Wishlist
Menu
Cart
HouseofNames
Wishlist
Cart

Show ContentsWholecote History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Product

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

4.9 Average Rating

Early Origins of the Wholecote family

The surname Wholecote was first found in Northamptonshire at Holcot, a parish in the union of Brixworth, hundred of Hamfordshoe. 1 The parish dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was first listed as Holecote. 2

Conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the village and lands of Holcote, held by William Peveral from the Bishop of Bayeux.

The place name literally meant "cottages in the hollows," from the Old English "hol"+ "cot." 3

It was here in Northamptonshire that the first record of the family was found. Peter de Holecot was listed in the Assize Rolls of 1202. Later, Robert de Holecote was found in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1273-1274, but back in Northamptonshire, Henry de Holecote was recorded in the Assize Rolls of 1314-1316. 4

Further to the north in Scotland, one source notes that the family were from "some place in England. There were lands named Holcote in Northamptonshire held by David I. Wautier de Holcote of Roxburghshire rendered homage, 1296. William Alket, burgess of Aberdeen, 1275 (Fraser, p. 11) may represent the same name." 5

Early History of the Wholecote family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wholecote research. Another 115 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1024, 1291, 1328, 1349, 1586, 1834 and 1878 are included under the topic Early Wholecote History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wholecote Spelling Variations

Before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Sound was what guided spelling in the Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Wholecote family name include Holcote, Hollcote, Holcott, Holcott, Hulcott, Hulcote, Holecote, Hulecote, Holecott, Wholcott, Wholecote, Wholcote, Olcott, Olcote, Ollcott, Ollcote, Alkett, Alket, Owlcott and many more.

Early Notables of the Wholecote family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Robert of Holcott (d. 1349), English divine, "said to have been a native of Northampton, but the statement seems a mere inference from his surname, Holcot being a village in Northamptonshire. It has been conjectured that he was a kinsman of Robert of Holcot, who sat, according to Bridges (Northamptonshire, i. 9 b), as a knight of the shire in the parliament of 1328-9; but the latter appears in the parliamentary return (Accounts and Papers...
Another 82 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wholecote Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Wholecote family

To escape the political and religious chaos of this era, thousands of English families began to migrate to the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. The passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe; however, those who made the voyage safely were encountered opportunities that were not available to them in their homeland. Many of the families that reached the New World at this time went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of the United States and Canada. Research into various historical records has revealed some of first members of the Wholecote family to immigrate North America: the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..
  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  3. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. 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)
Houseofnames.com on Facebook