Wainwright
An occupational surname for a maker of wagons or carts.
The #4,948 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 43,400 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Wainwright comes from Old English elements meaning 'wagon' or 'cart' plus 'wright,' a maker or craftsman. The name originally described someone who built wagons, carts, or similar vehicles. In older sources, 'wain' is treated as an archaic word for wagon, which is why the surname is closely paired with Cartwright and Wheelwright.
History
The surname appears in medieval records in forms such as Robert le Wainwright. It belongs to the large family of English craft surnames built on -wright, many of which were especially common in the north of England. The name later became established as a hereditary surname and survives widely in Britain and the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older etymological writers noted that 'wain' survives today in the name of the constellation Charles's Wain.
From the historical record
“T. Wright. WAINWRIGHT \ (Eng.) Wagon - Maker, WAINEWRIGHTJ Cartwright, Wheel- wright [O.E. weB(g)n, awagon, cart, car- ' riage + wyrhta, a wright, maker] WAISTELL = Wastell, q.v. WAIT 1 (A.-Fr.-Teut.) Watchman [M.E. WAITE \ wayte, &c., O.Fr. waite, O.Sax. WAITT J O.H.Ger. wahia, a guard, watchman] Robert le Wayte.—…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Wainwright
- Rufus Wainwright (b. 1973)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.