Wiggmore History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Wiggmore was brought to England by the Normans when they conquered the country in 1066. The ancestors of the Wiggmore family lived in Herefordshire, at Wigmore. The name of this place derives from the Old English words wicga, meaning moving, and mor, meaning marsh, and probably indicated that the bearer of the name lived near a shallow, swampy part of a river. 1

Early Origins of the Wiggmore family

The surname Wiggmore was first found in Herefordshire and Worcestershire which both date back to the Domesday Book 2 and were listed as Wigemore in that register. Wigmore is also a village in the Unitary Authority of Medway, Kent that dates back to 1275 when is was listed as Wydemere, from an Old English "wid" + "mere" meaning "broad pool". 1 The family conjecturally descend from Ralph de Mortimer, who built Wigmore Castle c. 1070 on the River Teme in Hereford. Wigmore Abbey, located nearby, was an Augustinian abbey with a grange and was founded by Ranulph de Mortimer (d. c. 1104), who was known as Lord of Wigmore. The abbey and the castle are both in ruins today. The exact relationship between the Wigmores and the Mortimers is unclear. Today, Wigmore is a new estate situated on the outskirts of Luton near Luton Airport, Bedfordshire.

Early History of the Wiggmore family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wiggmore research. Another 110 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1362, 1390, 1397, 1468, 1557, 1566, 1581 and 1588 are included under the topic Early Wiggmore History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wiggmore Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Wiggmore are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Wiggmore include Wigmore, Wigmer, Wiggmore and others.

Early Notables of the Wiggmore family

Another 33 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wiggmore Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Wiggmore family to Ireland

Some of the Wiggmore family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 34 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wiggmore migration to the United States +

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Wiggmore, or a variant listed above:

Wiggmore Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Elias Wiggmore who settled in Virginia in 1635
Elias Wiggmore, aged 24, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 3
Eliz Wiggmore, who landed in Virginia in 1663 3
Nathaniel Wiggmore, who settled in Virginia in 1663

Wiggmore Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Ja Wiggmore, who arrived in Virginia in 1703 3
James Wiggmore, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1771

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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)