Show ContentsWooledge History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Wooledge is one of the many names that the Normans brought with them when they conquered England in 1066. The Wooledge family lived in Kent, at Woolwich.

Early Origins of the Wooledge family

The surname Wooledge was first found in Kent where they held a family seat. The name is derived from the borough of London, which, originally the Saxon name Hulviz, at the time of the taking of the Domesday Book in 1086 by Duke William of Normandy, was held by Hamo the Sheriff, sometimes known as Hamo the Senechal (historian). It was customary amongst the Norman Barons to assign the name of the locality as a surname to a son so as to distinguish son from father. Hamo's, second son, Hamon, is most likely to be the under-tenant holding Woolwich, from his father, and conjecturally, the family are descended thusly. Wollage Green was also held, as was Woolwich Wood.

Early History of the Wooledge family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wooledge research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1313, 1524, 1598, 1621, 1625, 1640, 1668, 1700 and 1827 are included under the topic Early Wooledge History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wooledge Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Woolwich, Woolidge, Woolich, Woolidge, Woolage, Wooledge, Woledge, Woolage, Wolage, Wolledge, Worledge, Worlidge, Worllege, Worlledge, Worlage, Wolladge, Woolidge, Wollage, Wooladge, Worlych, Woolych, Woolydge, Wollydge, Warledge, Wullich, Wullidge, Wulladge, Wullage, Wooleich and many more.

Early Notables of the Wooledge family

Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wooledge Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Wooledge family

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Wooledge name or one of its variants: John, Henry, William and Mary Wooleich whom settled in Virgina in 1650; John Woliche, his wife, two sons and three daughters settled in New England in 1709 from London England..



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