Surnames came into general usage as a direct result of the Norman Conquest
in 1066, and are to be found in the Domesday Book in 1086. The names themselves reflect the influence of earlier invaders
the Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons and the Danes. During the reign of Edward II (1307-1327), the use of surnames became increasingly
accepted practice. These can be classified into four principal categories, those related to Patronymics (Father's name as
surname of son), together with those derived from Locational and Occupational sources and Nicknames.
Jones has many related
varients which are related as to root, derivation or usage. These include Fitzjones, Joan, Joanes, John and Joynes.
Jones
is one of the many variants of John, a name taken from the Hebrew language and found throughout Christendom. The Hebrew name
Johanan meaning Jehovah has favoured, was usually Latinized in very early documents as Johannes. Not until about 1140 do we
see it as Jones.
The Welsh form was 'Ieuan', and the form 'Ioan' was adopted for the Welsh Authorized Version of the Bible,
hence the frequency of the name Jones.
References to the surname Jones appear in many of the early records, but more often
than not the earliest references are to its related names. Some of these earliest recordings are:-
Matilda Jones. County
of Huntingdonshire 1273 ref. Hundred Rolls.
Alanus Filius Jene appears in the 1275 annals of Lincolnshire.
Ralph Jonesman.
Recorded in the Reign of Edward I (1272-1307) ref. Close Rolls.
Jones is found as a surname at Glinton (North) in 1304.
(Glinton appears to be north of Peterborough and east of Stamford), in Staffordshire in 1309 and frequently in 1327 in Worcestershire,
4 times in Suffolk, 8 in Shropshire and 11 times in Somerset.
The Welsh were much later in embracing the English form
of Surnames, the pattern emerging after the administrative union with England in the 16th century. Even this development was
confined to those dealing with the English bureacracy, most rural areas not adopting the practice until the 18th century and
later. Many names often taken from the Old Testament, due to the strong Nonconformism, gave rise to Jones, "John"; Davies,
"David; the stock of Welsh surnames being greatly restricted due to these of factors. The Welsh patronymic prefix "ap, ab",
meaning literally "son of" remains in such names 1. Bowen-Owen and Probert-Robert. Due to the large number of people bearing
the same Surnames, Welshmen are often defined in their daily lives, by the use of bynames, associated with their occupation
such as Jones the Butcher or Williams the Dustman.
AMERICA. Some of the first settlers of this name or some of its
variants were: Anne Jones who settled in Virginia in 1648; also settled in Virginia were Charles Jones in 1636; Christopher
Jones in 1652 and David Jones in 1636.
AUSTRALIA. Jones is a First Fleet surname, having been borne by a Marine Private,
Thomas Jones, and a number of convicts including Thomas Jones, convicted of housebreaking at Bristol, sentenced to death,
later commuted to 14 years transportation.
Other convicts included:
Name
Where Sentenced Term
Francis Jones Worcester 7
yrs.
Thomas Jones Warwick 7 "
Edward Jones London
7 "
Margaret Jones Launceston 14 "
John Jones Exeter 14
"
William Jones Shewsbury 7
"
Richard Jones Shewsbury 7 "
___________________
WELSH SNIPPETS
THE WELSH LANGUAGE
Welsh, one of Europe's oldest languages can be traced back to the 6th century.
It is a Celtic-based language which has 28 letters, but omits the consonants j, k, q, v, x and z. It is phonetic, written
as it is spoken, with the emphasis generally placed on the penultimate syllable.
a short or long
ll mixture of hl and
b as in English
Scottish ch
c like the English k m as
in English
ch guttural, like Scottish n
as in English
'loch'
o short or long
d as in English p
as in English
dd th, as in 'then' ph
English f
e short or long
r rolled like Scottish r
f like English v
rh aspirate made at back
ff like English f
of throat
g as in 'goat'
s hard as in English 'sea'
ng as in 'hang'
t as in English
h as in English th
voiceless as in 'think'
i long e sound
u short as in 'nip'
l as in English
w short u as in 'bull',
long as in 'root'
y e
as in knee, o as in
'not' or u as in 'funny'
In the 2001 census 21% of the 3 million Welsh people could speak Welsh which was an increase
from 18.7% in the 1991 census.
450 years after the English rulers replaced the Welsh language with the English language, in 1991
the Welsh language became an official tongue.
In 2008 the European Union recognised the Welsh language as a minority tongue in the 27 nation
bloc.
THE GUINESS BOOK OF RECORDS
On November 3rd, 2006 the show "Jones Jones Jones" was held at the Wales Millenium Centre
in Cardiff, the principality's capital city. The saying "keeping up with the Joneses" couldn't have been more apt as
1,224 people created a new record for the largest gathering of people with the same surname.
All of the Joneses had to provide identification and present it to independent witnesses which was
scrutinised by the Guinness Book of Records.
Joneses from across Wales and as far away as Australia descended on Cardiff to participate in this
record breaking event in which many famous Joneses provided the evening's entertainment.
NO J!
Jones, the most common surname in Wales begins with a letter which is not included in
the Welsh Alphabet.
'LLANFAIRPWLLGWYNGYLLGOGERYCHWYRNDROBWIIIIANTYSILIOGOGOGOCH'
Not
far from Caernarfon Castle is LLANFAIRWLLGWYNGYLLGOGERYCHWYRNDROBWIIIIANTYSILIOGOGOGOCH meaning: "St. Mary's Church, in a
hollow of white hazel, close to a rapid whirlpool and St. Tusilo's Church, and near a red cave." It is usually shortened
to LLANFAIR P.G. It is one of the longest place names in the World.
