Wyther History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancient Anglo-Saxon surname Wyther came from the Old Norse personal name Vidarr, which means, wide messenger. Wyther is a patronymic surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Many patronyms were formed when a son used his father's personal name as a surname, while others came from the personal names of famous religious and secular figures. In this case, the surname was originally derived from the given name of an ancestor of the bearer. The name could also have been derived from the Anglo Saxon Wihthere, meaning "a courageous warrior" or in some cases, derived from the word "wether" meaning "sheep" or "ram." In this latter case, it could denote an occupational name particularly when a suffix is added as in "Wetherman", "Wethered" and "Weatherherd."

Early Origins of the Wyther family

The surname Wyther was first found in Norfolk and Lincolnshire where the first record of the name "occurs in the Domesday Book as a tenant prior to that census. " 1 2

Wyther cognomento Turnel was listed in Norfolk (1134-1140) as was Richerus filius Wither (1153-1168.) William Wither was listed in Lincolnshire c. 1160 and Geoffrey Wider was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1192. 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 includes: Agnes Wyther in Cambridgeshire; Richard Wyther in Oxfordshire; Simon Wyther in Huntingdonshire; and Walter Wythor in Cambridgeshire. 2

Early History of the Wyther family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wyther research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1588, 1657, 1661, 1664, 1667, 1669, 1675, 1688, 1707, 1708, 1715, 1720, 1809 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Wyther History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wyther Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Wyther family name include Withers, Wither, Weather, Wetherman, Wethered and many more.

Early Notables of the Wyther family

Distinguished members of the family include George Wither (1588-1667), an English poet, pamphleteer, and satirist. He was born at Bentworth, near Alton, Hampshire, the eldest of three sons of George Wither. "The Wither family is said to have been originally settled in Lancashire, but five generations had been settled before the poet's birth in Hampshire. The eldest branch of the family was long...
Another 63 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wyther Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Wyther family to Ireland

Some of the Wyther family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 106 words (8 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Wyther family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Wyther surname or a spelling variation of the name include: John Withers settled in Virginia in 1638; Ralph Withers settled in Delaware in 1682; Thomas Withers settled in New Hampshire in 1630; William Withers settled in Barbados in 1654.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)