English, Scottish, and northern Irish: occupational name for a
maker of machinery, mostly in wood, of any of a wide range of kinds,
from Old English wyrhta, wryhta ‘craftsman’ (a
derivative of wyrcan ‘to work or make’). The term is found in
various combinations (for example, Cartwright and
Wainwright), but when used in isolation it generally referred
to a builder of windmills or watermills.
Common New England
Americanized form of French Le Droit, a nickname for an upright
person, a man of probity, from Old French droit ‘right’, in
which there has been confusion between the homophones right and
wright.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
Start your FREE family tree. Who will you discover?
A family tree is the easiest way to start discovering your family history. To begin, just enter whatever you know and we'll use that to try and find more information for you.
Begin your family tree with your name:
The wright name in History
A unique volume of fascinating facts, statistics and commentary following the wright family name as far back in history as possible.
Member Connections
Anonymously contact one of the Ancestry members researching the wright last name.