Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Balch WelshFrom the Welsh adjective balch, which has a range of meanings—"fine", "splendid", "proud", "arrogant", "glad"—but the predominant meaning is "proud" and from this the family name probably derives.
Beddoes Welsh“This name derives from Old Welsh name and patronymic surname “Morgetuid / Margetiud”, composed of two elements: “mere” (great, splendid) plus “iudd” (lord). As a personal name the origins are lost in the mists of time but it is certainly pre Roman, however the modern use of the name is commonly taken from Merdydd ap Bleddyn, prince of Powys who died in 1132... [
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Bethea WelshPossible altered form of the Welch surname Bethel
Bierce English, WelshEnglish variant and Welsh form of
Pierce. A famous bearer was the American author, journalist and poet Ambrose Bierce (1842-c. 1914), who wrote
The Devil's Dictionary and other works... [
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Blin WelshThe same as Blaen, a point, the inland extremity of a valley. Blin also signifies weary, troublesome.
Blood WelshAnglicized form of Welsh ap Llwyd ‘son of Llwyd’.
Blythin WelshRecorded as Blethin, Bleythin, Bleything, Blythin, and others, this is a surname which has Welsh royal connections. It derives from the Ancient British personal name "Bleddyn," translating as the son of Little Wolf... [
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Bragg English, WelshFrom a nickname for a cheerful or lively person, derived from Middle English
bragge meaning "lively, cheerful, active", also "brave, proud, arrogant".
Broderick Irish, Welsh, EnglishSurname which comes from two distinct sources. As a Welsh surname it is derived from
ap Rhydderch meaning "son of
Rhydderch". As an Irish surname it is an Anglicized form of
Ó Bruadair meaning "descendent of Bruadar"... [
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Bwye Welsh (Rare)many of this name moved from south wales to india to work for the east india company around 1900's then came back to wales.
Caddick WelshFrom the Welsh male personal name
Cadog, a pet-form of
Cadfael (a derivative of Welsh
cad "battle").
Cadogan WelshFrom the Welsh male personal name
Cadwgan, literally probably "battle-scowler". Cadogan Estate is an area of Chelsea and Belgravia, including Cadogan Square, Sloane Street and Sloane Square, owned by the earls of Cadogan, descended from Charles Sloane Cadogan (1728-1807), 1st Earl Cadogan.
Cale WelshPossibly derived from the River Cale. A famous barer of this name is Welsh musician John Cale (1942- ).
Calne WelshCalne is derived from the Welsh word "karn," which means "a pile of stones," such as was often used to mark a burial site. The forebears that initially bore the name Calne likely lived by a notable heap of stones.
Camrose English (Rare), Welsh (Rare)From the village of
Camrose in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The surname itself is derived from Welsh
cam meaning "crooked, bent", and
rhos meaning "moor, heath."
Challoner French, WelshDerived from a town in France of the same name. This family derive their origin from Macloy Crum, of the line of chiefs in Wales, who resided several years in Challoner.
Clwyd WelshThis indicates familial origin near the River Clwyd.
Corbett English, Scottish, WelshNickname from Norman French
corbet meaning 'little crow, raven'. This surname is thought to have originated in Shropshire. The surname was taken by bearers to Scotland in the 12th Century, and to Northern Ireland in the 17th Century.... [
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Davey English, WelshDerived from the given name
David. Alternately, it may be a variant spelling of Welsh
Davies or
Davis, which could be patronymic forms of
David, or corrupted forms of
Dyfed, an older Welsh surname and the name of a county in Wales.
Days WelshPatronymic from the personal name Dai, a pet form of Dafydd, with the redundant addition of the English patronymic suffix -s.
Doward English, WelshIndicated that the bearer lived by two hills, from Old Welsh
dou "two" and
garth "hill"
Dye English, WelshEnglish: from a pet form of the personal name
Dennis. In Britain the surname is most common in Norfolk, but frequent also in Yorkshire. Welsh is also suggested, but 1881 and UK both show this as an East Anglian name - very few in Wales.
