WIGGIN
Wiggin is an English surname that can be traced to the Old English personal name Wigand or Wiggin, which meaning conveys the sense of a warrior or fighter. The name is patronymic, originally used to denote the descendants of an individual named Wigand.
Historical records show that the personal name was first recorded in the 11th century. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the name appears as Wighen; later on the 1163 entries list it as Wigein. Early surname forms include Wygen (1297, Cornwall) and the pluralised Wiggans or Wiggins (1752, Yorkshire). One variant, Woiggins, is explicitly patronymic, meaning ‘son of Wiggin’; alternative spellings such as Wigan, Wigand, Wigin and Wiggin have also appeared.
The surname’s development is linked to the Norman influence after the Conquest of 1066. Two sources have been cited for the name’s introduction: a Breton personal name Wincon or Uuicon, meaning “worthy, high or noble”, and a Germanic name Wigant, derived from the verb wigan, meaning “to fight”. However, the earliest concrete evidence for the name in England remains the Domesday entries.
The first recorded spelling of the family name appears in the Norfolk Hundred Rolls of 1275, attributed to a William Wygeyn, during the reign of King Edward I, who reigned from 1272 to 1307. This documentation confirms that the surname was already in use by the late 13th century.
Through successive centuries the name has been borne by several notable individuals and families in England, contributing to its continued recognition within British heritage. It remains a distinctly English surname, maintaining its original patronymic character and association with the concept of a warrior.
Typical given names associated with the Wiggin surname
Male
- Anthony
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Richard
- Simon
- William
Female
- Camilla
- Christa
- Dorothy
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Karen
- Margaret
- Michelle
- Patricia
- Philippa
- Rebecca
- Sarah
- Susan
- Tracey
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 Wiggin in...
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Morse
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There are approximately 851 people named Wiggin in the UK. That makes it roughly the 8,385th most common surname in Britain. Around 13 in a million people in Britain are named Wiggin.
Famous people named Wiggin
- Bill Wiggin - Politician
- Jerry Wiggin - Politician (1937 to 2015)
- Charles Wiggin - Rower
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.