Wickford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins and Etymology of Wickford

The surname Wickford was first found in Essex at Wickford, a parish, in the union of Billericay, hundred of Barstable. 1

This ancient Saxon village dates back to c. 975 when it was known as Wicforda. By the time of the Domesday Book of 1086, the parish was known as Wicfort. 2

The place name probably means 'ford by an earlier Romano-British settlement' from the Old English "wic" + "ford." 3

Conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the village and lands of Wickford, Osborn, Teher and FitzThorold, Norman men at arms, from the Bishop of Bayeux. 2

One of the first listings of the family was Robert de Wikeford e (d. 1390), Archbishop of Dublin, "is said to have belonged to the family of Wickford or Wykeford of Wickford Hall, Essex. He was a fellow of Merton College, Oxford, and a doctor of laws in 1344. He became a king's clerk, and in or before 1368 was appointed Archdeacon of Winchester. On 18 July 1376 he was appointed Chancellor of Ireland, and he was reappointed on 26 Sept. 1377, after the accession of Richard I. " 4

Early History of the Wickford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wickford research. Another 58 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1240 and 1249 are included under the topic Early Wickford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wickford Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Wickford, Wikford, Wykford, Wyckford, Wyckforde, Wykforde, Wickford, Wickforth and many more.

Early Notables of the Wickford family

the Wickford family of Essex

Wickford migration to the United States +

Wickford Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Peter Henry Wickford, aged 33, who landed in St Louis, Missouri in 1841 5

Sources +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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)