Wakerley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Wakerley

What does the name Wakerley mean?

The Norman Conquest of England in 1066 brought much change to the island nation, including many immigrants with new names. Among these immigrants were the ancestors of the Wakerley family, who lived in Hertfordshire, at the manor of Wakely.

Early Origins of the Wakerley family

The surname Wakerley was first found in Hertfordshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, conjecturally the family were descended from Ralph of Wakely, a Norman noble, who held his lands from Count Allan and was thus reflected in the Domesday Book Survey of 1086 A.D.

Early History of the Wakerley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wakerley research. Another 67 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1600 is included under the topic Early Wakerley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wakerley Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Wakley, Wakeley, Wakely, Wakelie, Wakelee, Weakley, Wakerley and many more.

Early Notables of the Wakerley family

More information is included under the topic Early Wakerley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Wakerley family to Ireland

Some of the Wakerley family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wakerley migration to the United States +

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Wakerley or a variant listed above:

Wakerley Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Abraham Wakerley, who arrived in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania in 1763 1

Sources +

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)