A readable and scholarly guide to the origins and history of Welsh surnames, based on a lifetime of research by the authors, using original documents with maps showing surname distribution. An essential volume for historians in Wales.

Canllaw ysgolheigaidd a darllenadwy i wreiddiau a hanes cyfenwau o Gymru, wedi ei seilio ar oes o waith ymchwil gan yr awduron, yn defnyddio dogfennau gwreiddiol gyda mapiau yn dangos dosbarthiad y cyfenwau. Cyfrol hanfodol ar gyfer haneswyr yng Nghymru.

Family history has become a major growth industry in the past twenty years. Fuelled by the internet, tracing one's ancestors has developed into a popular pastime, aided by the online accessibility of parochial and civil records now available on websites such as Ancestry.com and Find My Past. Institutions such as the National Library of Wales, once snobbishly suspicious of such pursuits, have fully embraced this potential market for new readers and remote users, modernising their reading rooms and developing ambitious digital programmes in the hope of reaching a wider market, while at the same time boosting the Welsh Government's avowed target of increasing cultural tourism. The impact of popular and celebrity-based television programmes such as Who do you think you are? and its Welsh equivalent, Coming home, have further enhanced our curiosity to learn more about our ancestors, warts and all.

The complexities posed by Welsh roots are best illustrated by the attitude of the probate researchers of another popular television programme, Heir hunters, where rival firms attempt to trace the living descendants of unclaimed estates. Any potential estate with a link to Wales is inevitably greeted with loud groans of discontent and foreseen as particularly challenging. This is why John and Sheila Rowlands' book is so valuable in explaining in great detail how and why the pattern of surnames in Wales is so different from that of our neighbours in England. Chiefly based on the patronymic system, it inevitably led to a large proportion of people in Wales having surnames such as Jones, Evans, Thomas, Hughes and Roberts, which are derived from given names evolving into settled surnames on the English pattern by the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Although, as pointed out by the authors, 'difficulties can certainly arise out of the high incidence of a small number of surnames' in Wales, this, they believe, should only hinder progress, rather than obstruct it. Other factors can also play a part in pinpointing the likely location of a surname, such as the choice of forename, or indeed the combination of surnames in a marriage. In addition, the relative frequency, or infrequency, of a particular surname in certain areas, especially those non-patronymic derivations from occupations and place-names, can certainly aid research, and indicate with a fair degree of accuracy the most likely place of origin of a family.

To this end John and Sheila Rowlands have undertaken a detailed survey of all 137,455 marriage records in Wales from 1813 to 1837 to include all surnames recorded. The findings are presented in an alphabetical dictionary or glossary of surnames providing an indication of the distribution and incidence of each name, and often supplemented by a cartographic representation. We are, for example, told that the surname Morgan has a concentration in the range of 5–7% in a straight line stretching from Aberystwyth to the west of Cardiff, and peaks in incidence in the central Monmouthshire valleys. A well-known Morgan, Emeritus Professor Prys Morgan, has fully endorsed this methodology and noted that 'this is a sure footed guide for the unwary through the seemingly-baffling labours of plotting the origin of rare and common surnames'.

Having worked at the National Library of Wales for many years, and enjoyed the company of John and Sheila Rowlands on many occasions, I can testify to the many hours of dedicated research that has gone into creating this remarkable volume. It comes with all the trappings of a scholarly work with its extensive bibliography and useful indexes. This new edition also has a fascinating chapter on the origin of many given names, and how some have actually evolved into surnames.

Professor Morgan has noted that this book will be 'a godsend to historians'. It will also undoubtedly be a godsend to amateur genealogists, as well as the librarians and archivists whose role is to provide written and oral guidance to this ever-growing category of user. Nor must we forget that it will be a boon to those poor Heir hunters who find our Welsh place-names and family names so baffling!

Richard E. Huws


It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council.

Gellir defnyddio'r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatâd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru.