Where in Wales Does Your SURNAME Come From?

Do you know where your Welsh surname came from? Can a surname help you pinpoint the exact community in Wales where your ancestors were from? Find out with professional genealogist, Dai Davies.

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#Genealogy
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Public Domain Images For the images 100+ years old and in the public domain, a special thanks to the following institutions for their dedication to digitizing these historical records:

The National Library of Wales
The Yale Center for British Art
The Internet Archive
The Digital Commonwealth

Timestamps

00:00 Surnames & Our Roots
00:35 Types of Welsh Surnames
00:48 Topographic Surnames
02:13 Noble Surnames
03:03 Occupational Surnames
03:25 Characteristic Surnames
03:49 The Most Common Surnames
04:42 Looking at the Numbers
05:59 Popular Misconceptions
06:09 Welsh vs. English Surnames
07:35 Beyond Surnames

[GenealCymru]

If you’re wondering where I got the 1881 surname data, it comes from The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. It's a really interesting book. Unfortunately, it’s only accessible with a subscription (boo), but you may be able to access it for free through your local library if you're interested. There’s also a partial preview through Google Books although that copy is missing all the surname distribution maps which are the coolest part.

[llew]

Impeccable pronunciation of Cymraeg (Welsh) - much respect 🙏

[stephanieknowles]

My paternal grandmother was Welsh. Rees, as in “Rees jacks save backs.” From Pennsylvania 1880’s. Some research points to Resolven, a little north of Swansea. Spent a month in Wales ten years ago. My soul is there.

[dbrh]

Very interesting video. Our grandmother emigrated to the USA when she was 9. Thankfully we know the town she was born in. Her mother was born a Williams, and married a Jones. Gramma later married a Roberts. Through some genealogy group my sister was out in touch with someone who lives in the town she came from. He was able to find out for us the very house she was born in!

[tonyalewis]

My Mother tried researching my Father’s family genealogy. She found no record of legal immigration. Most likely, I am told, my Lewis ancestors migrated to Canada and eventually crossed the US border without bothering with documentation. I visited Wales in 2018; it’s a wonderful country and I felt at home there.

[robertk]

Im from wales, and still live there to this day, my parents and grandparents are also from wales. Cymru am byth

[klewis]

Morriston connection. My Lewis line is from here, at least from mid 1850s, and I grew up and went to school here too. The industrial connection was with metal smelting and chemical processing, and the males in my line work at the blast furnaces. Lovely to see your family photo.

[victoriaburkhardt]

Thank you. My Mother’s maiden name was Griffith. She was convinced that the Welsh are the best singers in the whole wide world.

[robertevans]

Fascinating and excellent pronunciation too for a Canadian

[markwilson]

Your comment is so true. If I hadn't obtained a few vague pieces of info when there was still time, I would have not even have found my grandfather. Those snippets were enough to identify the area.

[simonagree]

My grandmother was a Harris, who married a Scot, named Stevenson. When I look at these places, I feel a calling.

[tonilove]

I loved this video and came across it by chance. I am a Hughes by birth and I know somewhere down the line my ancestors are welsh, and i have a strange longing in Wales. I live in southern England but my dad and uncle live in Wales so I go up there when I can. This has made me want to look further into my family tree as i can only go so far back at the moment. Once again thank you.

[TheDevilsAdvocate.]

Check out the Mabinogion if you haven’t already. It’s a collection of Welsh myths and legends. Like the legend of Gelert. It happened in Beddgelert not far from me, you can visit the grave and the ruins of the house. There’s nothing like it to connect you with the land and the people.

[gordondahle]

I descended from nobility. All that means is that my rich ancestors spent all their money and didn’t leave any for me.😢

[OTseven]

Extremely interesting. Thank you for putting this together so nicely with so much Information.

[issimondias]

That was fascinating. I’m from Swansea, and I learnt a lot from this one video. Thanks for this.

[Flooride]

Thanks for the video very informative. My family name is Rees which appaarently is from Camarthenshire where my fathers' family were from a few generations back before they moved to Birmingham, England at the beginning of WW2.
My cousin has traced back the Rees line to the late 1700s Camarthenshire.

[kathleenhughes]

Enjoyed your video. My husband's family — John Hughes and Mary Morris of which there are at least 3 couples with these names in the 1830 time period. A written note in family records states that he and Mary Morris are from up near the English border. In another note John said he said he was from "Sevancy." His occupation had to do with smelting and the metal industry, which probably puts him in southern Wales. Now to find his rumored brother, David, who went on to New Orleans from Indiana, United States and all of his daughters somewhere in Indiana or Illinois. His youngest son, Lafayette, was an alcoholic and became a "famous" temperance lecturer in the late 1800's and early 1900's. I have found accounts of Lafayette in the county history, newspapers from all over, and a book — telling about his father and family, and Lafayette's adventures from Indiana to Ohio to Michigan to Missouri to Oregon to California where he died and is buried.

[zworm]

Enjoyed that. My Uncle was an Edward. Always enjoyed my visits to Wales to play rugby!

[MadMonk_]

Just to throw confusion into the mix on Welsh names, my mothers family had a tradition of all the male children were named Griffith Hughes, and were known by their middle names.
Secondly, there are lots of links between the Swansea area and Devon/Cornwall due to the amount of copper works in and around Swansea. My family are from the Gower and we have ancestors who moved to Wales from Devon.
Thank you for a great insight