Names: Welsh to English T - W

For the letters "T" to the end of the Welsh alphabet "W" :

                              Welsh Name                                          English Translation 
                                 
                                   Tegid                                                       Tacitus
                                   Timotheus                                               Timothy
                                   Tomos                                                     Thomas, Tom
                                   Trystan                                                    Tristan,  Tristram
                                   Tudur                                                       Tudor
                                   Twm                                                        Thomas, Tom
                                   Wmffre                                                    Humphrey
                                   Y Santes Fair                                           Saint Mary

Please note from this series of posts on Welsh first names, that the Welsh language does not have the English letters  k, q, v, x or z.

Names : Welsh to English S

Welsh names continue for the letter "S".

                      Welsh Name                                                       English Translation  

                         Selyf                                                                    Solomon
                         Siam                                                                    James
                         Siams                                                                  James
                         Siams                                                                  James
                         Sian                                                                     Jane
                         Siani                                                                    Jane
                         Siarl                                                                     Charles
                         Siarlymaen                                                          Charlemagne
                         Sieffre                                                                  Geoffrey
                         Siencyn                                                                Jenkin
                         Sion                                                                      John
                         Sioned                                                                  Janet
                         Sioni                                                                     John
                         Sionyn                                                                  John
                         Sior                                                                       George
                         Siors                                                                     George
                         Steffan                                                                  Stephen

Names: Welsh to English O-R

The names continue:

                          Welsh Names                                                 English Translation

                           Ofydd                                                               Ovid
                           Oswalt                                                              Oswald
                           Owain                                                               Owen
                           Padrig                                                               Patrick 
                           Pawl                                                                  Paul
                           Pawl Hen                                                          Paulinus
                           Pedr                                                                  Peter
                           Peredur                                                             Perceval
                           Phylip                                                               Philip
                           Prys                                                                   Price
                           Puw                                                                   Pugh
                           Pyrs                                                                   Pierce
                           Rheinallt                                                           Reginald
                           Rhisiart                                                             Richard
                           Rhonwen                                                          Rowena
                           Rhosier                                                             Rosser, Roger
                           Rhydderch                                                        Roderick
                           Rhys                                                                  Rees, Rice

Names : Welsh to English M-N

This long list continues:


                Welsh Name                                                 English Translation    
               
                   Mabli                                                              Mabel
                   Madog                                                            Madoc, Maddock      
                   Mair                                                                Mary  
                   Mali                                                                Molly
                   Mallt                                                               Maud, Matilda
                   Marc                                                               Mark
                   Maredudd                                                       Meredith
                   Marged                                                           Margaret
                   Mari                                                                Mary
                   Mererid                                                           Margaret
                   Meurig                                                            Maurice
                   Mihangel                                                        Michael
                   Modlen                                                           Magdalene
                   Moesen                                                           Moses
                   Moris                                                              Morris
                   Morus                                                             Morys
                   Myrddin                                                          Merlin
                   Neifton                                                           Neptune

Names : Welsh to English I - L

Please remember that the Welsh alphabet does not have a letter "J"...

                        Welsh Name                                                   English Translation 

                         Iago                                                                        James
                         Ianto                                                                       Evan
                         Iau                                                                          Jupiter, Jove
                         Iesu Grist                                                              Jesus Christ
                         Ieuan                                                                      Evan
                         Ifan                                                                         Evan
                         Ioan                                                                        John
                         Iolo                                                                        (no equivalent)
                         Iorwerth                                                                 (no equivalent)
                         Iwan                                                                        Evan
                         Lawnslot                                                                Launcelot
                         Lefi                                                                         Levi
                         Leisa                                                                       Elizabeth
                         Lisbeth                                                                    Elizabeth
                         Lleucu                                                                     Lucy
                         Lludd                                                                       Lud
                         Llwyd                                                                      Lloyd
                         Llyr                                                                         Lear
                         Llywelyn                                                                 Lewis
                         Lowri                                                                      Laura
                         Luc                                                                          Luke
                         Lug                                                                          Luke

Names : Welsh to English G - H

Our alphabet soup continues :

                              Welsh Name                                              English Translation      
                                         Garmon                                                     Germanus
                                         Geraint                                                      Gerontius  
                                         Geralit                                                       Gerald
                                         Glyn Dwr                                                  Glendower
                                         Gruffudd                                                   Griffith   
                                         Gruffydd                                                   Griffith 
                                         Guto                                                          Griffith
                                         Gwallter                                                    Walter 
                                         Gwenffrewi                                               Winifred
                                         Gwenfrewi                                                Winifred  
                                         Gwenhwyfar                                             Guinevere
                                         Gwilym                                                     William
                                         Gwladus                                                    Gladys
                                         Gwrtheyrn                                                 Vortigern
                                         Hopcyn                                                      Hopkin
                                         Horas                                                         Horace
                                         Hors                                                           Horsa
                                         Huw                                                           Hugh
                                         Hywel                                                        Howell, Powell

