NameCensus.

UK surname

Welsh

A surname indicating a person of Welsh origin or ancestry.

In the 1881 census there were 11,869 people recorded with the Welsh surname, ranking it #360 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 14,706, ranked #433, down from #360 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Govan Combination, Gateshead and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Purbeck, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Knowsley.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Welsh is 15,074 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 23.9%.

1881 census count

11,869

Ranked #360

Modern count

14,706

2016, ranked #433

Peak year

2010

15,074 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Welsh had 11,869 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #360 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 14,706 in 2016, ranked #433.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 12,419 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Welsh surname distribution map

The map shows where the Welsh surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Welsh surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Welsh over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 6,164 #453
1861 historical 8,020 #344
1881 historical 11,869 #360
1891 historical 12,401 #358
1901 historical 12,419 #422
1911 historical 8,027 #630
1997 modern 13,424 #452
1998 modern 13,981 #452
1999 modern 14,125 #451
2000 modern 14,054 #450
2001 modern 13,704 #451
2002 modern 14,252 #441
2003 modern 13,965 #439
2004 modern 13,986 #440
2005 modern 13,940 #435
2006 modern 14,021 #431
2007 modern 14,183 #431
2008 modern 14,268 #431
2009 modern 14,661 #430
2010 modern 15,074 #428
2011 modern 14,766 #428
2012 modern 14,436 #429
2013 modern 14,682 #431
2014 modern 14,831 #432
2015 modern 14,733 #431
2016 modern 14,706 #433

Geography

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Where Welshs are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Govan Combination, Gateshead, London parishes, Edinburgh and Manchester. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Purbeck, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Knowsley, Craigend and Ruchazie and County Durham. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Govan Combination Lanark
2 Gateshead Durham
3 London parishes London 3
4 Edinburgh Edinburgh
5 Manchester Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Purbeck 003 Purbeck
2 Newcastle-under-Lyme 012 Newcastle-under-Lyme
3 Knowsley 020 Knowsley
4 Craigend and Ruchazie Glasgow City
5 County Durham 064 County Durham

Forenames

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First names often paired with Welsh

These lists show first names that appear often with the Welsh surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Welsh

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Welsh, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Welsh surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Welsh household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Welsh is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Welsh is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Welsh falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Welsh is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of Over 70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

10
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Welsh, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Welsh

The surname Welsh is a locational name derived from the Anglo-Saxon word "Wilisc" meaning "foreigner" or "Celt". It originally referred to settlers of Celtic or British origin living among the Anglo-Saxons in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name is rooted in the Old English words "Walh" and "Wealh", which were used to describe the native Britons who spoke a Celtic language.

The earliest known record of the surname Welsh dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Waleis" and "Walensis". In the 12th century, the surname is found in various forms such as "le Waleys", "le Waleys", and "Walensis". These variations indicate the name's evolution from its Anglo-Saxon origins to its more modern form.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Welsh was Walter le Waleys, a landholder mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1194. Another notable figure was Sir Robert Welsh, a prominent Welsh soldier and knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War and was granted lands in Worcestershire in the 14th century.

In the 16th century, the surname Welsh was associated with several prominent figures, including John Welsh (c. 1568-1622), a Scottish Presbyterian minister and religious reformer. He was a prominent supporter of the Presbyterian cause and was exiled from Scotland for his involvement in the Gowrie Conspiracy against King James VI.

Another notable bearer of the surname was Andrew Welsh (1758-1828), an American soldier and politician who served as a Captain in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He later became a prominent figure in Pennsylvania politics, serving as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

In the 19th century, the surname Welsh gained further recognition with the birth of the American author and humorist Edgar Welsh (1857-1945), best known for his short stories and works of satire. His works often explored themes of small-town life and human eccentricities.

