Wiggs
A surname most likely meaning “son of Wigg,” with Wigg itself probably a short form of an old personal name related to war or strength.
The #9,058 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 85,572 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest historical explanations treat Wiggs as a patronymic, meaning “Wigg’s son” or “descended from Wigg.” Wigg is usually linked to an old Germanic personal name based on words for war or battle, such as Old English wig meaning “war” and related Old Norse forms. Some older writers also connected it with a byname meaning “swift” or “active,” but the patronymic explanation is the one most clearly supported in the source material.
History
19th-century surname dictionaries place Wiggs chiefly in Yorkshire and explain it as a genitive or possessive form of Wigg. The name appears alongside related forms such as Wigson and Wiggins, showing the same underlying personal-name base. Because spellings were fluid in earlier records, occasional explanations by sound or local pronunciation also appear in the literature.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One historical source describes Wigg as an old name found in the ancestry of Cerdic, an early legendary king of Wessex.
From the historical record
“merely an accidental nasalization. WIGGS, Wigg's (Son) : v. Wigg. WIGHAM for Wickham, q.v. Wight 288 Wilburton”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)