WORDSWORTH
Wordsworth is a surname of English provenance. It is derived from the Old English words word – meaning “word” – and worth, which in that period usually signified an enclosure or homestead. The name therefore originally identified a person linked to a particular place that bore the designation worth, or, less specifically, a person known for skill with words.
The surname is strictly locational. The earliest form recorded is Peter de Waddeworthe, dated 1381 in the rolls of the Freeman of York. This spelling indicates a connection with a place then called Waddeworthe or a related site. Subsequent variants include Wadsworth, Wadworth, Wadesworth, Wardesworth and Wordesworth, all traced to the West Riding of Yorkshire. The transformation from Wadsworth to Wordsworth is first recorded in 1560 when Christopher Wordesworth married Jane Synden at Ecclesfield, Yorkshire.
According to the eminent Victorian etymologist Canon C W Bardsley, the place name Wadsworth itself originates as “Wadda’s farm” from a 7th‑century personal name and was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. The shift of the recorded spelling over time reflects the haphazard nature of medieval orthography and the strong local dialects of the period.
The coat of arms that was granted to the poet William Wordsworth and his brother Christopher, then Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, is blazoned as a silver field charged with three blue church bells. The crest is that of an antelope’s head.
William Wordsworth (1770–1850), the celebrated Romantic poet, gave the surname its modern fame across the English‑speaking world, though the name itself does not imply literary talent. The poet’s birthplace was Grasmere in the Lake District, a location also within the historical connections of the name to the West Riding and adjacent counties.
In contemporary usage the surname remains common in England, ranking as the 1,119th most frequent name in 2017 according to the UK Office of National Statistics. Its highest concentration is found in the counties of Yorkshire, Northumberland and Nottinghamshire. Across the British Isles it is also recorded in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Within the Commonwealth, Canada is reported as the country with the greatest number of individuals bearing the name, followed by New Zealand and Australia.
Variants and related surnames have been recorded, including Wordsorth – often regarded as the most common spelling – and others such as Worth, Wordeseworth, Workesworth, Wurtsworth, Wurtscott, Worthen, Worsley and Wortham. These forms are all derived from the same Old English roots in whatever combination, indicating an enclosure or homestead.
Typical given names associated with the Wordsworth surname
Male
- Alan
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- Ian
- James
- John
- Mark
- Matthew
- Niall
- Paul
- Richard
Female
- Alison
- Ann
- Dorothy
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Helen
- Jane
- Joanne
- Judith
- Julie
- Kathryn
- Margaret
- Nicola
- Sarah
- 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 Wordsworth in...
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There are approximately 1,568 people named Wordsworth in the UK. That makes it roughly the 5,171st most common surname in Britain. Around 24 in a million people in Britain are named Wordsworth.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Wordsworth
- William Wordsworth - Romantic poet (1770 to 1850)
- Dorothy Wordsworth - Author, poet and diarist (1771 to 1855)
- Dora Wordsworth - Daughter of William Wordsworth (1804 to 1847)
- William Wordsworth - Composer (1908 to 1988)
- Richard Wordsworth - Actor (1915 to 1993)
- Anthony Wordsworth - Football player
- Barry Wordsworth - Conductor
- Elizabeth Wordsworth - Founding principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford (1840 to 1932)
- Jonathan Wordsworth - Academic (1932 to 2006)
- Charles Wordsworth - Bishop of Saint Andrews and cricketer (1806 to 1892)
- John Wordsworth - Bishop of Salisbury (1843 to 1911)
- Robert Wordsworth - Australian politician (1894 to 1984)
- Christopher Wordsworth - Divine and scholar (1774 to 1846)
- Christopher Wordsworth - (1848 to 1938)
- Charles Wordsworth - Cricketer (1877 to 1960)
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.