| ![Show Contents]() Wraight History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Etymology of WraightWhat does the name Wraight mean? The ancestors of the Wraight family derived their name from the "Anglo-Saxon wyrhta [which] signifies, in its widest sense, the same as the Latin faber, a workman of any kind, but more specifically an artificer in hard materials. The eminent antiquary who bears this surname observes, that "Smith was the general term for a worker in metals, and Wright for one who worked in wood and other materials. Hence in the later English period smith became the peculiar name of a blacksmith, and wright of a carpenter, as it is still in Scotland." 1 Early Origins of the Wraight familyThe surname Wraight was first found in Sussex where Patere le Writh was listed in the Feet of Fines for 1214. Years later, the same rolls but in 1255 and this time in Essex, listed Robert le Wrichte in 1255. Richard le Wrete was found in the Assize Rolls for Kent in 1317 and later, Hugh le Wreghte in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1327. Thomas le Wrighte was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Derbyshire in 1327 and Walter le Wrytte in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1327. 2 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list: Robert le Wriete in Cambridgeshire; Roger le Wriete in Cambridgeshire; and Margery le Wrytte in Cambridgeshire. Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list: Adam Wrygson; Robert Wreghtson; and Johannes Redebarn, wryght. 3 "This name is distributed over England, but is comparatively infrequent in the counties on the south coast, and in the northern counties north of Yorkshire. It exists in densest numbers in the counties lying between the Wash and the Thames, being especially numerous in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, and also, but to a less extent, in Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. In the midlands it is nearly as crowded, and has its chief centres in Warwickshire, Derbyshire, and Leicestershire, etc. It is also very frequent in Lincolnshire and Cheshire, and is somewhat less numerous in Lancashire and Yorkshire. The Wrights have established themselves in Scotland, though in no great numbers, and not usually north of Perthshire.' 4 Early History of the Wraight familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wraight research. Another 85 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1342, 1561, 1590, 1599, 1602, 1609, 1611, 1615, 1623, 1634, 1637, 1654, 1657, 1658, 1660, 1664, 1670, 1675, 1682, 1683, 1685, 1687, 1689, 1690, 1721 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Wraight History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Wraight Spelling VariationsSpelling variations of this family name include: Wright, Right, Write, Wrighte and others. Early Notables of the Wraight familyLaurence Wright (1590-1657), an English physician, notably physician in ordinary to Oliver Cromwell and to the Charterhouse; John Wright (fl. 1602-1658), a major London publisher and bookseller, one of the two booksellers who sold Shakespeare's Sonnets in 1609 a member of the syndicate that printed the Shakespeare First Folio in 1623; Sir Henry Wright, 1st Baronet (c.1637-1664), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons (1660-1664); John Wright (1615-1683), an English politician, Member of Parliament for Ipswich...
Another 79 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wraight Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Wraight family to IrelandSome of the Wraight family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 132 words (9 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Wraight migration to the United States | + |
Wraight Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Percival Wraight, who landed in Iowa in 1885 5
| Wraight migration to Australia | + |
Wraight Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century- Moses Wraight, aged 31, who arrived in South Australia in 1849 aboard the ship "Emily" 6
- Moses Wraight, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Emily" in 1849 6
| Wraight migration to New Zealand | + |
Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include: Wraight Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century- Mr. Lewis Wraight, (b. 1863), aged 16, British settler travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Stad Haarlem" arriving in Lyttleton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th April 1879 7
- Mr. Thomas Wraight, (b. 1854), aged 25, British settler travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Stad Haarlem" arriving in Lyttleton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th April 1879 7
| Contemporary Notables of the name Wraight (post 1700) | + |
- Gary Wraight (b. 1979), English former professional footballer who played in The Football League for Wycombe Wanderers
- Annie Doris "Dolly" Walker- Wraight (1920-2002), British school teacher and writer who under the name A.D. Wraight, postulated the Marlovian theory where Christopher Marlowe was the true author of William Shakespeare's works
- Megan Wraight (1961-2020), New Zealand landscape architect, founding principal of Wraight + Associates Limited
| Historic Events for the Wraight family | + |
HMS Vanguard - Mr. James Wraight, British Stoker 1st Class, who was aboard the ship "HMS Vanguard" when she exploded in the Scapa Flow off the Orkney Islands, Scotland on 9th July 1917
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. 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)
- State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The EMILY 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Emily.htm
- New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
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