EnglandThe ancient Anglo-Saxon surname Wilcke came from a medieval given name, a short form of William. [1]
Wilcke 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 was originally derived from the popular medieval surname William, which became even more popular after the Norman Conquest of England, in 1066, led by William the Conqueror.
The surname Wilcke was first found in Bedfordshire (Old English: Bedanfordscir), located in Southeast-central England, formerly part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, before and after the Norman Conquest in 1066.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wilcke research. Another 73 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1545, 1598, 1545, 1556, 1548, 1553, 1529, 1535, 1551, 1564, 1600, 1570, 1580, 1641, 1665, 1732, 1691, 1760, 1690, 1666 and 1740 are included under the topic Early Wilcke History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Wilcke has been recorded under many different variations, including Wilkes, Wilke, Wilks and others.
Notables of this surname at this time include: Israel Wilkes, a 17th century citizen and distiller of London, father of the politician John Wilkes.
Sir Thomas Wilkes (1545?-1598), was an English diplomatist, born about 1545, and is said to have been a native of Sussex. "The Oxford registers do not supply his father's name, and the family occurs in many counties and in many forms, such as Wikes, Wylkes, Weekes, Wyckes, and other variations. A Richard Wilkes (d. 1556) was master of Christ's College, Cambridge, from 1548 to 1553; a Thomas Wilkes represented Chippenham in the Reformation parliament of 1529-1535, and another...
Another 176 words (13 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wilcke Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Wilcke migration to the United States +For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Wilcke or a variant listed above:
