Data Wales : A note on the Welsh surnames Jones and Evans.

The Welsh surname Jones Jones is one of the most common surnames in Wales. Visitors sometimes write to ask if the name Jones is predominant in any particular area of Wales, in the hope that they can pin down the origin of their ancestors. Although figures on the incidence of names have been published, I think it safe to say that the name Jones provides no worthwhile indication of a particular location in Wales.

The forename Johannes was borrowed in the Roman period and became Ieuan in Welsh. This is pronounced something like Y-eye-an. When permanent surnames were adopted in Wales, Ieuan sometimes became Jones and sometimes Evans. A document of 1533 names Thomas ap Ieuan ap David ap Blethyn alias Thomas Jones. In the mediaeval period, John was borrowed and in time this became used as a surname, sometimes unchanged, sometimes in the style Jones. The forename John is known to have been used in Wales in the thirteenth century.

J.W.

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