J

James : Jâms [buy tshirt]

James became a first name relatively recently in the 15th century but became a more popular in Wales than England.

Famous people with the Welsh surname James include:

Jesse James – A Welsh American outlaw who become an American folk symbol.

Richard David James – A pioneering electronic musician commonly known as Aphex Twin .

 

Jenkins : Siencyn [buy tshirt]

Jenkins derives from the name Jankin which is a pet form of John. It was adopted early in Wales as a forename and so became a patronymic Welsh surname. Siencyn reflects the phonetic Welsh pronunciation.

Famous people with the Welsh surname Jenkins include:

Karl Jenkins – International composer.

Katherine Jenkins – Classical singer.

Richard Burton (real name Jenkins) – Famous actor who famously married the Hollywood starlet Elizabeth Taylor twice.

 

John : Johns / Ieuan / Ioan / Sion [buy tshirt]

John is a name derived from Latin, Greek and Hebrew. There are numerous forms of the name to be found in different languages and it has been popular across the Christian world for a considerable time. In Wales it morphed into the Welsh Ieuan or Ioan. Ieuan often became Evan /Ifan (see Evans) but the popular first name John was also adopted as a Welsh surname in it’s own right as well as leading to Johns and one of the most popular Welsh surnames Jones (son of John). The name John also became to be written and told as Sion by many Welsh speakers which also became a surname in it’s own right as well as giving rise to the surname Shone in some parts of Wales.

Famous people with the Welsh surname John include:

Augustus John – Artist  and painter.

Gwen John – Artist and painter.

Elton John – Elton John has sold more than 250 million records making him one of the most successful artists ever. He has more than 50 top 40 hits including 7 number 1 Us albums,56 top 40 singles, 16 top 10, four No 2 hits and 9 No 1 hits.

Barry John – Wales International rugby player. He is considered by many to be the greatest rugby fly-half in the sport’s history, and became known as “The King”.

 

Jones : Ieuan / Ioan / ap Sion / Sion [buy tshirt]

Jones is the most popular surname to be found in Wales and one of the world’s most famous surnames. As the Welsh have emigrated from Wales to places like England, the United States of America, South America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand it has spread over the years to be one of the most popular surnames in the Welsh and English speaking worlds. It is the fifth most popular surname in the United States and second most popular in Australia, New Zealand and on the island of Britain.

The patronymic Welsh system of using your fathers first name as your surname meant that as John became a more widely used first name in Wales it also became to be a surname as well. Adding an ‘s’ later developed to be a popular and fashionable habit. The Welsh form of John is Ieuan, Ioan or Sion which are still popular Welsh names. So because  they are still used as first Welsh names and because the patronymic system is still used to a varying but lesser degree in Wales, in some cases a Welsh surname will be Sion, Ieuan or Ioan rather than Jones (or alternatively the more traditional ap Sion, ap Ieuan or ap Ioan).

Famous people with the Welsh surname Jones include:

Catherine Zeta Jones –  Hollywood actress and all round Welsh beauty.

Tom Jones – Singer famous for huge hits such as ‘What’s new pussycat’, ‘Delilah’ and ‘Sex Bomb’.

Grace Jones – Singer famous for her outlandish costumes and style.

Tommy Lee Jones – Actor famous for numerous films such as ‘The Fugitive’ and ‘No Country for Old Men’.

Roy Jones Jr – WBC, WBA, IBF, WBF, IBO, NBA and IBA light heavyweight boxing champion.

Edward Jones – Co founder of the  Dow Jones & Company, the New York based international publishing and stock market index firm.

Vinny Jones – Footballer and film actor.

David Bowie (real name David Jones) – A major and innovative figure for five decades in the world of popular music.

Quincy Jones – Award winning music producer and film composer who has had 27 Grammys and is particularly known for being the producer of the hugely successful Michael Jackson album ‘Thriller’.

Steve Jones – Founding member of the Sex Pistols.

Brian Jones – Founding member of the Rolling Stones.

George Jones – Co founder of the New York times.

Alex Jones – American constitutionalist and hugely popular alternative media host on the Alex Jones infowars show.

Kimberly Denise Jones AKA Lil Kim – Rapper, singer and actress.

Norah Jones – American jazz singer.

Price Jones – Newtown based inventor and pioneer of the mail order catalogue.

Nas (real name Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones) – Musician / singer / rapper.

Nicholas Allen Jones, also known as Nicky Wire – Lyricist, bassist and occasional vocalist with the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers.

Michael D.Jones – Michael Daniel Jones (2 March 1822 – He is best remembered, together with Lewis Jones and Captain Love Jones-Parry as a founder of the Welsh settlement in Patagonia known as Y Wladfa and as one of the fathers of modern Welsh nationalism.