Woolrych is one of the oldest family names to come from the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain.
This very ancient Shropshire family is descended from Sir Adam Wolryche, Knight Templar.
He was admitted of the Roll of Guild Merchants of Shrewsbury 1231, by the Saxon name Adam Wolfric, and was seated for many years at Wenlock.
It may be derived from Wulfric, a Germanic personal name that became common in England after the Norman Conquest. After Duke William of Normandy (more commonly known as William The Conqueror) defeated the Saxon nobility at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, he encouraged the immigration of skilled tradesmen and administrators from the continent into England.
Many of these came from the area where Germany would later become a nation. This resulted in the importation of a large number of new personal names and surnames.
There is evidence to suggest that there are associations going back to the time of King Alfred and Earls in the Kingdom of Mercia.
The personal name Wulfric means "wolf-powerful." This name appears in the Domesday Book as Wlfric and Vlfric.
Through out the years Woolrych has been spelt in different ways including Wolriche, Wolryche and Woolryche.