Walcott
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Walcott Surname Genealogy
The surname Walcott is derived from a place-name; although from not one but from many in England. Their spellings and root meanings will differ in different parts of the country.
Walcot in the counties of Lincolnshire and Wiltshire, Walcott in Norfolk, and Walcote in Leicestershire and Warwickshire were all names to be found in the Domesday Book; while Walcot in Shropshire appeared as a place-name in the 12th century and Wolcot in Devon in the 13th.
England. Some early Walcotts did not last. The de Walcott family of Norfolk, based on the place-name there, seems to have died out in the late 1300's.
The Walcots of Shropshire, on the other hand, did survive into more modern times. John Walcot of this family had been knighted on the field of battle in France in 1380 and a later John was said - perhaps a tall story this - to have been granted a coat of arms by beating Henry V in a game of chess. The Walcot's Elizabethan home, Walcot Hall in Shropshire, still stands; and the family history has been recorded in the Rev. John Burton's 1930 book, The History of the Family of Walcot.
Walcotts were also to be found by the 1500's:
The Walcott numbers in England are not large today. The odds may be that a Walcott is more likely to be of Caribbean immigrant origin, such as Theo Walcott, the young Arsenal and England footballer.
America. The Wolcott Society has covered early immigrants to America in their book, Wolcott Immigrants and Their Early Descendants.
Three early Walcott arrivals were recorded in New England:
Caribbean. The forebear of the Barbados Walcotts was Eyare Walcott who came to Barbados from London in 1659. These Walcotts became merchants and planters there. Their numbers grew in the following century (as the early marriage records in Barbados would indicate). The family ran a cotton plantation. the Todd estates, at Old Asylum wall. The Walcott name also evolved from the slaves there and from this source has grown even more in numbers (Walcott as a consequence is now one of the most common surnames in Barbados).
Charles Walcott from the planter family had built his estate in the late 1800's near Choiseul and married a local woman. Their grandson, born in Trinidad, was Derek Walcott, the acclaimed Caribbean poet and playwright who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992.
He was not the only accomplished or distinguished Walcott that would be coming from Barbados. Other notable Walcotts have been:
New Zealand. One line from Barbados has stretched to New Zealand. John Alexander Walcott, an army surgeon, had been born in Barbados. His son James Alexander immigrated first to Australia and then to New Zealand and is the forebear of most of the Walcotts in New Zealand today.
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Joe Walcott, known as the Barbados Demon, was the world welterweight champion in the early 1900's. Arnold Cream, the heavyweight boxer from New Jersey, later took up the nickname Jersey Joe Walcott.
Clyde Walcott was a leading cricketer for Barbados and the West Indies in the 1950's.
Derek Walcott is the Caribbean poet and playwright who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992.
Select Walcotts Today
Site Map: Select Names
The Origin/Spread of Surnames
The surname Walcott is derived from a place-name; although from not one but from many in England. Their spellings and root meanings will differ in different parts of the country.
Walcot in the counties of Lincolnshire and Wiltshire, Walcott in Norfolk, and Walcote in Leicestershire and Warwickshire were all names to be found in the Domesday Book; while Walcot in Shropshire appeared as a place-name in the 12th century and Wolcot in Devon in the 13th.
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Walcott
Resources on
The
Internet
- Wolcott Family. Wolcott family web pages.
England. Some early Walcotts did not last. The de Walcott family of Norfolk, based on the place-name there, seems to have died out in the late 1300's.
The Walcots of Shropshire, on the other hand, did survive into more modern times. John Walcot of this family had been knighted on the field of battle in France in 1380 and a later John was said - perhaps a tall story this - to have been granted a coat of arms by beating Henry V in a game of chess. The Walcot's Elizabethan home, Walcot Hall in Shropshire, still stands; and the family history has been recorded in the Rev. John Burton's 1930 book, The History of the Family of Walcot.
Walcotts were also to be found by the 1500's:
- in Somerset (the village of Tolland) - where the family held the Gaudron Manor.
- in Lincolnshire (the village of Walcot) - Humphrey Walcot from here was the Lincoln MP in the 1650's.
- and in Buckinghamshire (the village of Shalstone) - Walcotts from this family were later to be found in London and in Barbados.
The Walcott numbers in England are not large today. The odds may be that a Walcott is more likely to be of Caribbean immigrant origin, such as Theo Walcott, the young Arsenal and England footballer.
America. The Wolcott Society has covered early immigrants to America in their book, Wolcott Immigrants and Their Early Descendants.
Three early Walcott arrivals were recorded in New England:
- Henry Wolcott from Tolland
in Someret, who came with his family in 1630 and settled in Windsor,
Connecticut. Descendants were to be found in New York, Michigan,
and later in California.
- John Wolcott, a relation of Henry above, who arrived in 1634. His descendants settled in Newbury and Brookfield, Massachusetts. John Woolcot was abducted from Brookfield by Indians in 1708.
- William Walcott, who arrived in 1640 and made his home in Salem,
Massachusetts. His family leter got embroiled in the Salem
witchcraft trials (the young Mary Walcott being one of the chief
accusers).
Caribbean. The forebear of the Barbados Walcotts was Eyare Walcott who came to Barbados from London in 1659. These Walcotts became merchants and planters there. Their numbers grew in the following century (as the early marriage records in Barbados would indicate). The family ran a cotton plantation. the Todd estates, at Old Asylum wall. The Walcott name also evolved from the slaves there and from this source has grown even more in numbers (Walcott as a consequence is now one of the most common surnames in Barbados).
Charles Walcott from the planter family had built his estate in the late 1800's near Choiseul and married a local woman. Their grandson, born in Trinidad, was Derek Walcott, the acclaimed Caribbean poet and playwright who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992.
He was not the only accomplished or distinguished Walcott that would be coming from Barbados. Other notable Walcotts have been:
- Joe Walcott, the world welterwight boxing champion
- Jersey Joe Walcott, the world heavyweight boxing champion
- Frank Walcott, the respected Barbados trade union leader
- and Clyde Walcott, the Barbados and West Indian cricketer of the 1950's.
New Zealand. One line from Barbados has stretched to New Zealand. John Alexander Walcott, an army surgeon, had been born in Barbados. His son James Alexander immigrated first to Australia and then to New Zealand and is the forebear of most of the Walcotts in New Zealand today.
Select Walcott Miscellany
If you would like to read more, click on the miscellany page for
further stories and accounts:
Select Walcott Names
Joe Walcott, known as the Barbados Demon, was the world welterweight champion in the early 1900's. Arnold Cream, the heavyweight boxer from New Jersey, later took up the nickname Jersey Joe Walcott.
Clyde Walcott was a leading cricketer for Barbados and the West Indies in the 1950's.
Derek Walcott is the Caribbean poet and playwright who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992.
Select Walcotts Today
- 3,000 in the UK (most numerous in London)
- 4,000 in America (most numerous in New York).
- 4,000 elsewhere (most numerous in Barbados).
Site Map: Select Names
The Origin/Spread of Surnames
For other surnames check the companion selectsurname.com site where there are to be found the history and genealogy for more than 500 surnames.