Origins of the Llewellyn Surname

In the research of the Llewellyn surname we often hear,” we have descended from the Welsh Princes!” Well, perhaps.

It appears the name Llewellyn originated in the old Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth, which included broad areas of western Wales from Pembroke to Brecon, around 1100 A.D. and then spread to other parts of Wales during the following centuries.

The original spelling of our surname was probably Llywelyn. The name manifests itself in old texts with many different spellings^[1]. “Yn llew” literally means a lion while “llyw” means leader. Either way, it is apparent the parent’s intent is to bestow greatness upon the child receiving the name. Clearly the great princes of Cymru and their heroic stories of leadership made the name Llwelyn popular.

Indeed, the name is deeply intertwined with the history of Cmyru, the Welsh word for Wales. And we must understand some history in order to accept the context of the use of the Llywelyn name.

Thomas Nicholas^[2] wrote, “The fact is that genealogy amongst the ancient Welsh, was a study intertwined with the whole of their social life, and an element in their law of property …” “By law a man held rank and claimed property by ‘kin and descent.’ He must show his lineage through nine generations to be a free Cymro and holder of land.” “A person past the ninth descent formed a new Pen Cenedyl, or head of a family. Every family was represented by its elder, and these elders from every family were delegated to the national council.”

This is the patronymic naming system, a naming system in which surnames do not exist. Lineages were simply traced by sons and daughters using Christian names and the Welsh word “ap” (meaning son of) or “verch” (meaning daughter of). Further clarification may have been made by adding the name of the place in which they lived. So, as an example, an individual’s name might appear as “Gwenwynwyn ap Owain of Powys”.

A lineage might be written as; “Tomas ap Rhodri ap Gruffudd ap Llywelyn”, this individual being the great grandson of Llywelyn the Great.

The Welsh Princes were Llywelyn the Great, Dafydd ap Llywelyn, Llywelyn ap Dafydd, and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. There are many good history texts which give accounts of their deeds so none will be given here. But, as a minimum, you should know that these men were well respected by their extended families and followers. The Princes led powerful armies of men to protect the Cymru natives from invading Anglo-Saxons. But alas, the King of England, as well as other Welsh leaders who had differences with the Princes over rule of the English Crown, overcame the Princes through treachery.

It might seem to follow that if we Llewellyns descended from these Princes, we would be part of the Gentry and Nobility of England. However, that does not seem to be the case.

Consider the royal lineage of Queen Victoria who descended from Llewellyn ap Iowerth, alias “Llwelyn the Great”. Her line of descent is clearly recorded where her patronymic line mutates to a surname of Mortimer. These mutations occurred between 1200 A.D. and 1700 A.D. as the Welsh people succumbed to the Anglo-Saxon ways and the rule of the English Crown.

Welsh genealogy as explained by an ancient writer; “When a complaint was made to a magistrate against a neighbor, his worship was entreated to grant a warrant against ‘Twm o’r Cwm’ i.e., Tom of the vale. “Thomas of the vale” (repeats the justice) what’s his surname? “I have never heard he had any other name,” was the common reply. If the honest native be compelled reluctantly to adopt the English custom, and to introduce these expletives (as he conceives them) into his family, he and his children were absolutely bewildered for the two or three next generations. Suppose his name to be Cadwaladr Griffith, his son in endeavoring to imitate the English fashion would call himself John Cadwaladr Griffith., and his son again would be known by the names of William John Cadwaladr Griffith; until fatigued and tired with dragging after him the long chain of cognomia and agnomia, his descendants submit to be called, a l`Angloise, Thomas Williams, by which surname his family was ever after distinguished.”

It was noted that when this naming custom was first introduced, two brothers frequently adopted different surnames; for instance, John Thomas had two sons, Griffith and William, Griffith subscribed himself Griffith John, and the other brother wrote William Thomas.

In my research, there were no instances found where a patronymic line mutated to a Llewellyn surname. But there was this example of how one surname mutated to another, in this example, from Dillwyn to Llewellyn:

John Dilwyn Llewelyn, Esq, of Penlle'rgaer, Glamorganshire. J.P and D.L. for the county of Glamorgan; High Sheriff for the same 1835; eldest son of the late Lewis Weston Dillwyn, Esq. F.R.S. of Pennlle`rgaer, sometime M.P. for the county of Glamorgan and sheriff for the same 1818. B. 1810 m. 1833 Emma Thomasina, dau of Thomas Mansel Talbot, Esq of Margam Abbey and has with other issue – John Talbot Dillwyn Llewelyn Esq, now of Ynysygerwn. Residence near Swansea. Arms, Gu on a chevron arg three trefoils slipped of the first. Lineage – this family, which had its early seat in Herefordshire, is of the old Cymric stock of that part, as the name clearly indicates (referring to Dillwyn). They had also representatives seated in Breconshire, whence they emigrated to the United States. A further notice is found under Dillwyn of Hendrefoilan.

Rather, most lines from the Princes mutated to other surnames such as Lloyd, Mortimer, Wynn, and so forth. I believe it is probable that the Llewellyn surname has no direct bloodline to the original Princes. It is more likely that our ancestors chose their surname to be Llywelyn as a source of pride and a desire to spawn future great leaders among their small numbers.

I found the earliest record of a Llewellyn surname in England, from A Calendar of Wills in the Consistory Court of the Bishop of Gloucester, a will for John Flewelyn, 1525. The next earliest record of a Llewellyn surname was found in England, from the Heraldic Church Notes from Cornwall, a baptism of Agnes, 13 DEC 1546, daughter of Thomas Llewellyn. Thereafter, the occurrence of the surname began to increase in the later 1500s and 1600s while the patronymic names disappeared by 1700.

In conclusion, Llewellyn as a Christian name figures heavily into the history of Wales but as a surname it is of little consequence. I judge it unlikely that we descended from the Welsh princes, certainly not patrilineally. It is more likely that Griffith, Lloyd, Powell’s, Thomas’ and Morgan’s were descended from the Welsh Llewelyn princes and their bloodlines intermingled with ours. Our surname was merely adopted and while it perhaps originated with a Llywelyn ap someone, there are many examples suggesting a more random adoption of a Llywelyn Christian name as our surname.