What nationality does the surname Wilson come from?
The surname “Wilson” has Norwegian origins. English, Scottish, and northern Irish. Patronymic from the personal name Will, a very common medieval short form of William. Few have not heard of the legendary prowess of the Vikings. This fierce sea-faring race acquired settlements in the 9th century at the northern tip of Scotland. It was from this group that the family name WILSON emerges. Professional researchers found the origin of this surname WILSON by referring to such documents as the Viking Sagas, the Orkneyinga Sagas, the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, the Inquisitor and translations of local manuscripts, parish records, baptismal, and tax records. The first record of the name WILSON was found in Berwickshire where they had been seated from very ancient times. In ancient times it was not uncommon for a person to be born with one spelling of his name, married with another, and yet another to appear on his headstone. Amongst the spellings recorded were, Wilson, Willson, Wilsone, Wilso
Wilson is one of the most common British surnames: Wilson English, Scottish, and northern Irish: patronymic from the personal name Will, a very common medieval short form of William. Trying to work out whether it derives from one area or another doesn’t work, as it is so widespread. However, there are families of that name in some areas, such as Scotland, who rose to become much more than their ancestors (as others have pointed out in posts) As I cannot stress often enough though, the only way to really discover your surname origin is to trace BACK from yourself to the ancestor who first held it. that may or may not be possible (noble ancestors poss. commoners zilch) But you still might get ideas or probabilities by going as far as you can.
