Show ContentsWiches History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Wiches Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Wiches

What does the name Wiches mean?

The distinguished name Wiches is derived from the English word "wedge" and the Old French word "wage," which originally meant a "pledge, surety." 1 In other words, the name was an occupational name for "one who acted as pledge or surety for another." 2

Another source claims the name was derived from the Old English word "Wegga." 3

Early Origins of the Wiches family

The surname Wiches was first found in the 13th century when William Wegge was recorded. In 1327, John Wegge was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls as holding lands in Somerset and later, Robert Wegge was listed in the Feet of Fines for Surrey (1391-1392.) 3

Richard of Chichester (1197-1253), also known as Richard de Wych, Bishop of Chichester (1244-1253) is a saint who was canonized in 1262. A shrine was built in Chichester Cathedral dedicated to Richard and had become a centre of pilgrimage. In 1538, during the reign of Henry VIII, the shrine was plundered and destroyed by order of Thomas Cromwell. St Richard of Chichester is patron saint of Sussex since 2007, his translated saint's day of 16 June is celebrated as Sussex Day.

Wych Street was a street in London, that ran west from the church of St Clement Danes on the Strand to a point towards the southern end of Drury Lane. It was demolished by the London County Council in around 1901 as part of the redevelopment that created the Kingsway and Aldwych.

Early History of the Wiches family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wiches research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1384, 1385, 1386, 1390, 1393, 1554, 1593, 1607, 1621, 1628, 1632, 1643, 1659, 1661, 1676, 1678, 1681, 1682, 1685, 1689, 1692, 1693, 1695, 1699, 1702, 1705, 1707 and 1756 are included under the topic Early Wiches History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wiches Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Wadge, Watch, Wage, Wych, Wich, Wedge, Wegge and others.

Early Notables of the Wiches family

John Wych (fl. 1384-1393), an English politician, Member of the Parliament for Hereford in 1384, 1385, 1386, 1390 and 1393; Sir Cyril Wyche PRS (1632-c.1707), an English lawyer and politician, Member of Parliament for Callington (1661-1678), for East Grinstead (1681-1685), for Saltash (1685-1689); and for Preston (1702-1705), Chief Secretary for Ireland (1676-1682) and (1692-1693); Sir Cyril Wyche, 1st Baronet (c.1695-1756), Envoy Extraordinary...
Another 62 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wiches Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Wiches family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Wiches or a variant listed above were: 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. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  2. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  3. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)

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