Why is it there are so many people in Wales with the surname Jones if there is no 'J' in the Welsh language?

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

The ever pervasive English influence. The Welsh for John is Ioan and the Welsh for James is Iago, but Jones (and John) and James are common surnames in Wales. This link explains some of the history. http://www.data-wales.co.uk/names.htm
Originally the Welsh had no surnames and were simply known as the son or daughter of their father (as in Icelandic). The Norman invaders insisted on surnames in order to collect taxes and where these were unpronounceable to them would substitute common forenames from their language, hence the proliferation of Welsh surnames which on closer inspection are transliterations of Norman French forenames.

Interestingly, the name Jones ultimately comes from the Hebrew via the Greek and neither of those languages has a "J" either.

Answer 3

Firstly, let's put Mama, Cobymox and Bag straight, there is no J (or X,or Q,or Z) in the Welsh alphabet.
A, B, C, CH, D, DD, E, F, FF, G, NG, H, I, L, LL, M, N, O, P, PH, R, RH, S, T, TH, U, W, Y.

Ch, Dd etc are one letter in Welsh.

As others have already pointed out, the surname Jones is a relatively recent arrival as ancient Welsh surnames did not exist. 'Ap' was similar to the Scottish Mc or the Irish O' (son of) . Gareth son of John would have been Gareth ap Sion or Gareth ap Ioan. (Sion and Ioan are both Welsh for John).
It was the anglicisation of the language which brought in the name Jones as has been explained by other answerers. Recently, however, J has been accepted in Welsh but only when using English words like jôc (joke), jersi (jersey), jacpot (jackpot).
The name Jones is now un-anglicised by the Welsh to Jôs.
So Johnny Jones is Joni Jôs.

WHY THE THUMB DOWN???

Answer 4

The letter J does exist in the Welsh language and there are a limited number of words beginning with J. The surname Jones is derived from a patronymic name (where there is a reference to the father's name, eg. Thomas, son of John or Thomas ap John). When permanent surnames started in the 16th century, they were in a more anglican manner, mainly due to English laws imposed on the Welsh, therefore John became Jones.

Answer 5

The Welsh language is over 2000 years previous. considering that 1536 the rustic of Cymru / Wales has been annexed and slowly assimilated into England. via denying a rustic its language, it incredibly is far less complicated to disclaim them of a cultural and national identity. Over this era of time, the English Language has been imposed upon the Welsh. consequently English family contributors names have been been used and because of this we now affiliate them as being Welsh.

Answer 6

There is a J in the Welsh language.

Answer 7

It's a legacy of the Norman French just like the 'J' names in English.

An influx of foreign names into a country is one of the things that happens when a people get invaded or conquered. Think of all the Visigothic names in Spain and Portugal too, or the Russian and Russianized names in Uzbekistan.

Answer 8

Looking at the other answers, I now realise I don't have to keep up with the Jones'!

Answer 9

There are no proper Welsh people called Jones, as they all stem from emigrants from England.

Answer 10

There is a J in the welsh language - you're obviously not welsh !!!!!!!!!!