Wiltshire Surnames

AMOR

This name is particularly common in the 1881 census districts of Milton Lilborne, Bromham and Pewsey.

CLEVERLY

This habitational name is thought to come from Claverley in Shropshire.

GIDDINGS

A quarter of all of the Giddings recorded in 1891 were living in Wiltshire.

GINGELL

This name is thought to be related to a common Bavarian surname.

HIBBERD

The surname Hibberd frequently crops up in and around East Tisbury and Wilton, as well as Basingstoke in Hampshire. Are any of these in your family tree?

MASLEN

Maslen and its variants are derived from the medieval personal name Masselin.

PLANK

This surname’s origins may be topographic or occupational, or an anglicised spelling of the Huguenot name Planque.

PONTING

This is a topographical name for someone who lived near a bridge.

SPACKMAN

This is another early medieval name. Its variants include Speakman, Spakeman, Spaxman and Spayman.

WHATLEY

This habitational name comes from Old English words for ‘wheat’ and ‘clearing’.