Show ContentsWish History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Wish family

The surname Wish was first found in Herefordshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Saxon influence of English history diminished after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The language of the courts was French for the next three centuries and the Norman ambience prevailed. But Saxon surnames survived and the family name was first referenced in the 13th century when they held estates in that shire.

Early History of the Wish family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wish research. Another 158 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1140, 1159, 1350, 1442, 1455, 1487, 1510, 1545 and 1600 are included under the topic Early Wish History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wish Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Wysham, Wisham, Wyshem, Wishem and others.

Early Notables of the Wish family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • the Wisham family of Herefordshire


United States Wish migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Wish Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • H Wish, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 1
  • Frederick Wish, who arrived in Arkansas in 1856 1

Contemporary Notables of the name Wish (post 1700) +

  • Oscar R. Wish, American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at Portland, Maine, 1913-22 2


  1. 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)
  2. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 16) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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