Wales Naming Customs: Difference between revisions

Before record keeping began, most people only had a first name. As the population increased, people began adding descriptive information, such as John "the smith," to a person’s name to distinguish him or her from others with the same name. At first, a surname applied only to one person and not to the whole family.  

Patronymic surnames are based on the father’s given name. Generally, '''ap''' or '''ab''' was added between the child’s name and the father’s name. For example, David ab Owen is David "son of" Owen. For a woman’s name, the word '''ferch''' or '''verch''' (often abbreviated to '''vch'''), meaning "daughter of", was used. There were many exceptions to this:  

*A widow may have reverted to using her maiden surname.

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Surnames also developed from the following sources:  

'''Occupational.''' Other surnames are based on the person’s trade, such as Wil Saer (or Wil y Saer), meaning 'Will the carpenter'. Occupational names are sometimes modified. For example, 'Saer' could take the permanent form of '''Sayer'''.  

Some families adopted permanent surnames much earlier than others. Generally, families lower on the social scale used the patronymic system longer than those higher up the social scale. Patronymics lingered the longest in the north and central-western counties. Most noble families adopted surnames by the sixteenth century. The gentry adopted them during the eighteenth century, while some farmers, tenant farmers, and workers did not take surnames until the nineteenth century or later. Generally, the patronymic naming pattern and the various naming customs were coming to an end by 1837, but later usage occurs and there has been a modern revival of the practice.  

<br> In Wales, if the patronymic naming system was used, the surname of the child was usually based upon the father’s FIRST name. The following chart shows only males (John EVANS, his sons, and his grandsons). Notice the names highlighted in red showing that the FIRST name of John EVANS was used by his sons as their SURNAME. (Thomas JOHNS, for example, means Thomas . . . the son of. . . John) In our example, by the time John EVANS has 20 grandsons, the grandsons have five different surnames. Today, these grandsons (cousins to each other) would all have the same surname (EVANS).  

The information below is specific to one database, the International Genealogical Index (I.G.I.). No Welsh law mandated when the use of patronymics should stop. To facilitate the input of data, the I.G.I. selected an arbitrary date (1812). Only a small percentage of church and chapel records have been extracted for the IGI. Always examine the original record. Below are helpful tips to use when searching the L.D.S. database at www.familysearch.org (I.G.I.):  

•Pre 1813 extractions are based on the assumption that everyone in Wales used patronymics before this date;  

•Post 1812 extractions are based on the assumption that no one in Wales used patronymics after this date;  

•Search by given name for christenings before 1813;  

•Search by surname for christenings after 1812;  

•Use the IGI as a starting point but never expect it to represent a high percentage of the population.  

'''Thomas ye son of David Griffith David was baptized they 18 day of 8 ber 1746 at a publick meeting at Mynydd Bach by John Harries'''. (From ''Llyfr Eglwys Mynydd Bach in Y Cofiadur Sef Cylchgrawn Cymdeithas Hanes Annibynwyr Cymru, number 17, March 1947, page 42.'')  

When patronymic names may have been used always do your searches by '''given name'''.  

Many times when you are searching for someone with a common name, research can become difficult because records are not complete or are unavailable and/or there are too many people with the same name or surname.  

'''Tips for solving common name problems'''  

When doing research for a person or family, it is important to search the commonly used records to begin. Those records for Wales are:  

*Land and Property  

*Taxation  

*Marriage bonds and allegations  

*Poor law records  

*Court Records: Petty Sessions, Quarter Sessions, Great Sessions <br>

*Morgan, T. J., and Prys Morgan, ''Welsh Surnames''. Cardiff, Wales: University of Wales Press, 1985. (Family History Library {{FHL|55852|title-id|disp=book 942.9 D4m}}.)

*[[Guild of One-Name Studies]]

*http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welshWomen16/patterns.html  

*http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/whatsinaname/sites/themes/pages/personalnames.shtml  

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