Weeks (surname)

Derivation

• A patronymic from the Middle English personal name Wikke, which is in turn a short form of any of various Germanic personal names formed with the element wig, meaning battle, war.
• A variant of Wick, which is an English topographic name for someone who lived in an outlying settlement dependent on a larger village; from the Old English wic an early loan word from the Latin vicus, or a habitational name from a place named with this word. Examples of such places include Week Green in Cornwall, and Wick in Somerset., England, named for Gikel's dwelling or dairy farmAs the term was especially used to denote an outlying dairy farm or salt works, it may also have been an occupational name for someone who worked at such a facility. The addition of a final "s" to topographical and locational surnames was a usual medieval practice, denoting one who was resident at a place, rather than from it.
• An Anglification of the Scandinavian Vik, itself either a habitational name from any of the numerous Norwegian or Swedish farmsteads named with Old Norse vík, meaning small bay, inlet, or a topographic or ornamental name. An example of this is the Scottish Highland town of Wick,

  Early instances

• Alueredus de Uuica of Somerset in 1084.
• Goscelin del Wich of Worcestershire in 1184.
• Jordan de la Wike of Gloucestershire in 1194.

• Symon Weeks, of Devonshire, a worsted weaver born in 1618, who emigrated to Barbados in February 1634 aged only 16. He is currently known to be the first person with the surname Weeks or etymologies of it to travel to the new world thus becoming a common ancestor to many with the name or derivatives of it in North America.
• Benjamin Weich of London, who married Aurrelia Clarke at St James Clerkenwell, on 21 September 1653.
• Henry Witch of London who married Ann Rugrove at St Olaves, Southwark, on 26 June 1774.

  Cognates and variations

Frequency and distribution

Notable people with the surname ''Weeks''

• Alan Weeks, British television sports reporter and commentator
• Bert Weeks, mayor of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, from 1975 to 1982
• Bob Weeks, editor of Scoregolf magazine
• Brent Weeks, writer of fantasy books including best-selling The Night Angel trilogy.
• David Weeks, former Conservative Leader of Westminster City Council
• Don Weeks, longtime host of the WGY Morning News in Schenectady, New York
• Edgar Weeks, military officer, judge and politician from Michigan
• Edwin Lord Weeks, American artist
• Ezra Weeks, builder who served as a witness in a sensationalized murder trial
• Frank B. Weeks, former Governor of Connecticut
• George Weeks
• Hilary Weeks, singer/songwriter of faith-based music
• Honeysuckle Weeks, British actress, best known for her starring role as Samantha Stewart in the British TV series Foyle's War
• Janet Healy Weeks, American lawyer and judge
• Jeffrey Weeks, American mathematician and MacArthur Fellow
• Jeffrey Weeks, British historian, sociologist, and gay activist
• Jemile Weeks, Major League Baseball second baseman for the Oakland Athletics, brother of Rickie Weeks
• John W. Weeks, US Senator and Secretary of War
• Joseph Weeks, United States Representative from New Hampshire
• Kent R. Weeks, American Egyptologist
• Kermit Weeks, aviation enthusiast, owner of very large historic aviation collection and museum
• Kevin Weeks, former mobster
• Laurie Weeks, writer and performer based in New York City
• Lee Weeks, American comic book artist and penciller
• Lloyd F. Weeks, Michigan politician
• Levi Weeks, the accused in the infamous Manhattan Well Murder trial of 1800
• Miriam Weeks American pornstar
• Orlando Weeks, lead singer and guitarist of London-based band The Maccabees
• Perdita Weeks, British actress
• Ray Weeks, English cricketer
• Raymond Weeks, American linguist and academic
• Rickie Weeks, Major League Baseball second baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers, brother of Jemile Weeks
• Rollo Weeks, British actor
• Romilly Weeks, English newsreader and journalist
• Russ Weeks, former Republican State Senator from West Virginia
• Sinclair Weeks, United States Secretary of Commerce under Dwight Eisenhower
• Steve Weeks, retired ice hockey goaltender
• Theophilus Weeks, soldier in the French and Indian War and founder of Swansboro, North Carolina
• Thompson Weeks, Wisconsin politician
• William Henry Weeks, American architect who designed many public buildings in California
• Willie Weeks, American bassist