Names : Welsh to English E-F

The Welsh names continue for the letters E to F:

                                  Welsh Name                                         English Translation 
                        
                                           Edmwnd                                               Edmund
                                           Edwart                                                  Edward
                                           Efa                                                         Eve
                                           Elen                                                       Helen
                                           Elias                                                      Elijah
                                           Eliseus                                                  Elisha
                                           Emrys                                                   Ambrose
                                           Emwnt                                                  Edmund
                                           Esaia                                                     Isaiah
                                           Esyllt                                                    Iseult
                                           Fferyll                                                  Virgil
                                           Fychan                                                 Vaughan
                                           Fyrsil                                                    Virgil
                                                

Names : Welsh to English C-D

Our alphabetical series of Welsh names to English equivalents continues:

                                                       C - D
                               Welsh Name                 English Translation                                          

                                  Cadi                              Catherine
                                  Cadog                           Cadoc
                                  Cai                                Kay
                                  Caradog                       Caratacus
                                  Caswallon                    Cassivellaunus
                                  Catrin                           Catherine
                                  Catwg                           Cadoc
                                  Cesar                            Caesar
                                  Cynfelyn                      Cymbeline
                                  Cystennin                    Constantine
                                  Dafydd                         David
                                  Dai                               David
                                  Dei                               David
                                  Delo                             David
                                  Dewi                            David

Names : Welsh To English A-B

For those of us in the genealogy world who speak only English, being of Welsh descent has its own set of difficulties.  Language is one of these.  Welsh spellings often appear unusual, and the farther back in time one goes [especially before the Act of Union 1536] the struggles to sort through the generations of Welsh names can present many brick walls.  The next several post will try and present names that have occurred in the Welsh and their "English" translation.  The source for this material is "Welsh Genealogical Research" by Charles M. Franklin, Heritage House, 1995.  The Welsh spelling will be given first, followed by the English translation in alphabetical order.

                                                                       A - B

                                                Welsh Spelling          English Translation

                                                  Adda                          Adam
                                                 Andreas                      Andrew
                                                 Aneirin                       (no equivalent)
                                                 Aneurin                      (no equivalent)
                                                 Arnallt                         Arnold
                                                 Awatin                        Augustin

                                                 Bartholomeus           Bartholomew
                                                 Beda                           Bede
                                                 Bedo                           Meredith
                                                 Bedwyr                       Bedivere
                                                 Bened                         Bennet
                                                 Beti                             Betty, Betsy
                                                 Betsan                         Betty, Betsy
                                                 Betsi                            Betty, Betsy
                                                 Buddug                       Boudicca, Boadicea
                                                 Bwda                           Buddha

More to come...any other names A-B that come to mind?  Please place in comment section below.

    

Ancient Welsh Naming System

Prior to the English system of surnames, the Welsh naming system consisted of an individual bearing one given name only.  The child was then identified as either the son of (mab, map, vap, or fab), or the daughter of (verch or ferch) the Welshman accepting responsibility under Welsh law for the child.  The terms given above were mutated in normal speech to "ap" or "ab" for the male, and "vch", "vz" or "ach" for the female.  The terms "eil" or "ail" meaning second in succession when used in a name was sometimes found.  When presented to the tribal group from which the father lived, the male child would be given the names of each earlier male ancestor to six or seven generations.  For example, a child given the name "David" who's father was "Morgan", would become "David ap Morgan".  The child's grandfather (say named "Griffith"), his great-grandfather (say named "Hugh"), his great-great-grandfather (say named "Tudor"), and his great-great-great-grandfather (say named "Rhys") under tribal custom would become "David ap Morgan ap Griffith ap Hugh ap Tudor ap Rhys"!  The new member of this tribe would then be able to recite his name as a patronymic string demonstrating his position within the tribal group.  Before written documentation, this would provide a way each individual could prove his "belonging" to a tribal group.  This was necessary since the tribe was responsible to care and protect each member, and hold them responsible for their inter-tribal activity such as injury or theft.  See past posts for more detail of this cultural organization for the ancient Welsh naming system.

Genealogies In The Library of Congress

In my earliest tree climbing days, folks worked on writing down their family stories.  Documentation was the foundation to success, and the Library of Congress was such a place to find genealogies written by others.  There were only a few that dealt with the Jones surname from Wales.  The following are those existing here as listed in "Genealogies In The Library of Congress A Bibliography" edited by Marion J. Kaminkow, Magna Carta Book Co., Baltimore, MD, 1972.

