Show ContentsGething History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Celtic name of Gething was derived from the rugged landscape of Wales. This old, proud name is from the Welsh personal name Gethin. According to some experts, this forename is derived from the word "cethin," which means "dusky" or "dark."

Early Origins of the Gething family

The surname Gething was first found in Cheshire, where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor near Malpas. The main stem of the family is said to be descended from David Goch, a Welsh chieftain, Lord of Penmachno of Fedwdeg. One of the oldest records of the name was Rhys Gethin (died 1405), Welsh standard bearer and a leading general in the revolt of Owain Glyndwr in which he led an army which captured several castles in South Wales; and later Ieuan Gethin ap Ieuan ap Lleision (fl. c. 1450) was a Welsh language poet and gentleman from Baglan, Glamorgan. A large number of his own poems remain in existence today.

Early History of the Gething family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gething research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1402, 1405, 1585, 1615, 1652, 1674, 1676, 1685, 1697, 1698, 1709, 1725, 1765 and 1778 are included under the topic Early Gething History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gething Spelling Variations

The Welsh have an extremely large amount of spelling variations of their native surnames to their credit. It was up to the priest or the scribe taking the official records to determine how the spoken name was to be made literal. As time progressed, the old Brythonic names of Wales were recorded in English, which was especially problematic since the English language had extreme difficulty recording the highly inflected sounds of Cymraeg. Spelling variations were, however, also carried out according to an individual's design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by spelling variations of one's name. The spelling variations of the name Gething have included Gethin, Gethyn, Gethyns, Gethyng, Gethings, Gething, Gethinge, Getting, Gettings, Gittings, Gittens, Gittins, Gidding, Giddings, Gettins, Giddens, Giddins, Gidden, Giddens, Gettens, Gitting and many more.

Early Notables of the Gething family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was

  • Richard Gething (1585?-1652?), was an English calligrapher, a native of Herefordshire, and a scholar of John Davies, the famous writing-master of Hereford. 1

Ireland Migration of the Gething family to Ireland

Some of the Gething family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 74 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Gething family

North America in the 1800s and 1900s saw the arrival of many Welsh people hoping to share in the wealth of land, work, and freedom that they felt North America held. Those who made the journey often attained those expectations, but only through an enormous amount of hard work, perseverance, and often a bout of good luck. These immigrants helped contribute to the growth of industry, commerce, and culture of both Canada and the United States. Discovered in the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Gething: James, George, and Jane Giddins settled in Boston in 1635; John Giddin(g)s settled in Ipswich in 1653; Edward Giddons settled in Philadelphia in 1773. Adam, James and John Gittens arrived in New York in 1854..


Contemporary Notables of the name Gething (post 1700) +

  • Vaughan Gething AM (b. 1974), Welsh Labour Co-operative politician, Member of the Welsh Assembly for Cardiff South and Penarth (2011)
  • Glyn Ivor Gething (1892-1977), Welsh rugby union player from Neath, member of the Wales National Team (1913)
  • Michael Gething, Australian jurist, Principal Registrar of the District Court of Western Australia


  1. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print


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