Throughout its history, the surname Welsh has been closely linked to its Anglo-Saxon and Celtic origins, reflecting the cultural heritage and migrations of people within the British Isles and beyond.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Welsh families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Welsh surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Lancashire leads with 1,956 Welshs recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.43x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 1,956 1.43x
Lanarkshire 1,026 2.74x
Middlesex 834 0.72x
Durham 826 2.40x
Yorkshire 701 0.61x
Midlothian 398 2.57x
Cheshire 363 1.42x
Northumberland 356 2.07x
Surrey 317 0.56x
Glamorgan 303 1.50x
Angus 275 2.57x
Kent 274 0.69x
Renfrewshire 256 2.86x
Ayrshire 247 2.85x
Stirlingshire 239 5.60x
Fife 207 3.02x
Staffordshire 206 0.53x
Warwickshire 191 0.65x
Kirkcudbrightshire 164 9.80x
Cumberland 161 1.62x
Gloucestershire 155 0.68x
Essex 120 0.53x
Somerset 117 0.63x
Hampshire 116 0.49x
Devon 115 0.48x
Selkirkshire 111 10.61x
Roxburghshire 109 5.20x
Lincolnshire 108 0.58x
Monmouthshire 101 1.21x
Perthshire 100 1.93x
Nottinghamshire 89 0.57x
Dumfriesshire 77 3.01x
Cornwall 70 0.53x
Leicestershire 69 0.54x
Sussex 65 0.33x
Hertfordshire 64 0.80x
Shropshire 64 0.64x
Worcestershire 60 0.40x
Dorset 57 0.75x
Wigtownshire 53 3.45x
Derbyshire 47 0.26x
East Lothian 46 3.00x
Aberdeenshire 45 0.42x
Herefordshire 45 0.95x
Dunbartonshire 44 1.42x
Kincardineshire 41 2.91x
Buckinghamshire 39 0.56x
Northamptonshire 34 0.31x
Berwickshire 33 2.36x
Peeblesshire 33 6.07x
Suffolk 27 0.19x
Flintshire 22 0.71x
Norfolk 22 0.12x
Oxfordshire 21 0.29x
Berkshire 19 0.22x
Cambridgeshire 17 0.23x
Channel Islands 16 0.47x
Bedfordshire 15 0.25x
Royal Navy 15 1.09x
Wiltshire 15 0.15x
West Lothian 14 0.80x
Clackmannanshire 13 1.36x
Buteshire 11 1.57x
Caernarfonshire 11 0.24x
Argyllshire 10 0.31x
Inverness-shire 10 0.29x
Westmorland 10 0.39x
Denbighshire 9 0.21x
Brecknockshire 8 0.35x
Pembrokeshire 8 0.22x
Isle of Man 7 0.33x
Rutland 7 0.82x
Carmarthenshire 6 0.12x
Montgomeryshire 4 0.15x
Merionethshire 3 0.14x
Cardiganshire 2 0.07x
Radnorshire 2 0.21x
Banffshire 1 0.04x
Huntingdonshire 1 0.04x
Kinross-shire 1 0.34x
Ross-shire 1 0.03x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Liverpool in Lancashire leads with 362 Welshs recorded in 1881 and an index of 4.34x.

