the son of Joseph Wilcocks, a physician of Bristol. His only son...

Migration of the Willcock family to Ireland

Some of the Willcock family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 39 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Willcock migration to the United States +

Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Willcock or a variant listed above:

Willcock Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Edward Willcock, who landed in Maryland in 1663 5

Willcock Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Andw Willcock, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1798 5

Willcock Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Willcock, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1864 5
George Willcock, who arrived in New York in 1870 5

Willcock migration to Australia +

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

Willcock Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Willcock, (b. 1816), aged 24, Cornish shipwright travelling aboard the ship "Formosa" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 14th July 1840 6
William Willcock, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Phoebe" in 1847 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Willcock (post 1700) +

Amy Willcock, American-born British-based cookery book writer
Kevin James Willcock (b. 1973), former English cricketer from Devon who played for Cornwall from 1993 to 1998
Clarence Henry "Harry" Willcock (1896-1952), English member of the Liberal Party, the last person in the UK to be prosecuted for refusing to produce an Identity Card
Eric George Willcock (b. 1947), Cornish former English cricketer who played from 1967 to 1987 for Cornwall
James Willcock, Canadian Genie Award winning set decorator and production designer
Alex Willcock, British designer and businessman, the founder and current CEO of Imagini
Christopher "Chris" Willcock (b. 1947), Australian Jesuit priest and one of the most prolific Catholic composers of liturgical music, awarded the Albert H. Maggs Composition Award in 1998
John Collings Willcock (1879-1956), Australian politician, 15th Premier of Western Australia (1936-1945)

Citations +

Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
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)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_bounty_nsw.pdf
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) PHOEBE 1847. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1847Phoebe.htm