936 Global WATKINSON Family Members

WATKINSON Family History

This surname, widespread in Lancashire and Yorkshire, is of medieval English origin, and is a patronymic form of the male given name Watkin, itself a diminutive of Wat, a popular pet form of Walter. This name was introduced into England by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066, in the forms "Walt(i)er" and "Waut(i)er", and is composed of the Germanic elements "wald", rule, and "heri, hari", army. The normal vernacular pronunciation of the Middle Ages, "water", reflected the latter of these forms. The name appears in its Latinized form "Walterius" in the Domesday Book of 1086. Its subsequent popularity produced a wide variety of diminutives and patronymics including: Watt, Watkin(g), Watkins, Watkiss and Watkinson...