Vingo(e) family origins.

[Mal]

After reading CT's post about European connections it made me think of the "controversial" origins of the Vingoe name.

Legend has it that the Vingoes were winetasters to William the Conqueror and connected to the ancient estates of Treville and the Count's of Mortain. Old French "vin+gout" = "wine-taste".
There is a story about a certain Vingoe who went around London with a coat of arms displaying a bunch of grapes as well. Victorian heraldry is highly suspect however.

I have always been intrigued about the obscure origins of this once numerous family from which I am also descended.

The Cornish explanation would be Tre-Vingy, but somehow it does not seem to work for me. No examples of a link with the Vingoe family other than one Trevingoe which could also mean the homestead of Mr Vingoe, originally.

Looking elsewhere, what I have found is quite interesting, although no concrete evidence can be ascertained.

Vingo occurs as a surname here in Southern Italy, especially in the area of Avellino. Italian genealogy is fraught with difficulty and I have not been able to find much. But the name is considered to be "odd" or "strange" here in Italy.

In northern Italy ( a long way from Avellino, Campania) there is a small town of Treville (Piemonte/Piedmont) whose arms caryy the motto "VINCO" = I win.

I have also found a couple of Vingo(e)s in France, interestingly in Brittany and Normandy dating back to the 1600's. Again, the name is not very common.

The King of England employed Italian and German mercenaries during the suppression of the Cornish rebellions of the 15th century- perhaps a connection?

The name occurs also as VENEGOE on at least one occasion and is also found far from Cornwall, Norfolk at an early date. Norfolk being one of the ancient "powerhouses" of the Normans, including the Counts of Mortain and the Dukes of Cornwall (I stand to be corrected on this one....)

The Italian explanation of the name is that it derives from the Latin VINICIUS an ancient Roman family from the Oscan area of Italy, i.e. Avelino etc!!! Back round in a circle.

Is it possible that Roman Britons in Wales and the West kept a version of a Latin name, as is the case with Emlyn- Aemilianus, and Emyr- Ambrosius etc in Wales?

Or is it possible that the old legends were not fictitious at all, and that in fact they were somehow Norman wine tasters? T like a bit of Beaujolais or BoJolly as we say


Appendix.

ITALIAN VINGOES

Note they are all born in the Old Norman "South" of Italy.

1. Deodata De Vingo -
Gender: Female Birth: , , Italy
2. Caterina Vingo - Female Birth: 1802 Santo Stefano Del Sole, Avellino, Avellino, Italy
3. Caterina Vingo - 1802 Santo Stefano Del Sole, Avellino, Avellino, Italy
4. Giovanni Vingo - : About 1772
5. Giovanni Vingo - : About 1772
6. Nicola Vingo - Male Birth: Before 1750 Avellino, Avellino, Italy
7. Anna Maria VINGO - Female Birth: 1833 Palermo, Palermo, Italy
8. Caterina Vingo -: About 1862 Santo Stefano Del Sole, Avellino, Avellino, Italy
9. Caterina Vingo - Female Death: About 1862 Santo Stefano Del Sole, Avellino, Avellino, Italy
10. Nicola Vingo - 1846 Santo Stefano Del Sole, Avellino, Avellino, Italy
11. Giovanni Vingo - International : Male Death: 22 JUN 1854 Santo Stefano Del Sole, Avellino, Avellino, Italy
12. Giovanni Vingo - Male Death: 22 JUN 1854 Santo Stefano Del Sole, Avellino, Avellino, Italy
13. Caterina Vingo Female Marriage: 04 SEP 1824 Santo Stefano Del Sole, Avellino, Avellino, Italy
14. Giovanni Vingo - Male Marriage: 1799 Santo Stefano Del Sole, Avellino, Avellino, Italy
15. Nicola Vingo - Male Marriage: Before 1772 Avellino, Avellino, Italy
16. Anna Maria VINGO - 1855 Palermo, Palermo, Italy

[Cornish Terrier]

Pawley White suggests it may be a breakaway of the place name Trevengey, St Ives but says that the derivation is obscure.

He also states that the name is found only in West Cornwall.

A Handbook of CORNISH SURNAMES - G. Pawley White

In other posts I have made mention of the name as there was a Sarah VINGOE married into the TREWHELLA family.

Interested to see how this discussion progresses although perhaps it would be better continued in more appropriate sections of this forum.

CT

[Mal]

Hi CT,

The Vingoe name is undoubtedly Cornish in the sense of it being found predominantly in Cornwall, but it does pop up elsewehere, Devon obviously but in other places too.

The variant VENEGOE is also interesting. I see the point about it being Trevenegy et al, but somehow I am not convinced. Why would the TRE- prefix be dropped and the ending change? The TRE- prefix is usually the most "stable" in Cornish surnames. The Italian "coincidence" is also odd as this area of Italy was never a "Celtic" area, unlike parts of the North of Italy.

I found a couple of non-Cornish Vingoes on IGI, although it remains to be seen what their actual origins may have been.
note: (4) VINGO(R)

1. WILLIAM VINGO - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Christening: FEB 1686 Saint Giles, Reading, Berkshire, England

2. Mr. Vingo - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Marriage: 18 JUN 1732 Purley, Berkshire, England

4. Susan Vingor - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Marriage: 12 NOV 1670 Carleton-Rode, Norfolk, England

[trencrom]

If the name is found is predominantly in Cornwall I would be opting for a Cornish, and not a Norman origin. If it was Norman I would expect to see a heavier concentration of it in other parts of England that were more heavily populated by Normans after 1066. I also do not recall coming across the names of any winetasters in any material on William the Conqueror that I have read.
I suspect this surname could well be a Breton import into Cornwall

Trencrom

[Mal]

I have found two instances of the name in the 17th century in Brittany and Normandy, however it is the Italian coincidence that puzzles the most, especially the fact that it is so concentrated in ONE are alone of Italy, an area that was under Norman domination. There is also the Treville/Trevilley conundrum as well.
The point you raise about Bretons is interesting to. I have not been able to find a reliable source on internet with regard to Breton surnames however it is an historical fact that Cornwall and Brittany were practically one and the same throughout the Middle Ages and that many Breton overlords came with Duke William to Britain. As well as this trade and cultural exchange continued up until the Reformation.