Waggstaff History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Waggstaff

What does the name Waggstaff mean?

The rather rare surname Waggstaff is generally thought to have been an occupational name for someone who could brandish a "wag" or "staff" with great effect. 1

However, two other sources claim the name was a "nickname for a wand-bearing official, as a Beadle." 2 3

"Wagstaff is an old English name that six hundred years ago occurred as Wagestaf and Waggestaf in Norfolk and Oxfordshire (H. R.). Since those early times one of the principal homes of the name has been in Warwickshire, the Wagstaffes of Tachebrooke being a distinguished family in the 16th and 17th centuries; but probably they had been much longer in the county of Warwick, since an epitaph relating to one of this family, who died in 1681, informs us that he was "descended from the ancient family of the Wagstaffes of Harbury," a place also in Warwickshire." 4

Early Origins of the Waggstaff family

The surname Waggstaff was first found in Leicestershire, England where William Waggestaf was recorded in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1219. Later in Oxfordshire, Robert Waggestaff was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1279 and in Yorkshire, we found William Waggestave in the Subsidy Rolls for Yorkshire in 1301. Walter Waggespere was listed in the Assize Rolls for Lancashire in 1227. 2

Bardsley notes that the Hundredorum Rolls also include entries for Walter Waggestaf, Norfolk; and the aforementioned Robert Waggestaff, Oxfordshire. 5

"It is curious to observe, among the archives of Stratford-upon-Avon, record of proceedings between Richard Wagstaff and John Shakespere, the latter being the poet's father." 1

Early History of the Waggstaff family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Waggstaff research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1585, 1612, 1618, 1633, 1642, 1645, 1655, 1662, 1677, 1685, 1696, 1697, 1712, 1725 and 1737 are included under the topic Early Waggstaff History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Waggstaff Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Waggstaff has been recorded under many different variations, including Wagstaffe, Waggstaffe, Wagstaff and others.

Early Notables of the Waggstaff family

John Wagstaffe (1633-1677), an English writer on witchcraft who held an estate at Hasland in Derbyshire; and John Wagstaffe (1618-1697), of Ladybellegate House, Longsmith Street, Gloucester, an English politician, Member of the Parliament for Gloucester in 1685. Sir Joseph Wagstaffe (fl. 1655), English Royalist, born about 1612, was probably the seventh and youngest son of Richard Wagstaffe of Herberbury in Warwickshire. "Joseph was a soldier of fortune, and at the beginning of 1642 was major in an Irish regiment in the service of France. In 1655 the Western Royalists asked for Wagstaffe to be their leader in their intended rising against Cromwell...
Another 126 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Waggstaff Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Waggstaff family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Waggstaff or a variant listed above: Mary Wagstaff settled in Virginia in 1655 with her husband; William Wagstaff settled in Rappahannock in Virginia in 1728; Richard Wagstaffe settled in Annapolis Maryland in 1750..

Sources +

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)
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. 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)