Wicker
A surname that most likely began as a place-name or nickname, and was later linked by some writers to the Old English word for a wizard.
The #3,462 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 29,914 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Wicker has been explained in more than one way. Some 19th-century authorities treat it as a form of Wick + -er, or as a development from Old English wicca, meaning “wizard” or “sorcerer.” Others suggest it may be tied to an older personal name or to place-names built on Wick/Wich, so the exact origin is not fully settled. In short, it is probably English in formation, but its literal starting point is uncertain.
History
English records show early forms and related surnames such as Wyger, Wickers, Whicker, Wicker-son, and Wickerson, which suggests that the name has long had several local and patronymic shapes. Bardsley and Lower both show that some forms were later interpreted through other surnames like Wilkinson, while Harrison also records a possible connection with an Anglo-Saxon personal name. The surname is established in Britain and later appears in American records as well.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The name was once linked by one dictionary to Old English wicca, the word for a wizard, though that explanation is not the only one given in the old sources.
From the historical record
“2 a weak form of Wilkins, q.v. WICKER (Eng.) i = Wick (q.v.) -(- the E. agent, suff. -er. 2 a descendant of the common A.-Sax. pers. name Wihtgdr = Elf-Spear [O.E. wiht, sprite, elf -|- gar, spear] A Wihtgdr was a nephew of Cerdic, the sixth-century king of Wessex.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)