Wright History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Wright

What does the name Wright mean?

The ancestors of the Wright family derived their name from the “Anglo-Saxon wyrhta [which] signifies, in its widest sense, the same as the Latin faber, a workman of any kind, but more specifically an artificer in hard materials. The eminent antiquary who bears this surname observes, that “Smith was the general term for a worker in metals, and Wright for one who worked in wood and other materials. Hence in the later English period smith became the peculiar name of a blacksmith, and wright of a carpenter, as it is still in Scotland.” 1

Early Origins of the Wright family

The surname Wright was first found in Sussex where Patere le Writh was listed in the Feet of Fines for 1214. Years later, the same rolls but in 1255 and this time in Essex, listed Robert le Wrichte in 1255. Richard le Wrete was found in the Assize Rolls for Kent in 1317 and later, Hugh le Wreghte in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1327. Thomas le Wrighte was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Derbyshire in 1327 and Walter le Wrytte in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1327. 2

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list: Robert le Wriete in Cambridgeshire; Roger le Wriete in Cambridgeshire; and Margery le Wrytte in Cambridgeshire. Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list: Adam Wrygson; Robert Wreghtson; and Johannes Redebarn, wryght. 3

“This name is distributed over England, but is comparatively infrequent in the counties on the south coast, and in the northern counties north of Yorkshire. It exists in densest numbers in the counties lying between the Wash and the Thames, being especially numerous in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, and also, but to a less extent, in Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. In the midlands it is nearly as crowded, and has its chief centres in Warwickshire, Derbyshire, and Leicestershire, etc. It is also very frequent in Lincolnshire and Cheshire, and is somewhat less numerous in Lancashire and Yorkshire. The Wrights have established themselves in Scotland, though in no great numbers, and not usually north of Perthshire.’ 4

Wright Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Wright, Right, Write, Wrighte and others.