it was a compound of rex and ham, so a "king's hamlet", or that it derives from "Writtlesham" which was stated to mean a "village/town of wreaths".

The first recorded reference to the town in 1161 is to a castle at "Wristlesham" (or "Wristlesha'"), with the present form "Wrexham" used in 1186, and again in 1200. In 1202, Madoc ap Gruffydd Maelor, Lord of Dinas Brân, referenced a 'Wrechcessham" where he granted some of his demesne