Jones as a Welsh name... is it an Anglicisation of another name?

Question

In Ireland, a lot of Irish names are now anglicised. I mean, the surname Breathnach is Walsh in English. I could think of a lot more examples.

I remember a few years back someone telling me something that Jones is a very common surname in Wales, but that it is not the original name? Can anyone shed some light on this?

Thanks.

Answer 1

http://www.jonesgenealogy.com/archive/jo...

Answer 2

Welsh names used to have a prefix which indicated they were the 'son of' - like Irish 'O' or Mac - in Welsh it was 'Ap' or 'Ab'.  So people could trace their ancestry, they were Thomas ap John ap William and so on.

The  Welsh began to take fixed surnames in the 15th Century - although remnants of the old patronymic system continued until the 19th so people took their father's name as their surname.  Thomas ap John ap William became Thomas Jones.

See:

http://www.data-wales.co.uk/names.htm

Answer 3

Original Christian names often became surnames with an added s at the end. That is why we see so many examples of Williams, Morgans, Davies (after David) and Jones (after John).

Answer 4

I found this for you,

Surname: Jones

This famous surname, widespread throughout the British Isles, and the most popular surname in Wales, one in ten Welsh people being so-called, is nethertheless of English medieval origins. It derives either from the male given name John, or its female equivalent Joan, both Norman French introductions after the 1066 Invasion. Both names are written as Jon(e) in medieval documents, and a clear distinction between them on the grounds of gender was not made until the 15th Century. However, because western society has almost invariably had a male as family head throughout history, bearers of the surname Jones are more likely to derive it from a patronymic form of John, than a matronymic form of Joan. The personal name John, ultimately from the Hebrew "Yochanan" meaning "Jehovah has favoured (me with a son)", has always enjoyed enormous popularity in Europe, and particularly so after the famous Crusades of the 12th century. The name, which is found in some four hundred spellings, is in honour of St. John the Baptist, the precursor of Christ. The surname as "Jones", first appears on record in England in the latter part of the 13th Century, and also features as one of the most numerous settler names in Ireland, having been introduced in the wake of the Anglo- Norman Invasion of 1170. It is now found in every Irish county, especially in the larger towns, and has also been Gaelicized as "MacSeoin". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Matilda Jones, which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire", during the reign of King Edward 1st, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", reigned 1272 - 1307.

hope this helps.

Answer 5

Jones is a welsh name with little english corruption. it is derived from a celtic clan as is thomas and williams.  

Answer 6

Jones is pure Welsh although found a lot outside of Wales now.