Wightman Surname

44,945th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 11,550 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Scotland

Wightman Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a nickname. 'the wightman.' Anglo-Saxon wight, active, brave, strong.

'A wightman of strengthe.' - Piers Plowman, 5195.

Alexander Wigman, Northamptonshire 1273.

Read More About This Surname

Wightman Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States4,7541:76,2438,724
England3,0891:18,0382,583
Australia1,1301:23,8903,274
Canada9081:40,5795,059
Scotland7881:6,7941,057
New Zealand3051:14,8472,601
Northern Ireland1841:10,0271,593
South Africa1691:320,57830,241
Wales471:65,8415,810
Spain311:1,508,13046,256
Zimbabwe191:812,53955,590
Singapore171:323,98313,856
Brazil151:14,271,622267,944
Thailand131:5,433,719375,884
Isle of Man71:12,2602,387
Hong Kong61:1,222,5805,222
Jersey51:19,8403,614
Netherlands51:3,377,435111,911
United Arab Emirates51:1,832,45558,414
Japan41:31,961,07353,820
Philippines41:25,309,556279,062
Jamaica31:956,64910,513
Germany31:26,835,153452,368
Tanzania31:17,647,204107,932
Malaysia21:14,747,112316,340
Italy21:30,578,344160,757
Mauritius21:646,70813,517
Turkey21:38,910,711171,901
Switzerland21:4,106,458122,336
France21:33,211,361423,184
Zambia21:7,924,96145,994
Mexico11:124,126,205103,776
Sweden11:9,846,757347,448
Venezuela11:30,204,07785,459
Colombia11:47,774,07244,230
American Samoa11:55,7583,072
Argentina11:42,743,414282,706
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Azerbaijan11:9,649,12247,873
Bahamas11:391,7512,737
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Bermuda11:65,2793,010
Cambodia11:15,487,14614,824
China11:1,367,321,56651,149
South Korea11:51,240,2568,015
Dominican Republic11:10,432,93236,508
Gabon11:1,889,1946,814
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Malta11:430,2723,380
Norway11:5,142,286129,201
Pakistan11:178,643,885213,220
Qatar11:2,357,99976,403
Russia11:144,123,056881,408
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland2331:19,0122,284
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1,4321:17,0222,480
Scotland5311:7,0491,002
Wales131:120,6475,000
Isle of Man31:18,0901,402
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1,2421:40,4344,751

Wightman (30) may also be a first name.

Wightman Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a nickname. 'the wightman.' Anglo-Saxon wight, active, brave, strong.

'A wightman of strengthe.' - Piers Plowman, 5195.

(2) Bapt. 'the son of Wigmann' (Yonge). It is clear from the evidence that there was some difficulty in pronouncing this early personal name:

Alexander Wigman, Northamptonshire 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Geoffrey Wygeman, or Wygman, or Wigeman, Yorkshire, ibid.

Johannes Wyghman, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Willelmus Wyghman, 1379: ibid.

Johannes Wyghman, 1379: ibid.

Richard Wightman, Yorkshire: Feodarium Prioratus Dunelmensis (Surtees Society).

William Whytman. Calendarium Inquisitionum Post Mortem.

Audrey Whiteman, temp. Elizabeth: Calendar of Proceedings in Chancery, temp. Elizabeth I.

I strongly suspect the baptismal origin (2) is the correct one. I believe also that all the four modern directory forms given above are varieties of one name. If there were evidence enough (1) would be a tempting solution.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

Harrison says from "wight," strong, active, + man, and Bardsley quotes from Piers Plowman (5195), "A Wightman of strengthe." Gilbert Wichtmann was rector of Lyne in 1527 (LCD., II. 85), and John Wychtman rendered to Exchequer the accounts of the burgh of Peebles in 1563 (ER., XIX, p. 225). Thomas Vychtman was witness in Perthshire, 1547 (Gaw, 46), John Waichtman appears in Melrose, 1606 (RRM. I, p. 7), Johannes Wichtman, burgess of Peebles, 1631 (Retours, Peebles, 89), Adam Wightman in Meikle-holme-syde, 1680 (Dumfries), Thomas Wightman is recorded in Broxburne in 1688 (RPC., 3. ser. XIII, p. 235), and another Thomas Wightman was tenant of Whiterigg in 1763 (Lauder). John Wightman was dean of guild in Aberdeen, 1716 (Guildry, p. 202). Wichtman 1569.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

= Wight (q.v.) + man.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(Scottish, English) The agile or strong man; the man from Wight, q.v.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

A strong, active, or clever man. See Wight.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Wightman Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Wightman Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Wightman has its highest incidence in The United States. It can appear as a variant:. For other potential spellings of this surname click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Wightman? popularity and diffusion

Wightman is the 44,945th most prevalent last name internationally, held by around 1 in 630,956 people. The surname is mostly found in The Americas, where 42 percent of Wightman live; 42 percent live in North America and 42 percent live in Anglo-North America. Wightman is also the 1,911,214th most prevalent first name throughout the world, held by 30 people.

Wightman is most widespread in The United States, where it is carried by 4,754 people, or 1 in 76,243. In The United States Wightman is most common in: California, where 12 percent are found, Ohio, where 6 percent are found and Florida, where 6 percent are found. Excluding The United States this last name exists in 52 countries. It is also common in England, where 27 percent are found and Australia, where 10 percent are found.

Wightman Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Wightman has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people bearing the Wightman surname expanded 383 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it expanded 216 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it expanded 148 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Wales it expanded 362 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Wightman Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those holding the last name is predominantly Presbyterian (81%) in Ireland.

In The United States Wightman are 17.44% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 64.21% registered to vote for the party.

The amount Wightman earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 119.22% more than the national average, earning R 520,956 per year; in United States they earn 11.09% more than the national average, earning $47,936 USD per year and in Canada they earn 11.7% more than the national average, earning $55,496 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Weightman944,431/
Whightman9425/
Wieghtman942/
Wighhtman941/
Waightman941/
Wightmann940/
Whaightman893/
Weightmann891/
Vightman881/
Bightman880/
Weghtman880/
Wightmon880/
Voightman8240/
Boightman821/
Whightmon820/
Weightmon820/
Voightmann7839/
Wehghtmam711/

Search for Another Surname

Wightman Reference & Research

Whitman DNA Website - A web page dedicated to the genetic research of those who bear the surname and its variants.

Weightman FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

Whitman FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Wightman
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis