View Message

[Surname] Surname- Humphreys
I was told that the name Humphreys was Welsh but I cannot find any information about the name. I am also having problems with the names containing ap and verch. These have everyone confused. By the time they get to me they are all mixed up. I had been told that ap means "son of" and verch means "daughter of". Also I was told that when a girl gets married she uses "ap and her husbands last name". And the son, when born, takes the father's first name and uses it for his last name with the ap in the middle. So confusing, I know I must have at least half of them wrong and so does everyone else. Each has written something different. Can you help me or is there someone else I should write to?
vote up1vote down

Replies

Although Humphrey(s) is common in Wales, the origin of the name is the Middle English and Norman French personal name Humfrey, from Continental Germanic Hunfrid/Humfrid, composed of the elements *hūn ‘bear cub’ and frid ‘peace’.
vote up1vote down
So "ap" means son of and "merch" means daughter of in the Welsh language, and I'm pretty sure it's the same for naming conventions. I don't think it changes after marriage. So, Rhiannon merch Sion is Rhiannon, daughter of Sion, and Sion ap Llywellyn is Sion, son of Llywellyn.Humphreys, apparently, is both Welsh and English, and it comes from the given name Humphrey.
vote up1vote down
There's also a Welsh surname Pumfrey, which is ap Humfrey. The Welsh seems to have favoured the name Humphrey more than the English did.
vote up1vote down