Wright / Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Wright / Family History

Wright / Family History

The family history of the ancient name Wright was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. Wright is an occupational name meaning 'carpenter' from a person who made their living as a shipwright. Variants of this name include Wrightson, Wrighte, Wrixon, Wraight, Wreight and Wrate. This name is of Anglo-Saxon English descent spreading to the Celtic countries of Ireland, Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts throughout these countries. Examples of such are a Robert le Wright, a Roger le Wricte, and a Margery le Wrytte, all of County Cambridgeshire, who were recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls', England, in 1273. A Ralf le Wrighte was Burgess of Stirling, Scotland, in 1296. A Robert Wreghtson was recorded in the 'Poll Tax' of the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1379.

In Ireland this name and its variants were introduced into Ulster Province by settlers who arrived from England and Scotland, especially during the seventeenth century. During the 'Plantations of Ireland' in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Ireland was colonized by the English Crown with this period marking the end of Gaelic supremacy in Ireland. This period brought an influx of settlers into the country but, unlike the earlier Anglo-Norman invasion of the twelfth century that resulted in a full integration into Irish society of the new arrivals, the same never occurred with the Ulster Planters who maintained their own distinct identity.

It is also found in some numbers in County Dublin.The Wright family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Wright descendants.