Glenwright Name Study

Date: 1550 to 2050
Location: Northumberland, England --> Worldwide
Surname/tag: Glenwright

Introduction

This one-name study is for the somewhat unusual occupational surname, “Glenwright”, derived from two old English words, "glen" (forest) and "wright" (maker or artisan).

Today, this name is most frequent in England (about 1 in 500,000), Canada and Australia (about 1 in 1,000,000 each) and the United States (about 1 in 2,000,000). But it also appears in scattered places worldwide, primarily, but not exclusively, former British colonies.

The Glenwright name is also a good choice for study because it does not have any other significant spellings or other surnames that can be mistaken for it. And it is not a name commonly adopted by people that weren't born with it. Yes, we find records indexed under other spellings, but they are misspelled, misindexed, or transliterated differently, but I have not found any to be the primary spelling accepted by a branch of the family over time.

Unlike other surnames, it really appears that almost all Glenwright families are related to each other. At the dawn of the English records in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, we find all the Glenwrights coalesced into three neighboring parishes in the South Tyne valley of Northumberland, England. And as we trace the families forward, almost every significant branch appears to tie back into the original families.

This page expands on my 2017 book on the origins of the Glenwright family, updating it with the latest that we have found. If you would like to help us, or wish to contribute to this site, we are pleased to have you join us. Please see the sections below for more details.

Research Pages

Here are some of the current research pages included in the study. I'll be working on them, and could use your help! Logically, we've split the research into five areas based on time and geography.

• Glenwright origins in the South Tyne valley of northern England
• Glenwright migrations to the coal mining regions of Northumberland and Durham
• Glenwright migrations to Cumberland
• Glenwright migrations to other parts of England and the world
• Glenwright emigrants to North America and their descendants
• Glenwright emigrants to Australia and New Zealand, and their descendants

Notable Glenwright Family Members

Interesting Glenwright Family Documents

About the Project

The Glenwright Name Study project serves as a collaborative platform to collect information on the Glenwright name. Our hope is that other researchers like you will join the study to help make it a valuable reference point for other genealogists who are researching or have an interest in the Glenwright name.

As a One Name Study, this project is not limited to persons who are related biologically. Individual studies can be used to branch out the research into specific methods and areas of interest, such as geographically (England Glenwright's), by time period (18th Century Glenwright's), or by topic (Glenwright DNA, Glenwright Occupations, Glenwright Statistics). These studies may also include a number of family branches which have no immediate link with each other. Some researchers may even be motivated to go beyond the profile identification and research stage to compile fully sourced, single-family histories of some of the families they discover through this name study project.

Also see the related surnames and surname variants.

How to Join

To join the Glenwright Name Study, first start out by browsing our current research pages to see if there is a specific study ongoing that fits your interests. If so, feel free to add your name to the Membership list below, post an introduction comment on the specific team page, and then dive right in!

If a research page does not yet exist for your particular area of interest, please contact the Name Study Coordinator: Doug Murphy for assistance.

Once you are ready to go, you can also show your project affiliation with the ONS Member Sticker:

Membership

Related Surnames and Surname Variants

• Glenright
• Glenrite