Wrankmore

Recorded in a number of spellings which are believed to include Wrankmore, Wrinkmore and Wrintmore, this is an English surname. It is locational and probably originates from some place called "Wring-mor" or "Wring-mere", from the pre 7th century Olde English "wring" meaning a river, and "mor" a marsh or fen, or "mere", a lake, although no such place in any of the surname spellings is to be found in the gazetters of Britain going back at least three centuries. This may be because the place was so small, perhaps even a single dwelling, that it was not considered large enough to record, but a more likely explanation is that either the spelling has changed so much over the centuries that it is no longer recognizeable, or that it derives from a "lost" medieval village, of which only the surname in its various forms, survives as a public reminder of its former existence. It is known that over three thousand surnames of the British Isles do originate from "lost" villages, so whilst unusual, it is by no means a unique phenomena. Also from the 14th to the 18th century, drainage schemes took place over most of the English flatlands, the result being that the fens and marshes which formerly existed gradually disappeared, and some villages with them. An early example of the surname recording is that of Margaret Wrinkmore, the daughter of Edward Wrinkmore, who was christened at St Margarets, Westminster, on April 8th 1602.