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Wallbank
About the study
AIMS OF THE GROUP
1. To encourage the study the Wallbank name and its variants worldwide.
2. To gather and publish data on the name and its variants (by this website, links to other websites , or other means)
3. To compile and publish a register of Wallbank researchers.
4. To provide of means for discussion and information exchange.
Variant names
Wallbanks , Walbank, Walbanks, Walbancke, Welbank, Wilbank, Wilbanks
Name origin
A topograhical name that probably originated in the Ribble Valley in Lancashire / Yorkshire
History of the name
The first recorded spelling of the family name is of Adam de Wallebonk in 1332.
The earliest reference in parish registers is shortly after the compulsory keeping of registers in 1538. Several parishes in the Ribble Valley recorded the name before 1560.Shortly afterwards the name and variants appeared in registers in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire
Name frequency
There were approximately 1000 Wallbank and variants in the British Isles at the 1881 Census. A very small number were in New Zealand, Australia and USA. In 2000 this number had doubled.
Distribution of the name
UK Regional Variations
Most Wallbank and Walbank surnames are found in Lancashire and Yorkshire.The towns of greatest concentration of Wallbank are Preston and Clitheroe. For the much less common Walbank , Bradford is the top city. It is estimate from telephone directories that about 50% of the GB total live in these two counties. About 25% live in the Midland counties (predominately Staffordshire and Worcester) ; about 12% are found in Greater London ;and about 3% in South Wales. The few remaining are scattered across the regions. The South Wales line grew from one or two migrants from North Staffordshire in the 19th century .
North Staffordshire has the greatest number of the Wallbanks variant, about 50% of the total reside around Stoke-on-Trent. None, or very few, are to be found in the Wallbank hot-spot of Lancashire/Yorkshire.
Overseas
I have little data for the non-UK Wallbank and variants. In New Zealand according to the Surname Profiler the Wallbank variant has its highest share of the population in Waikato Province, Walbank in the Bay of Plenty, and Wallbanks in Canterbury province. In the USA, Wallbank has its highest share in Massachussets. No data is published for Walbank and Wallbanks in the USA in the Surname Profiler.
Wilbank(s) variants are found in the USA. A webpage dedicated to this name can be found on Rootsweb
DNA
The Wallbank surname DNA project was started in December 2006
Go to the project page at FamilytreeDNA for more information
www.familytreedna.com/public/wallbank/
Links
To find out more about the Wallbank One -Name Study go to
www.wallbanks.org
Contact
Ian Wallbank