"9393   JONES.  Pedigree of Jones, Wern, parish of Penmorva, county of Carnarvon. (London, 1877)  (3) p. coat of arms.  29 cm.  Communicated by William Watkins Edward Wynne.  Caption title.  Also in Miscellanea genealogica et heraldica. new series, vol. II. p. 249-251.  9-19350.   CS459.J7"

Let's see now, the first four numbers represent the coding location it was given prior to 1972.  This is followed by the title of the reference and its date of publishing.  Other information regarding the number of pages, author(s), special contents, and other sources which contain the same item.  The final letter-number combination is the Dewy Decimal like system applied to this reference.  The few other references recorded 1972:

"9411    JONES.   Genealogy of the Jones family; first and only book ever written of the descendants of Benjamin Jones who immigrated from South Wales more than 250 years ago... By George Russell Jones...  Los Angeles, Cal.,  Times-mirror prg. & bdg. house (c. 1912)   85, (19)  p.  front., ports, , facsim.  18 cm.  19 p. at end for 'Memoranda.'   12-11738     CS71.J76   1912."

"9416    JONES.  The Jones family; five generations from Francis Jones, of Pembrokeshire, Wales, to Richard Mott Jones, of Penn Yan, New York.  Complied by Albert Brill Russell.  Ilion, N.Y. (1924)  24 p. ports. 23 1/2 cm.  Based upon research made 1924, by Alfred R. Justice.  Pages 23-24 left blank for "Addenda.  25-4510  CS71.J76      1924a"

"9436    JONES.  A tree grew in Wales.  By Mable (Jones) Wayland. (San Jose? Calif. 196-?)
100  p.  illus. 28 cm.   Includes bibliographies.  63-28074.      CS71.J76"

[Note the last two call numbers are the same as that above.  This must have been the fact that they were all grouped together in the same file location?]

Welsh Tribes

A number of recent posts presented the Royal Tribes of Wales [I-V] as recorded in Burke 1840 edition.  The following table presents the "Royal"  and "Noble" tribes as they are geographically distributed among the lands of Wales.  It also list the individual who is given as the founder of each tribe.

This table was completed from my research accomplished before 1992, and published in "The Jones Genealogist" a family newsletter started in 1989.  These tribes and their geographic location would be a foundation to the genetic haplotypes found among the mountains.

Welsh Haplogroups

Some years past, my decision to have my DNA tested was finally made.  For years [some 50+], the genealogy virus had lead me to what seemed my own JONES family origins.  North Wales it was, or at least I thought this was the case.   Uncertainty gave way to verification as my DNA haplogroup returned R1b1b2 [now classified as R1b1a2 ].   The following table shows the haplogroups for my JONES surname from 2011 and 2016.  They are then compared to haplogroups from North Wales reported in 2011.

In 2011, my R1b1 haplogroup made up around 82% of folks seeking their DNA from North Wales.  Those in my JONES surname groups made up 75% of this R1b haplogroup.  From North Wales indeed it would seem.   Other haplogroup percents are shown, which again follow the same pattern as North Wales.  The 2016 group shows that several other haplogroups have been reported to carry the JONES surname which indicates a lot more folks have become interested in all this DNA stuff.

Now the following figure shows roughly how this R1b haplogroup got to Wales.  [It was drawn when my haplogroup was still R1b1b2]  How the genes did flow, from A to R1b some 60,000 years in the making.

New...with the...Old

Welsh history presents its own set of problems for the genealogist.  As time changes, the names of places frequently change in response to the social and political pressures of the day.  Present day names are often derived from older names.  [A change due to language perhaps.]  As one climbs out their Welsh family tree, these changes may not be recognized as one goes back in time.  For example, the following list shows the present day names of the counties of Wales as compared to the much older Welsh names.

                                   Anglesey (Ynys Mon)
                                   Caernarvon (Arfon)
                                   Denbigh (Dinbvch)
                                   Flint (Flint)
                                   Merioneth (Meirionydd)
                                   Montgomery (Trefaldwyn)
                                   Cardigan (Ceredigion)
                                   Radnor (Maesyfed)
                                   Pembroke (Penfro)
                                   Carmarthen (Caerfyddin)
                                   Brecon (Brycheiniog)
                                   Glamorgan (Morgannwy)
                                   Monmouth (Monmouth)


Names are taken from "Welsh Genealogical Research", by Charles M. Franklin, Heritage House, Indianapolis, IN, 1995. p.4.

