Contents [hide]

Willison History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Willison History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

The Willison surname in England is a patronymic, created from the Medieval personal name Will. Thus Willison means "son of Will."

Early Origins of the Willison family

The surname Willison was first found in Northern England, where the first on record appears to be Robert Willeson, listed in the Court Rolls of the manor of Wakefield, Yorkshire in 1324. Other early records include a Robert Wilson in 1341 in documents from the Cistercian Abbey of Kirkstall, Yorkshire; and John Willison in the Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire of 1366. 1

Johannes Willeson, Adam Wyllson and Thomas Wyllson were listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 2 There was a place named Wilson in Devon that has existed since at least the time of the Domesday Book. 3

High Melton is of great significance to the family. "This parish, called in Domesday Book Middeltun, is situated on the northern acclivity of the vale of the Dearne, and comprises 1500 acres, of which 1000 are arable and pasture, and the remainder wood and plantations. The lands are chiefly the property of Richard Fountayne Wilson, Esq., whose seat of Melton Hall has extensive pleasure-grounds, tastefully laid out." 4 Langham Hall in Suffolk "is chiefly the property of the family of Wilson." 4

The name is "distributed over the whole of England, except in the region south of a line joining the mouths of the Thames and the Severn, where it is absent or rare. It is most crowded in the northern half of the country, being there numerous in all the counties, especially in the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire, the Wilsons, of Broomhead, in the West Biding, resided there from the 13th to the 18th century 5, and in Cumberland and Westmorland; but it has two centres in the southern half of the country, in Worcestershire and Cambridgeshire. It extends in force across the Scottish border, and is very numerous in the region south of the Forth and the Clyde." 6

Early History of the Willison family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Willison research. The years 1508, 1509, 1525, 1533, 1548, 1563, 1572, 1574, 1579, 1581, 1583, 1586, 1591, 1595, 1600, 1601, 1602, 1607, 1613, 1622, 1626, 1627, 1630, 1631, 1635, 1641, 1650, 1652, 1654, 1655, 1663, 1667, 1674, 1689, 1693, 1694, 1696, 1699, 1702, 1708, 1710, 1755, 1772 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Willison History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Willison Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Wilson, Willson, Willison, Willston and others.

Early Notables of the Willison family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Mr. Doctor Wilson, listed in the House of Commons Journal in 1572; John Wilson (1595-1674), an English composer, lutenist and teacher from Faversham, Kent. John Wilson (c.1591-1667), was an English Puritan clergyman who sailed aboard the Winthrop Fleet arriving in 1630 and became minister of the First Church of Boston from 1630 until his death in 1667. John Wilson (1626-1696), was an English playwright and lawyer; and Sir William Wilson (1641-1710), an English architect, builder and sculptor from Leicester. Arthur Wilson (1595-1652), was a historian and dramatist, baptised 14 Dec. 1595, was the son of...
Another 307 words (22 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Willison Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Willison Ranking

In the United States, the name Willison is the 9,485^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 7

Migration of the Willison family to Ireland

Some of the Willison family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 80 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Willison migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Willison Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Ed Willison, who landed in Virginia in 1666 8

Willison Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Anne Willison, who arrived in Virginia in 1704 8
Robert Willison, who arrived in South Carolina in 1729 8
James Willison, who arrived in Virginia in 1787 8

Willison Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

R Willison, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 8

Willison Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Alexander Willison, aged 55, who settled in America from Ayrshire, in 1904
Mr. C. L. Willison, aged 25, who landed in America, in 1904
Andrew Willison, aged 19, who landed in America from Bronghty Ferry, Scotland, in 1907
Willison, aged 23, who immigrated to the United States from Dundee, Scotland, in 1907
John Willison, aged 56, who immigrated to the United States from Derby, England, in 1908
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Willison migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Willison Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. John Willison U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 9

Willison Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

John Stephen Willison, aged 53, who immigrated to Toronto, Canada, in 1910
Beatrice Willison, aged 36, who settled in Toronto, Ont., Canada, in 1914
Frank Willison, aged 15, who settled in Toronto, Ont., Canada, in 1914
William Henry Willison, aged 49, who settled in Goodwood, Canada, in 1923

Willison migration to Australia +

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

Willison Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Walter Willison, aged 38, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Flora" 10

Contemporary Notables of the name Willison (post 1700) +

Walter Willison (b. 1947), American Tony award nominated stage actor
George Findley Willison (1896-1972), American writer and editor who specialized in American history, best known for his book Saints and Strangers, about the lives of the Mayflower Pilgrims
Brian Willison (b. 1977), American academic, former Executive Director of the Parsons Institute for Information Mapping, Geneva, Switzerland
Herbert Willison (1872-1943), English solicitor and Liberal Party/Liberal National politician
David Willison (b. 1936), English pianist
George Willison (1741-1797), Scottish portrait-painter, a son of David Willison, an Edinburgh printer and publisher, and a grandson of John Willison, Scottish divine 11
John Willison (1680-1750), Scottish divine, born at or near Stirling, where his family had been long settled and possessed considerable property 11
Jackson Dan Kingi Willison (b. 1988), New Zealand rugby union footballer, member of the New Zealand under-20 (2010) and the All Blacks (2010-)
Simon Willison, British programmer, co-founder of the social conference directory Lanyrd, co-creator of the Django Web framework
Marjorie Willison, Canadian author of books on gardening and a radio personality on CBC Radio One
... (Another 5 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

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)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
"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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
South Australian Register Monday 9th April 1855. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Flora 1855. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/flora1855.shtml
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 4 Feb. 2019