Wayes History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Wayes

What does the name Wayes mean?

The present generation of the Wayes family is only the most recent to bear a name that dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name comes from having lived in Dorset where Roger de Waie was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1194. Later William Waye was recorded in 1236 and Richard de la Weye was found in Devon in 1249.

In Cambridgeshire, John ate Wey was recorded in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1279. The name literally means "dweller by the road (OE weg) or at a place called Atteweye, the name in 1306 of Way in Thorverton (Devon), or at Atway (Devon)." 1

The same source notes the family could have originated at Waye (Devon, Dorset.) 1

Early Origins of the Wayes family

The surname Wayes was first found in Dorset. The aforementioned Hundredorum Rolls also included Thomas de la Weye, Kent. 2

"The name is found in North Devon, temp. Henry VII.; and in that district the termination way is of frequent occurrence in the names of farms, homesteads, and the like, without any reference to, or connection with, roads. The mullets hauriant [(fish swimming)] in the arms of one family have been supposed to be allusive to the river Wey, co. Dorset, in which mullets are abundant. Ate-Wey is one of the forms in Hundredorum Rolls. It may be an old baptismal designation, as Wege or Weghe is found in Domesday Book as the name of a tenant anterior to the Survey." 3

Early History of the Wayes family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wayes research. Another 71 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1407, 1430, 1442 and 1476 are included under the topic Early Wayes History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wayes Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Wayes include Way, Waye, Wey, Whey, Weigh, Weghe and others.

Early Notables of the Wayes family

Notables of this surname at this time include: William Wey or Way (1407?-1476), an English traveller and author, born in Devonshire apparently in 1407, was educated at Oxford. In 1430, he became fellow of...
Another 34 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wayes Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Wayes family to Ireland

Some of the Wayes family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wayes migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Wayes were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:

Wayes Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Margaret Wayes, who arrived in Virginia in 1702 4

Sources +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)