I decided to start my genealogy book with explaining where my maiden surname came from and the meaning behind the name. While I had researched the meaning of the name many years ago it was at a high level, meaning I didn't take a deep dive at that time.
Since I was starting my book with the meaning and source of our surname, I decided to take a deep dive in where the name came from and what it could possibly mean. Surnames are derived from several categories: patronymic, matronymic, occupational, descriptive, and toponymic.
They can also be traced by to older languages that are no longer readily used in today's society, which is one of the possibilities of my original surname. As I took a deeper dive into the language that was referenced in the explanation of how the name was created it lead me down the path of learning more about the Hwicce or Hwicca tribe in Britian.
The Hwicce were an Anglo-Saxon Kingdom in the Angles of Central England that existed roughly between 577 - 805 when it appears they were absorbed into what became known as Mercia.
The details about the Hwicce are not clear even the origin of their name, but it is suggested that it is a Saxon name with German influence. The word Hwicce cognate with 'witch'.
So my family started in America as Quakers and it appears that they possibly started in this world as Vikings who were part of a group of people that can be connected to witches. Very interesting. I would encourage you to read more about the old tribes of Britian and Europe by going to this website: https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/.
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