• The first states Willingale originated in Germany     
• The second states the surname Willingale was taken by people living near Willingale Village in Essex     

Graham Richards, one of our researchers, has put together a summary detailing the first recorded instances of Willingale, dating back to 1530's. We believe all living Willingales relate back to these early ancestors.     

Please note the first two articles above were prepared by commercial companies and the WFS have not (yet) been able to confirm their authenticity.

We are also interested in variations of the Willingale name; Willingdale being the current most popular mis-spelling of the name, other variations include

Whillingdale
Willinsgale
Willingsgale
Willinghale
Willingate
Willyngar
Willingall
Winningale
Willynggaell
Willingehall
Willengate
Winnigle

Willingehall and Willinghale seem to be former ways of spelling Willingale when talking about the village, as we have documents detailing the Churches with these particular spellings.

For a full list of all the names in our family tree, please see the Index page