Show ContentsWayland History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Wayland family

The surname Wayland was first found in Devon at Welland which was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. 1

Alternatively, the name could have originated in Welland, Worcestershire, a parish, in the union of Upton-upon-Severn, Lower division of the hundred of Oswaldslow. 2 3

Yet another source notes the name literally means "dweller at the Spring-Land [Old English w(i)ell (a spring, well + land] or dweller by the River Welland, occurring in very late copies or versions of Latin charters of the Anglo-Saxon period as Weland and Weeland. " 4

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 include some of the earliest records and the earliest spellings of the family: William de Welond, Gloucestershire; Thomas Welond, Oxfordshire; and Richard Welond, Suffolk. 5

Thomas de Weyland (fl. 1272-1290), was an early English judge, "a member of a Norfolk family that since the beginning of the thirteenth century had possessed land at Oxburgh and elsewhere in that county. The name comes from Weyland, a wood near Watton, which gives its name to a Norfolk hundred. The family had also possessed lands in Ireland since about 1248, at which time one William de Weyland was in Ireland, in the service of Aymer de Valence (d. 1260), the half-brother of Henry III. This William is probably the same as the Sir William de Weyland whom a pedigree in Blomefield's 'Norfolk,' the father of Thomas the judge. This William is generally identified with the William de Weyland who was escheator south of Trent between 1261 and 1265, justice itinerant, holder of many particular assizes, and justice of the common pleas in 1272 and 1273. There were several other Weylands mentioned in the records of this time whose precise relationship to each other and to the judge is hard to determine. " 6

Early History of the Wayland family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wayland research. Another 84 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1273 is included under the topic Early Wayland History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wayland Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Welland, Weland, Weyland, Wayland, Welond, Welend, Wellond, Wellend and many more.

Early Notables of the Wayland family

More information is included under the topic Early Wayland Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wayland Ranking

In the United States, the name Wayland is the 8,517th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 7


Wayland migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Wayland Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Francis Wayland, who landed in New York in 1794 8
  • Job Wayland, who arrived in New York in 1794 8
  • Levy Wayland, who landed in New York in 1794 8
  • Seth Wayland, who arrived in New York in 1794 8
Wayland Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Charles Wayland, aged 22, who arrived in New York in 1812 8
  • Bridget Wayland, aged 20, who landed in New York, NY in 1850 8

Wayland migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Wayland Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. John Wayland, British convict who was convicted in Bristol, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Competitor"18th March 1823, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9
  • Ellen Wayland, aged 40, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "Navarino" 10

Wayland migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Wayland Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Miss Fanny Wayland, (b. 1835), aged 21, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sir Edward Paget" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd July 1856 11
  • Mr. Joseph Wayland, (b. 1838), aged 18, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sir Edward Paget" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd July 1856 11
  • Mr. Joseph Wayland, (b. 1813), aged 45, British labourer travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Mystery" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 29th March 1859 12

Contemporary Notables of the name Wayland (post 1700) +

  • Hank Frederic Gregson Wayland (1906-1983), American swing jazz double-bassist
  • Francis Wayland (1796-1865), American Baptist educator and economist
  • Tom Wayland (b. 1973), American musician, actor and voice actor
  • William E. Wayland, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois, 1972 13
  • John A. Wayland, American politician, Member of Texas State Senate 12th District, 1899-1902 13
  • C. A. Wayland, American Republican politician, Presidential Elector for California, 1924 13
  • Lieutenant-Colonel Sir William Abraham Edward Wayland (1869-1950), English politician and farmer
  • Susan Wayland (b. 1980), German fashion model
  • Francis Wayland Palmer (1827-1907), American Republican politician, Newspaper editor and publisher; Printer; Member of New York State Assembly from Chautauqua County 2nd District, 1854-55; Iowa State Printer, 1861-69; U.S. Representative from Iowa 5th District, 1869-73; Delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois, 1876; Postmaster at Chicago, Illinois, 1877-85; U.S. Public Printer, 1889-94, 1897-1905
  • C. Wayland Spruill, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Carolina, 1952 (alternate), 1956 14


  1. Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
  2. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  3. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  4. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  5. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  6. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  7. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  8. 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)
  9. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/competitor
  10. South Australian Register Monday 14th August 1854. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Navarino 1854. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/navarino1854.shtml
  11. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  12. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  13. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  14. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, April 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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