This name is of English locational origin from either of two places thus called in Buckinghamshire and Rutland. The former, recorded as Wedwungum in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, dated 966, as Withunga in the Domesday Book of 1086 and as Weenge in the 1203 Assize Court Rolls of Buckinghamshire, derives its name from the Old English pre 7th Century, "Wiht(h)uningas" meaning "dwellers at (ingas), the settlement (tun) of Wiht", a byname from "wiht", a "creature". The latter, recorded as Wengeford in Anglo-Saxon documents, dated 1046, as Wenge in the 1202 Assize Court Rolls of Rutland is believed to derive from the Old Scandinavian "vang", a field. In 1599, John Wynge was recorded in the Oxford University Register. Vincent Wing (1619 - 1668) was an astronomer who published "Astronomia Britannica" in 1652 and founded the almanac, "Olympia Domata". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Geoffrey Wenge, which was dated 1273, The Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire, during the reign of King Edward 1, "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2024