Wildgoose Surname

265,691st
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 1,472 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Bahamas

Wildgoose Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a nickname. 'the wildgoose,' from some characteristic resemblance to the habits of the bird.

Alicia Wyldguse, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Robertus Wyldgose, souter, 1379: ibid.

Simon Wildegose, Close Rolls, 2 Richard II.

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Wildgoose Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England8531:65,3207,596
Bahamas2811:1,394242
United States1731:2,095,138133,172
Scotland751:71,3845,479
Canada591:624,50251,218
Australia111:2,454,155103,534
South Africa71:7,739,672177,858
Wales31:1,031,51134,732
Spain21:23,376,018128,922
New Zealand11:4,528,32355,372
Switzerland11:8,212,915156,297
Trinidad and Tobago11:1,363,97522,013
Netherlands11:16,887,176156,465
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Bulgaria11:6,978,90586,260
Northern Ireland11:1,845,03620,648
Ireland11:4,708,93929,543
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland11:4,429,86640,727
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England7501:32,5004,317
Scotland521:71,9854,169
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States21:25,109,342694,541

Wildgoose Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a nickname. 'the wildgoose,' from some characteristic resemblance to the habits of the bird.

Alicia Wyldguse, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Robertus Wyldgose, souter, 1379: ibid.

Simon Wildegose, Close Rolls, 2 Richard II.

1582-3. John Wylgose, Sussex: Register of the University of Oxford.

1603. Buried — William Wildgoose, servant to William Pickering: St. Dionis Backchurch.

1774. Married — John Wildgoose and Catherine Garvie: St. George, Hanover Square.

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

John Wildguse who was canon of Aberdeen in 1366 (REA., II, p. 58), is probably the Johannes Wylgus in record in Moray, c. 1391 (REM., p. 129). Andro Wilgues occupied the subdean's croft and mains within the canonry of Ross, c. 1560 (OPS., II, p. 415), and John Wilgus in Levtoun was assizor on witch trial in Aberdeen, 1596 (SCM., I, p. 110). Thomas Vilguis was admitted burgess of Aberdeen in 1612 (NSCM., I, p. 110). In 1613 Gilbert Wilguis and Thomas Wilguiss, baxters, "wer convict for baking of eat breid against the statuttis" of the burgh of Aberdeen (SCM., V, p. 8), and Gilbert Wilguis, most probably the person just named, appears as member of council of the same burgh in 1620 (CRA., p. 370). There were tenants of this name in N. Leask and Knapleask in 1696 and "the burriel ground of the Wildgooses" still remains in the parish of Slains. Probably Willgook, which appears at the same time, is another form of the name. It is still known in Buchan, particularly in Peterhead district. Three persons of this name were on an assize at Stable of Slains in 1597 (Jervise, II, p. 248). Searle gives Wilgils as an Old English personal name, and Barber has Wildgis which I cannot find elsewhere.

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

(English) a nickname from the Wilcock’s Son v. Wilcock. Wild Goose [Old English wilde + gós] Adam Wylkokson.—Yorks Poll-Tax, A.D. 1379.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English) a nickname from the Wilcock’s Son v. Wilcock. Wild Goose Adam Wylkokson.—Yorks Poll-Tax, A.D. 1379.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

The same as Wilgoss, Willgoss, the Old German Willigis and Wilgis, and the Anglo-Saxon Wilgis, a name which occurs in the genealogy of the Northumbrian kings. It might translate very warlike, or very strong, from fil, much, full; gais, a spear; from the Gael, gais, geis, a weapon peculiar to the old Gauls, whence the L. gœsum, Gr. γαισος, a weapon; Gael, gaisge, valor; gaisgeach, a hero.

Ludus Patronymicus (1868) by Richard Stephen Charnock

Wildgoose Last Name Facts

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

Wildgoose is more frequently found in England than any other country/territory. It may occur as:. For other possible spellings of this last name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Wildgoose? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 265,691st most frequent last name worldwide, held by around 1 in 4,950,778 people. The last name Wildgoose is primarily found in Europe, where 64 percent of Wildgoose reside; 63 percent reside in Northern Europe and 63 percent reside in British Isles.

It is most widely held in England, where it is borne by 853 people, or 1 in 65,320. In England Wildgoose is mostly found in: Derbyshire, where 30 percent reside, South Yorkshire, where 17 percent reside and Greater Manchester, where 8 percent reside. Other than England it exists in 16 countries. It is also common in The Bahamas, where 19 percent reside and The United States, where 12 percent reside.

Wildgoose Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Wildgoose has changed over time. In England the share of the population with the last name grew 114 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it grew 8,650 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Scotland it grew 144 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Wildgoose Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those carrying the last name is primarily Anglican (100%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Wildgoose surname are 13.44% more likely to be registered Democrats than The US average, with 66.67% registered with the political party.

The amount Wildgoose earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 28.93% less than the national average, earning R 168,900 per year; in United States they earn 17.8% more than the national average, earning $50,829 USD per year and in Canada they earn 48.16% more than the national average, earning $73,611 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

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Wildgoose Reference & Research

A Gaggle of Geese - A website dedicated to the surname Wildgoose and all its variants worldwide.

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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 Wildgoose
  • 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