Who here has Welsh origins?

Question:

Who here has Welsh origins?

Who here from any other country ( rather than Wales!) Have descended from Welsh families?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I do.

One of the best way to find Welsh families is to look at the family names. Up until the 14th century the Welsh lived in a tribal society, after the English conquest they were forced to take on a second or family name for tax purposes.

The same thing happen in Ireland and Scotland. So for example instead of being David son of Evan you became David McEvan or David MacEvan.

In Wales, David son of Evan became David Evans.

Names like Evans, Williams, James, Jones, Peters and the like are usually Welsh. The odds are almost any first name or plural of a first name used as a family name is of Welsh origin.

There is a big exception, many African Americans followed a similar naming pattern after the Civil War.

Eastern Pennsylvania was an area of early Welsh settlement. Many of the towns in places like Chester Country have old Welsh names.