Previously, we have determined with a fair degree of confidence that the Wighton family could have originated in the little village in Norfolk, England called Wighton. Our confidence is based on the fact that we can trace the modern spelling and pronunciation of our surname back to the Anglo-Saxon word wictun since that word is also the source name for the Wighton, Norfolk. However, might there have been other villages with similar-sounding names where we might have originated? In this page, I'll present 5 possibilities and give reasons why I doubt that we came from them.

The red square in the map is Wigtown, Scotland. Across the bay, is the English town Wigton (red circle). The Scottish Wigtown used to be known as Wigton but assumed the different spelling to differentiate itself from its English counterpart.

Why Wigton/Wigtown might be a Wighton town

1. Anglo-Saxons lived in this part of Scotland and England.
2. Some experts believe the source name for Wigton was Wictun but they believe it meant Wicga's Farm
3. There is an obvious closeness in spelling between Wigton and Wighton; the letter [g] could be used on its own to produce the {eech} sound that is part of our surname.
4. The village of Wigton was at one point spelt as Wigtoun which is a validated spelling variant of our surname. (e.g., James Wigtoun, Dundee, 1492)

Why Wigton/Wigtown is probably not a Wighton town

1. The surnames of early citizens of Wigton, Scotland were spelt variously as Wigeton, Wyggeton, and Wygeton. Notice the letter [g] is followed by the letter [e]. Not a single one of our variant spellings of our surname had that [ge] letter combination because it produced the hard g sound ass in hedge. The surnames noted above would have been pronounced something like Widgetoon and not Weechtoon.
2. Wigton was not a variant of our surname in any reference book that I found. Nor did it appear in any of our validated Wighton lines. We did have some Wigtouns but nothing else linking us to Wigton
3. A slow generation-by-generation movement from Wigton to Perthshire might have been possible but there is no evidence of any Wighton variant surname recorded anywhere near western Scotland with the exception of some family members living in Glasgow during the Industrial Revolution.

Wyton (Huntingdonshire) (gray circle) is about 75 miles north of London.

Why Wyton (Huntingdonshire) might be a Wighton town

1. According to Mills (1998), the name Wyton comes from the Old English Wictun.
2. Reaney reported the appearance of William de Wyton in the records for 1219, although he acknowledged that may have been for Wyton, Yorkshire. William's name, and the town's name could have been pronounced in the same way as our surname.

Why Wyton is probably not a Wighton town

1. According to the Houghton and Wyton Local History Society, Wyton is pronounced Witton (short i) and not Whyton (long i).
2. Wyton is a very long distance away from Scotland. References on the emigration that took place during the Anglo-Norman period did not include any mention of it extending that far south.
3. Wyton is land-locked, making it even less plausible that people from this village would have been able to emigrate to Scotland.
4. The name Wyton was not found in any of the Scottish birth/marriage records for our family.

Wyton (Yorkshire) is marked by the red dot in the map above.

The little village of Wyton is marked with the red dot in the map of S.E. Yorkshire above.

Why Wyton (Yorkshire) might be a Wighton town

1. According to Mills (1998), the name Wyton comes from the Old English Wictun.
2. Reaney reported the appearance of William de Wyton in the records for 1219, although he acknowledged that may have been for Wyton, Yorkshire. William's name, and the town's name could have been pronounced in the same way as our surname.

Why Wyton is probably not a Wighton town

1. Wyton was named Widetune and Wyneton in ancient times. (Source: Swine Parish). Neither of these names would approach the phonetic pronunciation of our surname. Neither of these names was found in any of the Scottish birth/marriage records for our family. Neither of these words would be pronounced like our surname.
2. British History Online website reported that the name Wyton was from the Anglian language and it meant women's farm.
3. The name Wyton was not found in any of the Scottish birth/marriage records for our family.

Little Weighton (Yorkshire) is marked by the red dot in the map above.

Little Weighton is marked with the yellow dot in the map of S.E. Yorkshire above.

Why Little Weighton (Yorkshire) might be a Wighton town

1. The word Weighton is a legitimate variant of our surname. In fact, it is the second most common spelling with more than 200 appearances in the Scottish birth/ marriage records.

Why Little Weighton is definitely not a Wighton town

1. Watts (2004) wrote that the name of this village in 1086 was Wideton. The village gave itself the name of Little Weighton in 1828 and did so to distinguish it from the town of Market Weighton which is nearby.
2. Mills (1998) confirmed that the source of the village's name was Wideton . He also stated that the Wideton name had the same origins as the village of Weeton, namely the Old English word Withig + tun . This is not the same source word as our surname.
3. The name Wideton is not pronounced like our surname.
4. The name Wideton was not found in any of the Scottish birth/marriage records for our family.

Sources

MacKay, George (2000). Scottish Place Names, Victoria Public Library, 914.11003

Mills, A. D., Ed. (1998). Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names, Victoria Public Library, 914.2003 MIL

Reaney, P. H. (1991). A Dictionary of English Surnames. Victoria Public Library, 929.42 REA

Watts, Victor, Ed. (2004). Cambridge Dictionary of English Place Names. Victoria Public Library, 914.2002 CAM

Various web sites, including

British History Online (http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=16143)

Gazeteer for Scotland (http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/towns/townhistory363.html)

Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516: Select "Index of Persons" and then "W". (http://www.history.ac.uk/cmh/gaz/gazweb2.html)

Historical Maps of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. (click Scotland Maps and look for free booklet. (http://www.gwp.enta.net/home.htm)

Houghton and Wyton Local Historical Society (http://www.hwlhs.org.uk/villages.php)

Swine Parish: (http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/ERY/Swine/index.html) Look under History for the button Parish of Bilton and click on that button