Last name: Wickliffe

Google the name Wickliffe & a thousand different things will pop up.

http://www.familycrestdb.com/irish/wickliffe-surname.html

I found everything from cities & counties named Wickliffe to car rental places & pharmaceutical companies.

The surname has no formal meaning, but it is used as both a first & last name.

I'd always believed that it had some German origin, but the surname actually originated in Northern England.  

https://www.historicalnames.com/wickliffe-coat-of-arms.aspx

According to the surname database, the name may have come from the term "white cliff".

The spelling varies, but I've seen it spelled several ways: Wycliffe, Wickliff, Wycliff or Wicliffe.   

So how did we end up with the last name Wickliffe?

This is a mystery I'm still trying to solve.

I've blogged about it a few times in the past:

• Who was Joe/Joseph Bodine?
• Pond Creek
• Robert Wickliffe's Will

Whether my ancestors were given as wedding gifts or in a will, I'm still unsure, but regardless, we were eventually given the surname from our original slave owners.

 Will the family name continue?

With only a few Wickliffe males left, is our family name being preserved?  

I've never been to a family reunion.  My mother is the only person besides a distant cousin who has ever told me about my family.  

What will happen when they are unable tell their stories?