Place Total Index
Liverpool 362 4.34x
Govan 241 2.61x
Manchester 226 3.66x
Barony 224 2.37x
Glasgow 212 3.19x
Dundee 122 3.05x
Birmingham 119 1.22x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 118 1.89x
Leeds 103 1.59x
Toxteth Park 101 2.17x
Salford 97 2.40x
Preston 80 2.18x
South Leith 76 4.36x
Bootle Cum Linacre 71 6.51x
St Pancras London 67 0.72x
Bradford 63 2.27x
St Marylebone London 59 0.96x
Bermondsey 57 1.66x
Swansea Town 56 3.39x
West Ham 56 1.11x
Islington London 55 0.49x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 54 2.53x
Shoreditch London 54 1.08x
West Derby 54 1.34x
Everton 51 1.17x
Galashiels 51 13.18x
Kensington London 51 0.79x
Old Monkland 50 3.37x
Paisley High Church 50 7.01x
Dunfermline 49 4.65x
Widnes 49 4.95x
Keighley 48 3.93x
Stockport 48 3.65x
Gateshead 47 1.82x
Birkenhead 46 2.26x
Stirling 46 8.55x
Bishopwearmouth 45 1.52x
Wemyss 45 15.53x
Chelsea London 44 1.26x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 44 2.95x
Cardiff St Mary 43 3.88x
Liff Benvie 43 2.64x
Merthyr Tydfil 43 2.22x
St Ninians 43 10.17x
Hamilton 42 4.03x
Lambeth 42 0.42x
Oldham 42 0.95x
Hawick 41 8.74x
Deptford St Paul 40 1.31x
Maryhill 40 5.46x
Nottingham St Mary 40 0.99x
Monkwearmouth Shore 39 5.81x
Rutherglen 39 7.11x
East Greenock 38 4.49x
Wolverhampton 38 1.27x
New Monkland 37 3.35x
Portsea 37 0.80x
Abbey 36 2.63x
Alva 36 17.69x
Longbenton 36 4.94x
Selkirk 36 12.21x
Brandon Byshottles 35 8.12x
Kirkdale 35 1.52x
Aston 34 0.42x
Falkirk 33 3.30x
Middlesbrough 33 2.21x
Camberwell 32 0.43x
Chorley 32 4.16x
Chorlton On Medlock 32 1.47x
Dudley 32 1.74x
Eastwood 32 5.80x
Brighton 31 0.79x
Linthorpe 31 4.53x
Battersea 30 0.70x
Leicester St Margaret 30 0.96x
Newcastle On Tyne St 30 3.36x
Plumstead 30 2.28x
Sunderland 30 4.94x
Bedwellty 29 1.96x
Urr 29 13.32x
Willington 29 14.59x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Welsh surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 823
Elizabeth 278
Margaret 243
Ellen 220
Sarah 214
Ann 212
Catherine 202
Bridget 137
Jane 129
Annie 108
Alice 93
Eliza 77
Emma 71
Hannah 55
Kate 52
Maria 48
Julia 42
Emily 41
Agnes 37
Harriet 37
Martha 37
Isabella 36
Louisa 32
Caroline 30
Susan 30
Anne 29
Charlotte 27
Rose 24
Edith 23
Florence 22
Ada 21
Frances 21
Lucy 21
Clara 20
Fanny 16
Catharine 15
Margret 14
Margt. 14
Amelia 13
Jessie 13
Minnie 13
Amy 12
Elizth. 12
Johanna 12
Sophia 11
Anna 10
Dorothy 10
Harriett 10
Eleanor 9
Helen 9

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Welsh surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 697
James 405
Thomas 369
William 362
Patrick 208
Michael 170
George 160
Edward 125
Joseph 101
Henry 95
Robert 88
Charles 82
Richard 74
Martin 68
Peter 52
Alfred 42
Frederick 36
Thos. 33
Arthur 32
Daniel 32
Walter 32
David 28
Frank 22
Andrew 21
Ernest 21
Samuel 21
Francis 20
Wm. 19
Anthony 18
Matthew 18
Harry 16
Stephen 15
Albert 14
Edwin 14
Alexander 11
Luke 11
Jno. 10
Christopher 9
Herbert 9
Hugh 9
Geo. 8
Timothy 8
Edmund 7
Lawrence 7
Mark 7
Philip 7
Sidney 7
Fredk. 6
Michel 6
W. 6

FAQ

Welsh surname: questions and answers

How common was the Welsh surname in 1881?

In 1881, 11,869 people were recorded with the Welsh surname. That placed it at #360 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Welsh surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 14,706 in 2016. That gives Welsh a modern rank of #433.

What does the Welsh surname mean?

A surname indicating a person of Welsh origin or ancestry.

What does the Welsh map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Welsh bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.