Wyvill History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England
• Ireland

Family Crest Image (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

The name Wyvill was carried to England in the enormous movement of people that followed the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Wyvill family lived in Yorkshire, at Wyville.

Early Origins of the Wyvill family

The surname Wyvill was first found in Yorkshire where "this ancient Norman family is said to be descended from Sir Humphry de Wyvill, who lived at the time of the Conquest, and whose descendants were seated at Slingsby in the county." ^[1]

"This place, at the time of the Conquest, belonged to the Lacy family; and afterwards to the Mowbrays, who had a castle here. The Wyville family, the Knights Templars, and others, held lands under the Mowbrays; and the castle subsequently became the property of the noble family of Hastings, who are supposed to have rebuilt it. William, the great Lord Hastings, was beheaded by Richard III., and was succeeded here by his son Edward, who by will in 1497 directed Slingsby to be sold." ^[2]

Early History of the Wyvill family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wyvill research. Another 106 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1620, 1542, 1617, 1648, 1614, 1681, 1645, 1684, 1666, 1722, 1692, 1754, 1740, 1774 and 1774 are included under the topic Early Wyvill History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wyvill Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Wyville, Wyfield and others.

Early Notables of the Wyvill family (pre 1700)

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was the Wyvill Baronetcy, of Constable Burton in the County of York which included: Sir Marmaduke Wyvill, 1st Baronet (c. 1542-1617); Sir Marmaduke Wyvill, 2nd Baronet (died c. 1648); Sir Christopher Wyvill, 3rd Baronet (1614-1681); Sir...
Another 42 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wyvill Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Wyvill family to Ireland

Some of the Wyvill family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Wyvill family

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Wyvill or a variant listed above: Phillip Wiyfield who settled in Virginia in 1660.