Edevane Welsh, CornishA rare Welsh surname, believed to be of Cornish origin. This surname is made up of two elements. ‘Ed’ is not a shortened form of Edward, but derives from the ancient (Old English?) ‘ead’ meaning ‘prosperity’ and/or ‘happiness’... [
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Elwy WelshFrom the river Elwy in Wales, whose name likely derives from the Welsh elw "gain", "profit". Also sometimes used as a male first name in Wales.
Esau Welsh, GermanFrom the Biblical personal name Esau, meaning ‘hairy’ in Hebrew (Genesis 25:25).
Estes Welsh, Spanish, Englisha popular surname derived from the House of Este. It is also said to derive from Old English and have the meaning "of the East." As a surname, it has been traced to southern England in the region of Kent, as early as the mid-16th century.
Firth English, Scottish, WelshEnglish and Scottish: topographic name from Old English
(ge)fyrhþe ‘woodland’ or ‘scrubland on the edge of a forest’.... [
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Frost WelshOriginally spelled Ffrost (the double ff is a Welsh letter). The Welsh word ffrost refered to someone who is excessively bold or a brag, especially with regard to warrior feats. Edmund Ffrost signed his name this way on the ship's register of the boat which brought him to the Massachussett's Bay Colony in 1631... [
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Gabriel English, Cornish, Welsh, Scottish, French, German, Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Slovene, Jewish, Indian (Christian)Derived from the given name
Gabriel.
Gadd WelshMeans "battlefield" in Welsh. Comes from the Welsh word
gad which means battlefield.
Gaines English, Norman, WelshEnglish (of Norman origin): nickname for a crafty or ingenious person, from a reduced form of Old French
engaine ‘ingenuity’, ‘trickery’ (Latin
ingenium ‘native wit’). The word was also used in a concrete sense of a stratagem or device, particularly a trap.... [
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Gittings WelshFrom the Welsh personal name
Gutyn,
Guto, a pet form of
Gruffydd, with the redundant addition of English patronymic -
s.
Gittings WelshPossibly a patronymic from a byname from Welsh
cethin "dusky", "swarthy".
Glas WelshNickname meaning "gray, green, silver-haired".
Griscom Welshfrom phrase gris-y-cwm, welsh for 'steps of the valley'. Root word 'grisiau' meaning steps or stairs. A place name from an extant village in Wales.
Guynes WelshWelsh. Derivitive of Gwynn. Modified in the 19th century when the family came to the United States.
Hamner WelshVariant spelling of "Hanmer", parish in Flintshire.
Hanmer WelshA Welsh topographical surname, deviring from 'Hand', a cock, and 'Mere', a lake. A parish in Flintshire, now Wrexham.
Harris WelshA combination of the Welsh adjective 'hy', meaning 'bold' or 'presumptuous' and the common Welsh personal name 'Rhys'. This surname is common in South Wales and the English West Country and has an official Welsh tartan... [
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Havard WelshMeaning uncertain. It may be derived from the name of the city of Hereford in England or the port city of Le Havre in France.
Haverford Welsh, EnglishHaverford's name is derived from the name of the town of Haverfordwest in Wales, UK
Hence German, English, WelshAn American spelling variant of
Hentz derived from a German nickname for
Hans or
Heinrich or from an English habitation name found in Staffordshire or Shropshire and meaning "road or path" in Welsh.
Henville WelshDerived from the name of an ancestor meaning "Son of Anwyl"
Hickman WelshComes from Hick, a Welsh diminutive of
Richard, so it literally means "Richard's men".
Hoyle Welsh, EnglishDerived from Old English
holh meaning "hole". It is thought to have originally been a name for someone who lived in a round hollow or near a pit.
Ifans WelshDerived from Welsh
ap Ifan meaning "son of
Ifan". A famous bearer is Welsh actor and musician Rhys Ifans (1967-), born Rhys Owain Evans.
Jenks English, WelshEnglish (also found in Wales) patronymic from the Middle English personal name
Jenk, a back-formation from
Jenkin with the removal of the supposed Anglo-Norman French diminutive suffix
-in.
