Show ContentsBlethyn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

From the Celtic land of Wales came the name of Blethyn. This name initially evolved from the Welsh personal name Blethyn.

Early Origins of the Blethyn family

The surname Blethyn was first found in Denbighshire (Welsh: Sir Ddinbych), a historic county in Northeast Wales created by the Laws in Wales Act 1536, where Meredith Ap Blethyn was Prince of North Wales in the 11th century. William the Conqueror seized Prince Meridith's castle at Oswestry in Shropshire after 1066 but he retained his Welsh estates. 1 2

"At the Survey we see that King William was Lord of this manor (Mileham), but soon after Alan, son of Flaald, obtained it by the gilt of William the Conqueror; also the castle of Oswaldstrey in Shropshire, which belonged to Meredith ap Blethyn, a Welshman or Briton." 3

Early History of the Blethyn family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Blethyn research. Another 137 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1366, 1391, 1524, 1579, 1590, 1601, 1627 and 1669 are included under the topic Early Blethyn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Blethyn 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 Blethyn have included Blevin, Blevyn, Ap Blethyn, Ap Plethyn, Plethen, Blethin, Blethen, Blevins and many more.

Early Notables of the Blethyn family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was

  • William Blethyn, (d.1590), Bishop of Llandaff in 1579...

Migration of the Blethyn family

Many Welsh families joined their Scottish and Irish neighbors during the late 1800s and early 1900s in seeking refuge in North America. Like the Irish and Scottish, many Welsh anxiously awaited the work, freedom, and opportunities that they believed lay in North America. Those who did journey over to the United States and what became known as Canada often realized those dreams, but only through much toil and perseverance. Whenever and however these Welsh immigrants arrived in North America, they were instrumental in the creation of the industry, commerce, and cultural heritage within those two developing nations. In the immigration and passenger lists a number of early immigrants bearing the name Blethyn were found: G. Blethen, who arrived in San Francisco in 1851.


Contemporary Notables of the name Blethyn (post 1700) +

  • Brenda Blethyn O.B.E (b. 1946), Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award, Cannes Film Festival Award and Academy Award winning English actress. Known for her roles in The Witches (1990), Secrets and Lies and Little Voice


  1. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Page, William (ed), A History of the County of Norfolk. London: Victoria County History, 1906. Print


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