Welsh is a

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

from the Old English language given to the Celtic Britons. The surname can also be the result of anglicization of the German

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical ef ...

Welsch. A popular surname in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Etymology

It appears that the etymology of the name ''Welsh'' is derived from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

adjective or , an adjective derived from the noun , a term for a Roman or Roman subject. These terms were used by many ancient

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

to describe inhabitants of the former

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

over the Alps, Rhine, and North Sea, who spoke Latin or Celtic languages. The Old High German ''walh'' became ''walch'' in

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...

and the adjectival ''walhisk'' became MHG ''welsch''. In present-day German, ''Welsche'' refers to Romance peoples, the

Italians , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...

in particular, but also the French and the Romanic neighbours of the German-speaking lands in general. The Old English variant ''wilisc'' of the Proto-Germanic root was applied to the native British peoples encountered by the Saxon invaders and settlers during the 5th and 6th centuries AD. Over the succeeding centuries the term ''wilisc'' morphed through

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old Englis ...

into ''Welsh'', becoming an epithet at once more specifically for the

Welsh people The Welsh ( cy, Cymry) are an ethnic group native to Wales. "Welsh people" applies to those who were born in Wales ( cy, Cymru) and to those who have Welsh ancestry, perceiving themselves or being perceived as sharing a cultural heritage and ...

, as

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

became increasingly populated with

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened ...

Notable people

* Barry Welsh, comedy character played by

John Sparkes John Sparkes (born 6 January 1954) is a Welsh actor and comedian. He portrayed Barry Welsh, presenter of the HTV Wales series '' Barry Welsh Is Coming''. He has also had major roles in ''Naked Video'', '' Absolutely'', ''Fireman Sam'', ''Shau ...

* Chris Welsh, former baseball pitcher and current announcer for the Cincinnati Reds * Christie Welsh, American soccer player *

David Welsh David Welsh FRSE (11 December 179324 April 1845) was a Scottish divine and academic. He was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1842. In the Disruption of 1843 he was one of the leading figures in the establishmen ...

, Scottish religious leader * Freddie Welsh, Welsh World Lightweight boxing champion *

George Welsh (disambiguation) George Welsh may refer to: Politicians * George Austin Welsh (1878–1970), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania * George Arthur Welsh (1896–1965), Canadian flying ace, farmer and political figure * George W. Welsh (1883–1974), politician from ...

, several people * Irvine Welsh, Scottish author *

John Welsh (English footballer) John Joseph Welsh (born 10 January 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played as midfielder. Welsh notably played in the Premier League for Liverpool, where he began his career before playing for Hull City, Chester City, Ca ...

, player for Hull City, England * Kenneth Welsh (1942–2022), Canadian film and television actor *

Mark Welsh Mark Anthony Welsh III (born January 26, 1953) is Dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University and a retired United States Air Force four-star general. Prior to his current role, he served as Chief of Staff of ...

, 20th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force * Matt Welsh, Australian swimmer *

Matthew E. Welsh Matthew Empson Welsh (September 15, 1912 – May 28, 1995) was an American politician who was the 41st governor of Indiana and a member of the Democratic Party, serving from 1961 to 1965. His term as governor saw a major increase in statewide t ...

, American politician and governor of Indiana * Patrick Welsh (disambiguation), several people * Peter Welsh (disambiguation), several people *

Paul Welsh Paul Welsh is a British television and radio correspondent and presenter. He was born in England in 1961, but moved frequently because his father was a serving member of the RAF. He studied Physics at the University of Nottingham from 1979 to 19 ...

, British television and radio correspondent * Sean Welsh, Scottish footballer * Thomas Welsh (basketball), American basketball player * William Welsh (footballer), British footballer

External links

Welsh surname DNA Project
{{surname, Welsh English-language surnames Surnames of Anglo-Saxon origin Surnames of Irish origin Americanized surnames English toponymic surnames

Etymology

Notable people

See also

External links