have pursued research in the DNA/surname area and have formed surname distribution maps which could also, therefore be considered as gene maps.
It is a biblical name and was a popular medieval personal name in Europe.
It is a toponymic surname for someone from the town called Pembroke in Wales.
It is derived from Welsh word ‘bychan’ that means ‘small’ or ‘little.’ The name would have originated to distinguish the younger of two bearers of the same personal name. The site, Forebears, is a treasure trove of data including parish records, censuses, old newspaper articles and land deeds. This fact has been demonstrated by Rowlands and Rowlands (The Surnames of Wales for Family Historians and Others, 1996), using all surnames from the marriage registers from 1813-1837. Welsh surnames are interesting and have several unique attributes that make them intriguing as well.
The surnames of Wales.
Elijah has been the name of several saints in the past. Their technique assists the researcher in pinpointing the exact area when the only knowledge is that ‘he was from Wales.’ Even the name Jones is comparatively scarce in Pembrokeshire and some parts of Glamorgan, but extremely common in parts of North Wales. Chart:Results for Single Surnames* Incidence percentage relates to total population in all of Wales except where noted. It is a variant of the name ‘Bedo,’ which is the pet form of the Welsh name Meredith that means ‘sea lord’ or ‘protector of the sea’ in Welsh. It could come from the Norse-Viking word 'Hvin', translating literally as 'gorse', but probably a nickname for a prickly person.
It appeared in Wales in the early to mid-16th century and had a number of variations including Evans, Evens, Evins, Evance, Ifans, Ivings and Heavans. According to Findmypast, Wynne is the most mysterious name on the list as it has four possible origins. The Encyclopedia of Wales surmises that the system may have been Welsh law, in which it was essential for people to know how people were descended from an ancestor. When commenting on the surname situation in Wales he said: The contribution of Wales to the number of surnames is very small in proportion to its population.
This surname is derived from ‘Collen,’ which is a Welsh word for hazel or a hazel grove. John is derived from the Latin Johannes, meaning "Yaweh is gracious". The mediaeval seat of the ancestors of the Williams family was at Llangibby Castle in County Monmouth.
Theoretically, if everything were perfect in society, the surname would indicate the biological paternity.
[1] Names such as Llewelyn ap Dafydd ab Ieuan ap Gruffudd ap Meredydd were not uncommon.
This fact has been demonstrated by Rowlands and Rowlands (The Surnames of Wales for Family Historians and Others, 1996), using all surnames from the marriage registers from 1813-1837.
This surname is considered to have been established since the 17th century in Ireland.
In Wales and other Celtic areas, the name also derives from the Old Celtic Hu or Huw, meaning 'fire' or 'inspiration'. Unlike other patronymic names, Lloyd is believed to have originally been a nickname and over time became a baptismal name. Famous Davieses include Bette Davies, Love Island's Amber Davies and actor John Rhys Davies. Wales traditionally has a history of patronymic naming which uses your fathers first name as your surname. Of medieval Welsh origin, Evans is the patronymic form of Ifan or Evan, itself coming from the word 'Iovannes' and is the Latin form of John. It is derived from the Old Welsh name ‘Cynwrig’ that is a combination of elements ‘cyn’ meaning ‘chief’ and ‘gwr’ meaning ‘man ‘. Although there are relatively few surnames in Wales, different areas of Wales have distinctive groupings of these surnames. The top hundred surnames in Wales.
Perhaps nine tenths of our countrymen in the principality could be mustered under less than 100 different surnames; and while in England there is no redundancy of surnames, The surname is especially common in south Wales, but well-known people named with the surnames include Wimbledon champions Venus and Serena Williams, the late actor and comedian Robin Williams, and Welsh chef Bryn Williams. Wales 100 Remarkable Vistas - Mynydd Parys, One of Chris' favourite meats is herb-enriched Snowdonia mountain lamb, Can you pass our Welsh citizenship test? From to Evans and Williams, there are so many people we know and love on our screens or in our lives that bear the same surnames. Another origin of the name could be the Hebrew name ‘Moses.’, It is a toponymic name from someone from the place called Mostyn in Wales.
It could come from the Welsh word for white which is 'gwyn' and in Old Welsh meaning 'fair' or 'white', and is a descriptive nickname for an Anglo-Saxon invader. Other names were derived from nicknames, a few non-hereditary personal names and, rarely, occupational names. [2], The stock of Welsh surnames is small.
It is an anglicized form of the Old Welsh name ‘Hywel’ which means ‘eminent.’ It was a popular name during the Middle ages and also the name of a ruler of Wales.
In the reign of Henry VIII surnames became hereditary amongst the Welsh gentry, and the custom spread slowly amongst commoners. Notable faces with the surname include Hollywood actor Chris Evans and Welsh singer Sophie Evans.
It is an anglicized form of Welsh personal name ‘Iorwerth’ which has Welsh elements ‘ior’ meaning ‘lord’ and lenited form of ‘berth’ meaning ‘handsome.’. Links between Genealogy and Genetics, Journal of One-Name Studies Vol 7 #6, pages 6-11) has indicated that 3-14 percent of children are not the biological offspring of the mother’s husband. In 1292, 48 per cent of Welsh names were patronymics, and in some parishes over 70 per cent. Back in 2014, Forebears compiled the information for the most common surnames in locations all across the UK - if you want to go even more local you can search by your city or town on their website.
