Whele History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Whele

What does the name Whele mean?

The name Whele came to England with the ancestors of the Whele family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Whele family lived in Berwickshire, at Le Whele, near the Whele Causey (Wheel Causeway) a Roman road which passes through the county. Some occurrences of the name may be derived from the original bearer's residence in Wales.

Early Origins of the Whele family

The surname Whele was first found in Berwickshire where they held a family seat from early times, at a place named Le Whele.

Early History of the Whele family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Whele research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1684 and 1722 are included under the topic Early Whele History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Whele Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Whale, Whele, Whaill and others.

Early Notables of the Whele family

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

Whele migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 1

Whele Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Wm. Whele, who settled in Barbados in 1679

Sources +

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies