Wide History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

The ancient Anglo-Saxon surname Wide came from the given name Wade. Wide is a patronymic surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Many patronyms were formed when a son used his father's personal name as a surname, while others came from the personal names of famous religious and secular figures. In this case, the surname would have come from the personal name of the father, or another ancestor of the bearer. Another derivation of this surname comes from the Old English word (ge)wæd, which means to wade, and would have been given to someone who lived near a ford. Members of the Wide family were in Durham, at Hilton Castle, since the early Middle Ages.

Early Origins of the Wide family

The surname Wide was first found in Durham where they held a family seat at Hilton Castle from very ancient times.

Early History of the Wide family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wide research. Another 85 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1536, 1568, 1608, 1666, 1673, 1683, 1685, 1718, 1745, 1748 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Wide History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wide Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Wide family name include Wade, Waide, Waid and others.

Early Notables of the Wide family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Armigil Wade or Waad (d. 1568), 'the English Columbus,' stated on the inscription of his tombstone, composed by his son, Sir William. He is said to have sprung from an ancient Yorkshire family. "He is said to have been born at Kilnsey, near Coniston, and his mother's maiden name is given as Comyn. On the dissolution of the monasteries Kilnsey was granted to Sir Richard Gresham, to whom Armagil may have owed his introduction at court. In 1536 he joined as an adventurer in Hore's voyage to North America. After about two months'...
Another 227 words (16 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wide Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Wide family to Ireland

Some of the Wide 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.

Wide migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Wide surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Wide Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Mary Wide, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 1

Wide Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Louise Wide, aged 20, who immigrated to the United States, in 1903
Lilian B. Wide, aged 43, who settled in America, in 1906
Edgar J. Wide, aged 17, who immigrated to the United States, in 1921
E. J. Edgar J. Wide, aged 20, who landed in America, in 1924

Contemporary Notables of the name Wide (post 1700) +

Edvin Wide (1896-1996), Swedish silver and three-time bronze medalist long-distance runner in 1920 and the 1928 Olympics
Ernst Wide (1888-1950), Swedish silver medalist long-distance runner in 1912 Olympics

Citations +

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)