New Blogs

One can not discuss Welsh genealogy for very long without running into issues involving the JONES surname, and issues with other WELSH surnames.  Two new blogs are started with hopes to address these topics. "JONES SURNAME CENTRAL" one is titled.  Its purpose is to provide a place to discuss the Jones surname from a variety of angles...the origin, history, and chronology...and any other subject that might be related.  The second blog is titled "WELSH SURNAME CENTRAL".  Its purpose is to provide a place to discuss other Welsh surnames as they relate to the Welsh patrilineal naming structure so important to understand among those genealogist seeking to trace their Welsh family trees.  Come join the fun.  You can place comments for subjects or topics that you think are important to address....or questions you might have regarding these subjects.  The blogs are:

"JONES SURNAME CENTRAL" at   tjgjsc.blogspot.com

"WELSH SURNAME CENTRAL" at   tjgwsc.blogspot.com

I post this information on this blog since many readers share interest in Welsh genealogy.

Royal Authority

Understanding Welsh history and its role in the formation of many Welsh family trees, is a major aspect of Welsh genealogy.  English annexation of Wales started along the border area where many Welsh families intermarried with those who came to claim title to the land.  Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Normans, and what came to be called "The Plantagenets" all had something to do with that mixing of the X and Y chromosomes.  In 1272, Edward I inherited the throne of England.  His Welsh neighbors took top priority and the results of his partial annexation are clearly standing today.  A book by John E. Morris describes what occurred to advance this undertaking.

The Welsh Wars of Edward I is its title.  Many of our Welsh family trees still bend into various shapes, even today, as a result.  A grasp of this history will often help us tree climbers.

Originally published by Oxford at the Clarendon Press in 1901, the cover shown above is my copy published by Combined Books edition, 1996. [Pennsylvania]  Genealogical tables are contained within showing many of the interrelationships which took place.  Raids, castles and battles...who could ask for more.

Tribe of the Marches

From the same reference (Burke 1884) on p. 1035, he presents Tudor Trevor.  The following is recorded:

"Tudor Trevor (Lord of Hereford, Whittington, and both Maelors; founder of the Tribe of the Marches, surnamed Trevor, from the place of his birth, co. Denbigh, son of Ynyr ap Cadforch, Lord of Whittington and both Maelors, in Powys, by Rheingar, his wife, dau. and heir of Lluddoca ap Caradoc Vreichfras, Lord of Hereford, in South Wales."

A fairly long list of families that descended from Tudor Trevor are then given including "Jones of Llwynon".  After 50 years of genealogy tree climbing, it would show that my family roots are here.

                                  "Per bend sinister erm. and ermines a lion ramp. or."

Royal Tribes of Wales (V.)

As given in Burke, the fifth Royal Tribe of Wales is as follows:

                   Jestyn ap Gwrgant, Tributary Prince of Glamorgan, Founder of the V. Royal Tribe

                                               Gu. three chevronels ar.

This would be a red shield with three pyramid shaped set of parallel lines starting from the bottom right and left of the shield, meeting in the center at equal distance.

The Chevron is thought to have been adopted from the bow of a war saddle, which rose high in front. [Burke, p. xxxi]

The reference is : Burke, B.B., The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales; A Registry of Armorial Bearings From The Earliest To The Present Time.  Harrison, 59, Pall Mall, 1884. p. lxii.

                                                  

Royal Tribes of Wales (IV.)

The country between the Wye and the Severn (rivers) was called Ferlys.  In Burke, the founder of the 4th Royal Tribe of Wales, was Ethelystan Glodrydd, called "Tributary Prince of Ferlys".  His arms are given:

           "Quarterly, first and fourth, az three boars' heads cabossed sa. ; second and third, per bend sinister, ermine and erminois, over all a lion ramp. or, which latter was the coat of his mother Rhingor, dau. and heir of Gronwy ap Tudor-Trevor, Lord of Whittington, co. Salop."

                                                                                                         [Burke, 1884 ed., p. lxii ]

Quarterly means that the shield is divided into four equal size parts numbered from the upper right.  Descent from the father is shown in the 1st and 4th quadrant of the shield, and the material side is shown in the 2nd and 3rd quadrants.  Three boars's heads colored black with the heads of the boar looking right forward, full-faced, with nothing of the neck showing. [shield background colored blue]

The maternal side shows a gold colored lion standing upright with a bend [representing a shoulder-belt, or scarf] drawn from the upper left to the right base of the shield.  The terms "ermine" means a white field with black spots, and "erminois" a black field with white spots. [representing furs of animals]

The following chart shows this family tree through Tudor Trevor (JC-1).

The eldest son of Tudor Trevor (JC-1) is Gronwy (JD-1) who had Rhingor (JE-3) [daughter and only heir] who was the mother of Ethelystan Glodrydd [Elystan Gloodrydd] (JF-6) the founder of the IV. Royal Tribe of Wales.