All rights reserved. It is derived from the Welsh word ‘Du’ meaning black or dark. The surnames were analyzed by the 89 old administrative subdivisions of the counties called hundreds, roughly 90 percent of those marrying in each hundred giving their residence as within that hundred.
The name means ‘treasured one’ in Welsh, It is a variant of the Welsh personal name Idris that is made of two Welsh elements, namely ‘uud’ meaning ‘lord’ and ‘ris’ meaning ‘impulsive’ or ‘ardent.’, It is a patronymic name that means ‘son of Edward.’ The name Edward itself comes from Old English words ‘ead’ meaning ‘wealth’ or ‘fortune,’ and ‘weard’ that means ‘guard.’ The name Edward thus means ‘rich guard.’. With the help of UK family history website Findmypast, North Wales Live takes a look at the most common Welsh surnames, their meaning and history, Sign up to our free newsletter for the top North Wales stories sent straight to your e-mail.
A total of 16.3 million people in the countries studied had a name of Welsh origin. Famous people with the surname includes rugby giant Gareth Edwards and Shania Twain (who was born Eileen Regina Edwards).
It is an anglicized form of Welsh personal name ‘Maurice’ that comes from the Late Roman name ‘Maurus’ meaning ‘dark-skinned.’, It is derived from either Old English ‘mos’ meaning ‘peat-bog’ or Irish ‘Maolmona’ referring to an ancient Gaelic devotee.
Welsh surnames are often derived from the Welsh and English, and some even have Celtic origins.
It is not uncommon for five or more of the starting fifteen for the Wales international rugby team to be named Jones (all of the following played in the same period and are not immediately related to any of the others: Adam R. Jones, Dafydd Jones, Ryan Jones, Stephen Jones, Mark Jones, Adam M. Jones, Alun Wyn Jones, Duncan Jones). The name may be a corruption of the word 'Dyfed', which is a corruption of Dési - colonists from south-east Ireland who occupied south-west Wales in the late third century AD and established a dynasty which lasted five centuries. It is clear that the more surnames associated in the group, then the more precise will be the estimate of their place of origin. It is a variant of the surname Lloyd that is a derivative of the Welsh word ‘llwyd’ meaning ‘gray.’ The word ‘llwyd’ is also used to refer to the color ‘brown.’ The name may have been a reference to a young man.
The Ellis family name developed in 1600 at Ystumllyn near Criccieth, and soon spread throughout North Wales and in the West Ridings of Yorkshire. The name is of uncertain origin but is considered a toponymic one.
This is partly attributable to the reduction in the variety of baptismal names after the Protestant Reformation. Welsh star Sophie Evans has defended Disney princesses like Snow White on Twitter. It is a patronymic name that means ‘son of Evan.’ The name Evan is the anglicized version of ‘lefan,’ which is the Welsh version of the name John.
It is a toponymic name for someone from the county of Brecon, also called Brecknockshire, in south Wales. Let us know of them in the comments section below. Patronymics could be extended with names of grandfathers and earlier ancestors, to perhaps the seventh generation.
In Wales, it became a common surname due to the patronymical naming system and it means the 'son of Ellis'. At the time of this writing a huge DNA data base is being amassed by researchers from Brigham Young University. The name is likely a toponymic one and likely derived from the name Neath – the name of several places including a river in Wales. Their technique assists the researcher in pinpointing the exact area when … As we all know, David is the patron saint of Wales, which accounts for its popularity especially in south Wales.
You probably have a fair idea of the names that top the list of most popular Welsh names, but there are some in the top 50 that might surprise you. It became incredibly popular in Medieval Britain when it was brought back by Crusaders returning from the Holy Land. Wales traditionally has a history of patronymic naming which uses your fathers first name as your surname.
The most common surnames in modern Wales result from adding an s to the end of the name, as in Jones, Roberts and Edwards.
The name Cardiff comes from a combination of two Welsh words, namely ‘caer’ meaning ‘fort and ‘taf’ meaning ‘stream of water.’, It is a toponymic name for anyone from the several places of the same name in Wales, including a castle called Carew. Famous Roberts include Hollywood actress Julia Roberts, rugby player Jamie Roberts and Caernarfon chef Chris Roberts. The surname can trace its roots back to three main sources: from Lord Cardigan of Gwaithvoed (or Gwaithfoed) who was a chief of 15 noble tribes in North Wales, from Bleddyn Ap Cynfyn the King of Powys, and from Dyffryn Clwyd with a Chieftain of Denbighland. explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. This has been done by statistically combining the computed incidences of the names to come up with an area where they all occur. Ever wondered what the most common surnames in Wales are? The list contains almost 270,000 surnames, shared by 54.4 million people.
It is a patronymic surname that means ‘son of William.’ The name William comes from the Old German name ‘Willahelm’ composed of the Old Germanic elements, ‘wil’ meaning ‘desire’ and ‘helm’ meaning ‘helmet’ or ‘protection.’, It is derived from the Old Welsh personal name ‘Gwgan’ or ‘Gwgon’ that comes from the Welsh word ‘gwg’ meaning to ‘frown.’.
This surname is also a family name in Oxfordshire in England. There’s all sorts of interesting demographic information on the site. There is currently 4,034,519 Edwards on Findmypast records.
It is a toponymic name for someone from any of the several places called Cilan in Wales. It cannot be assumed that two people named Jones, even in the same village, must have inherited the surname from a common ancestor.