Welsh is a

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

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 that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...

Welsch. Welsh is a popular surname in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Etymology

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

Old English Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

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 tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...

to describe inhabitants of the former

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

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; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

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

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

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 English pe ...

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

Welsh people The Welsh () are an ethnic group and nation native to Wales who share a common ancestry, History of Wales, history and Culture of Wales, culture. Wales is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. The majority of people living in Wa ...

, as

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

became increasingly populated with

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

Notable people

* Barry Welsh, comedy character played by John Sparkes * Chris Welsh, former baseball pitcher and current announcer for the Cincinnati Reds * Christie Welsh, American soccer player * David Welsh, Scottish religious leader * Emilio Villalba Welsh (1906–1992), Argentine screenwriter * Freddie Welsh, Welsh World Lightweight boxing champion * George Welsh (disambiguation), several people *

Irvine Welsh Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist and short story writer. His 1993 novel ''Trainspotting (novel), Trainspotting'' was made into a Trainspotting (film), film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, ...

, Scottish author * John Welsh (English footballer), player for Hull City, England * Kenneth Welsh (1942–2022), Canadian film and television actor * Mark Welsh, 20th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force * Matt Welsh, Australian swimmer * Matthew E. Welsh, American politician and governor of Indiana * Patrick Welsh (disambiguation), several people * Peter Welsh (disambiguation), several people * Paul Welsh (disambiguation), several people * Sean Welsh, Scottish footballer * Thomas Welsh (disambiguation), several people * William Welsh (disambiguation), several people

Notes

External links

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

Etymology

Notable people

See also

Notes

External links