Wyeth History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The name Wyeth arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name Wyeth comes from Guyat, a pet form of the Old French given name Guy. 1

Early Origins of the Wyeth family

The surname Wyeth was first found in Sussex though the name "has gone through the various forms of Wyat, Wiat, Wyot, and Guyot, or Guiot. The last-named three are used indifferently in the time of King John, and clearly prove the derivation of the name as a diminutive, from the Norman-French personal name Gui or Guido, which we have also received in the form of Guy. The name Guyatt is still found in West Sussex." 2

Another noted source provides early entries for the name as a forename: Wiot de Acham in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1192; Wioth de Cratella in Northumberland (no date given); Gwiot in the Curia Regis Rolls for Gloucestershire in 1203; and Wyot in the Assize Rolls for Yorkshire in 1219. 3 Rolling back to earlier spellings as a surname, Reaney notes Thomas Guyot in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1295 and Henry Guyot in the Subsidy Rolls for Somerset in 1327.

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 proved the widespread use of the name both as a forename and surname: Ayote uxor Wyot, Shropshire; Henry Wyot, Cambridgeshire; Wyott le Carpentier, Buckinghamshire; and Wyot de Dudelebury in Shropshire. 4

There are scat records of the name in Scotland as Black notes "Maucolum Wyet of county Anegos rendered homage, 1296. Nothing more is known of him. James Vyot, Wyot, or Wyat, [was] burgess of Arnbroath, in record 1461-1468." 5

Early History of the Wyeth family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wyeth research. Another 167 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1460, 1503, 1506, 1509, 1513, 1521, 1536, 1537, 1542, 1543, 1550, 1554, 1588, 1616, 1623, 1624, 1644, 1663, 1685, 1731, 1746 and 1813 are included under the topic Early Wyeth History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wyeth Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Wyeth are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Wyeth include Wyatt, Wyat and others.

Early Notables of the Wyeth family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Joseph Wyeth (1663-1731), was an English Quaker writer, son of Henry and Sarah Wyeth, born on 19 Sept. 1663 in the parish of St. Saviour, Southwark. 6

Wyeth 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:

Wyeth Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Robert Wyeth, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840 aboard the ship Cuba

Contemporary Notables of the name Wyeth (post 1700) +

Andrew Newell Wyeth (1917-2009), American painter and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
John Wyeth (1834-1907), American co-founder with his brother Frank of Wyeth, a pharmaceutical company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1860, now owned by Pfizer
Nathaniel C. Wyeth (1911-1990), American mechanical engineer and inventor of the recyclable PET plastic bottle used for carbonated liquids
Newell Convers "N.C." Wyeth (1882-1945), American artist and illustrator from Needham, Massachusetts
James Browning Wyeth (b. 1946), contemporary American realist painter, son of Andrew Wyeth, and grandson of N.C. Wyeth
Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth (1802-1856), American inventor, ice harvester, explorer and trader
Nathaniel J. Wyeth, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Richmond County, 1867 7
Margaret Wyeth, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Missouri, 1932; Member of Republican National Committee from Missouri, 1937 7
Mabel B. Wyeth, American Republican politician, Candidate for Presidential Elector for New Hampshire, 1940 7

Historic Events for the Wyeth family +

RMS Titanic

Mr. James Robert Wyeth (d. 1912), aged 26, English Greaser from Southampton, Hampshire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 8

St. Francis Dam

Mr. Joseph B. Wyeth, American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928

The Wyeth Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Duriora virtus
Motto Translation: Virtue tries harder things.

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
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)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html