Jones is a surname of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

origin meaning "son of John". The surname is common in Wales. It evolved into variations of traditionally Welsh names: Ieuan, Iowan, Ioan, Iwan, or even Siôn (note how the letter 'J' was originally being pronounced as 'i', akin to how J is pronounced in the Latin alphabet). The sound generated from ‘Si-’ in Siôn is a Welsh approximation of the English ‘J’ sound that does not exist natively to the language (refer to Irish ''Seán''), equivalent to the English ‘Sh’ such as in “''shed''.” It may exist as an anglicisation of these names during periods in which many Welsh were changing their names and ridding their patronymic names (“''Ap Rhys''” to “''Prys''” and then “''Price''” in English, or attaching an ‘-s’ to the end of a given name to signify an old patronym: “''Owain''” to “''Owen''” to finally “''Owens''”), or English speakers transliterating these names to a more conventional spelling through mishearing. They may also come from the English patronymic “''Johns'',” or “''Johnson''” (“''son of John''”).

History

Jones surname distribution map in Britain, Ireland and Mann

The surname Jones first appears on record as a surname in England in 1273 with the name "Matilda Jones". Others put the first known record of the surname ''Jones'' as 1279, in

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...

, England. Around the time of the Laws in Wales Acts in the early to mid 16th century, the traditional Welsh system of

patronymics A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

was increasingly replaced by the English system of

surnames 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, ...

, since English was the official state language and all official documents needed to be in English. This led to the

Anglicisation Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

of Welsh names, meaning that English Christian names (such as John) became increasingly common surnames to distinctively Welsh Christian first names such as Meredudd (Meredith) and Llewelyn. Thus "Mab Ioan" or "ap Sion" (and many other variations) meaning "son of John" became the surname Jones in a large number of cases, making it a very frequently used surname.

20th and 21st centuries

Jones remains the most widespread surname in Wales, borne by around 200,000 people, or 5.75% of the population. In England it is used by around 450,000 people, or 0.75% of the population, but still the second most popular surname, after

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

. The 2000 United States census provides a frequency of 0.50%, providing an overall rank of fifth most frequent with 57.7% White, 37.7% Black, 1.4% Hispanic, 0.9% Native American. Jones was the fourth most common surname in the 1990 U.S. Census, behind only

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

and Williams.

References

External links

"What do the statistics in the geographical location and social demographic tables mean?"
*

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

(9 May 1995). s:1990 Census Name Files dist.all.last (1-100). {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones (Surname) English-language surnames Surnames of Welsh origin Anglicised Welsh-language surnames Patronymic surnames Surnames from given names Surnames of English origin Surnames of Canadian origin Surnames of Australian origin Surnames of New Zealand origin fr:Jones nl:Jones ja:ジョーンズ pt:Jones (nome) ru:Джонс simple:Jones fi:Jones zh:琼斯

History

20th and 21st centuries

See also

References

External links