The English surname Wise is a nickname for a wise or learned person, or in some cases a nickname for someone suspected of being acquainted with the occult arts, from the Middle English term  wise meaning “wise.” The name is first recorded in 1176 when Aedwin Wise is registered in the "Pipe Rolls of Devonshire." Roger le Wis was noted in the Pipe Rolls of Sussex, dated 1203, and Agnes, daughter of William and Jane Wise, was christened at Easton, Wiltshire, on October 3rd 1591.The name is first recorded in the New World in 1620 when Humphrey Wise arrived in Massachusetts from England. Today there are approximately 67,000 bearers of the name Wise living in the US.