WIMBUSH
Wimbush is a surname of English origin, most commonly identified as a locational or topographic name. It is associated with the Old English words wimbe, meaning “limb” or “branch”, and bysce, meaning “bush” or “thicket”. The name thus conveys the sense of an individual who resided near, or within, a bushy or wooded area, or, alternatively, may have been a nickname for someone of sturdy stature, likened to the strength of a limb or branch.
Another derivation records Wimbush as a toponymic surname stemming from the place called Wimbish near Saffron Walden in Essex. In Anglo–Saxon wills it appears as “Wimbisc” and in the Domesday Book of 1086 as “Wimbeis”; the Essex Curia Rolls of 1208 record it as “Winbiss”. The placename itself derives from the pre‑7th‑century Old English words winn (meadow, pasture) and biosic (reedy place) – a derivative of beos (reeds). Such locational surnames were typically adopted by lords of the manor and local landowners, and especially by former inhabitants who had relocated, often for employment, and who were thereafter identified by the name of their birthplace.
Historical registers provide early examples of the name. A man named Thomas de Winebise is recorded in the “Book of Fees of Leicestershire” circa 1260, during the reign of King Henry III, where he is listed as a witness in legal matters. In 1273 the Cambridgeshire Hundred Rolls mention John de Wymbisse, and the Patent Rolls of 1422 record John Wymbusch. The 1634 Glemsford parish register in Suffolk records the christening of Radulphus Wimbush on 15 March. These entries demonstrate the persistence of the surname from the late twelfth century through the early modern period.
Heraldic evidence for the Wimbush family is also available. A grant of arms shows a green field with eleven round beads in a chevron, surmounted at the centre by a cross, all in gold, between three silver cinquefoils. The crest depicts a friar in a russet gown supporting himself on a crutch. Such arms would have been adopted by a recognised family line and are recorded in contemporary armorial registers.
In the late thirteenth century, a record of Rethold omnium Wimbush places the surname in West Yorkshire, indicating an early presence in northern England. Over subsequent centuries, Wimbush families appeared across the British Isles, especially in northern England, eastern Ireland, and the county of Hampshire. In the eighteenth century the name migrated to America, with the majority of emigrants settling in Virginia. By the nineteenth century, branches of the family had spread across the southeastern United States, with significant concentrations today in Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky and Ohio. Census data from 2000 indicate that the Wimbush name is most common in the south, with Newport News in Virginia and cities such as Atlanta, Birmingham and Winston‑Salem recording the highest numbers of bearers.
Variants of the surname are numerous, including Wymbush, Wimbus, Wimby and Wymby, as well as less common spellings such as Wimbushe, Wymbyssh, Wimbsh, Wymbysshe, Wimbus, Wymbysshe, Wimbussh, Wymbysh and Wimbusshe. Related surnames that share the same etymological roots include Wimbles, Wimble and Wimley, among others. While the name is relatively rare, with an estimated frequency of two individuals per one hundred thousand in the United States, it remains an identifiable element of English and Irish genealogical records and carries a documented history that stretches back more than eight centuries.
Typical given names associated with the Wimbush surname
Male
- Andrew
- Anthony
- Daniel
- David
- Harold
- Ian
- John
- Mark
- Paul
- Phillip
- Richard
- Stephen
- Stuart
Female
- Alison
- Annie
- Antonia
- Catherine
- Grethe
- Hoppi
- Jane
- Jessica
- Julie
- Lyn
- Margaret
- Nicola
- Patricia
- 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 Wimbush in...
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There are approximately 327 people named Wimbush in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around five in a million people in Britain are named Wimbush.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Wimbush
- Mary Wimbush - Actress (1924 to 2005)
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.