Kenyon English, WelshKenyon is a surname from Wales meaning "a person from Ennion's Mound"
Kidwell Welsh, EnglishThe origins of this surname are uncertain, but it may be derived from Middle English
kidel "fish weir", denoting a person who lived by a fish weir or made his living from it, or from an English place called
Kiddal, probably meaning "Cydda's corner of land" from the Old English given name
Cydda and
halh "nook or corner of land".
Lhuyd WelshEdward Lhuyd has been called "the first Welsh archaeologist".... [
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Llewys WelshOriginal Welsh form of "Lewis" used by the former Royal Family of Wales. Most people with the surname "Lewis" derive from the Royal Family. Very few people still have the surname "Llewys," but it is not unheard of.
Maneely WelshA Welsh surname derived from 'map Neely' or 'son of Neely'
Mchale Irish, WelshFrom the Irish
Mac Céile, a patronymic from the byname
Céile, meaning "companion." This was the surname of a Mayo family, tenants of church lands. ... [
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Meredith WelshFrom the personal name
Maredudd. In Welsh the stress is on the second syllable. The Old Welsh form is
Morgetiud, of which the first element may mean "pomp, splendor" and the second is
iudd "lord".
Merriam WelshDerived from either the personal name Meuric, which is the Welsh form of
Maurice, or ultimately from the Latin personal name Mauritius, which means "dark".
Moyle Cornish, WelshCornish and Welsh: descriptive nickname meaning ‘bald’, from Cornish
moyl, Welsh
moel.
Naramor English, WelshNaramor, also Narramore or Naramore, is a corruption of Northmore, and has Welsh/English background. "More North"
Pembroke WelshHabitual surname for someone from Pembroke, a town in Wales.
Penrose Cornish, WelshOriginally meant "person from Penrose", Cornwall, Herefordshire and Wales ("highest part of the heath or moorland"). It is borne by the British mathematician Sir Roger Penrose (1931-).... [
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Penry Welsh, Cornish, EnglishDerived from Welsh
ap Henry meaning "son of
Henry". It is also a variant of
Pendray, which is derived from a place name in Cornwall meaning "top of the village" in Middle Cornish... [
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Pew WelshFrom Welsh
ap Hew or
ap Hugh "son of
Hugh" (see
Pugh). A fictional bearer is Blind Pew, the blind pirate in Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Treasure Island' (1883).
Privett French, English, Welsh (?)French, from the given name Privat (see
Privatus). Also an English habitational name from a place so named in Hampshire, derived from Old English
pryfet "privet".
Prys WelshFrom the Welsh personal name
Rhys, which also took the forms Rice and Rees. This name was originally derived from the Old Welsh forename Ris, which means ardour.
Rey Welsh, Scottish, IrishEither a variant of
McRae, or else directly derived from Irish
rí, Scottish
Rìgh, or Welsh
ri,
rhi, or
rhiau, all meaning "king"... [
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Rhys WelshIn addition to being used as a given name, it occurs as a surname both alone and in combination with other surnames. Related patronymic forms of the surname are Price, Prys, Pris and Preece. A notable bearer is John Rhys-Davies.
Scurlock Welsh, IrishObscure, probably derived from 'ystog', a Welsh word meaning 'fortress'
Tudor English, WelshFrom the given name
Tudur. It was borne by five monarchs of England beginning with Henry VII in the 15th century.
Ungoed WelshDerived from Welsh
un "one" and
coed "a wood".
Woosencraft Welshthough this surname has an exotic look & attracts legends, it has it's origins in the Lancashire place name Wolstencraft, from elements Wulfstan (personal name) + croft ("enclosure")
Wyn Welsh, EnglishEnglish: from the Old English personal name and byname Wine meaning ‘friend’, in part a short form of various compound names with this first element. Welsh: variant of
Gwynn.
Wynn WelshDerived from the given name
Gwynn, itself from Welsh
gwyn meaning "white, fair; blessed".