SOUTHWICK
Southwick is an English locational surname that originates from the British Isles. It emerged in England during the Anglo‑Saxon period and has survived to the present day.
The name is formed from the Old English words sūð meaning “south” and wīc, a loan from Latin vicus meaning “dwelling, settlement or village”. Consequently, Southwick literally denotes a “dweller at the southern settlement” or a person who comes from a place called Southwick.
Various English villages bear the name Southwick: in Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire, Sussex, Durham, Hampshire and Wiltshire. The earliest documentary references are the Saxon chartulary of 972, where Southwick in Northamptonshire appears as Suthwycan, and the Domesday Book of 1086, where Southwick in Gloucestershire and Sussex is recorded as Sudwicha. In Scotland, Southwick in Kirkcudbrightshire is regarded as the chief source of the surname there.
Early medieval witnesses bear the surname in its various spellings. In 1202 the record includes William de Sudwic of Northamptonshire; in 1210 there is Gilbert de Southaic, a Scottish witness; the 1332 charter of Thomas de Suthewyk from Sussex; and in 1363 William Southwyke of Gloucestershire. In 1547 a christening record at St. Leonard's, Eastcheap, London names Ellen, daughter of Robert Southwick.
The heraldic arms associated with Southwick Priory in Hampshire are a silver shield with a black chief bearing two roses of the first. These arms are preserved in the regional register of coats of arms.
In contemporary usage Southwick is most commonly found in the United Kingdom and the United States. Within the UK it is especially frequent in the south‑western counties of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset, while in the United States the surname appears mainly in the New England states of Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island. The name also occurs, in smaller numbers, in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
Several spelling variants are historically recognised, including Southwicke, Southwic, Sowthwicke and Sowthwic, as well as Southwyk, Suthorck and Suthouck. Notable bearers of the name include the Puritan soldier Jonas Southwick of the English Civil Wars and the nineteenth‑century American philosopher George Southwick. The surname retains its traditional orthography yet continues to denote a heritage of southern settlements across the British Isles and beyond.
Typical given names associated with the Southwick surname
Male
- Andrew
- Anthony
- Craig
- David
- John
- Mark
- Matthew
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
Female
- Angela
- Claire
- Diane
- Elizabeth
- Jean
- Karen
- Kelly
- Linda
- Margaret
- Mary
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Sharon
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Southwick in...
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There are approximately 792 people named Southwick in the UK. That makes it roughly the 8,846th most common surname in Britain. Around 12 in a million people in Britain are named Southwick.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
