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Gwilliam History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Gwilliam History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Wales

The origins of the Welsh name Gwilliam go back to those ancient Celts known as the Britons that once occupied the hills and Moors of Wales. This old Welsh surname is from the personal name Gwilliam, which is a Welsh form of the name William.

The name was anciently found in Normandy, France where it was more often than not spelt Guillem and by the Conquest was often seen as Guillaume. 1

Early Origins of the Gwilliam family

The surname Gwilliam was first found in Cardiganshire where the fist on record was David ap Gwilym, the celebrated Welsh bard. There are two thoughts as to his origin. The first claims that he was born at Bro Gynin in the parish of Llanbadarn Vawr, Cardiganshire, about 1340 and died there about 1400. He was buried in the abbey of Ystrad Flur in the same county. The second claims he was born near Llandaff, Glamorganshire in 1300, and to have died at the abbey of Talley, Carmarthenshire, in 1368. 2

What is not in dispute is that his parents were Gwilym Gam, a descendant of Llywarch ab Brân, one of the fifteen tribes of North Wales, and Ardudful, sister of Llywelyn ap Gwilym Vychan of Emlyn. He took to studies in Italy and by the age of fifteen, he had returned to Wales where his satirical whit became famous.

He fell in love with Laura for whom he wrote 147 poems. In his lifetime, he is known to have written 262 poems which were collected and published in 1789. "Other poems by him have since been discovered among the manuscript collections of Welsh poetry in the Mostyn library. The British Museum possesses many manuscript copies of his poems. " 2

At about the same time or perhaps earlier, John ap-Gwilym was Chancellor of St. David's in 1351. The name was also a forenames in East Cheshire. Gwilliam ap Griffith was listed as holding lands there in 1450. 3

Early History of the Gwilliam family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gwilliam research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1351, 1565 and 1621 are included under the topic Early Gwilliam History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gwilliam Spelling Variations

Although there are comparatively few Welsh surnames, they have a great many spelling variations. Variations of Welsh names began almost immediately after their acceptance within Welsh society. In the Middle Ages, it was up to priests and the few other people that recorded names in official documents to decide how to spell the names that they heard. Variations that occurred because of improper recording increased dramatically as the names were later transliterated into English. The Brythonic Celtic language of Wales, known by natives as Cymraeg, featured many highly inflected sounds that could not be properly captured by the English language. 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 were all indicated by the particular variation of one's name. The spelling variations of the name Gwilliam have included Gwilliam, Gwuilliam, Guilliam, Gwilliams and others.

Early Notables of the Gwilliam family

Another 34 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gwilliam Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gwilliam migration to the United States +

Many people from Wales joined the general migration to North America in the 19th and 20th centuries, searching for land, work, and freedom. Like the many other immigrants from the British Isles, they made a significant contribution to the development of Canada and the United States. The Welsh and their descendents added a rich cultural tradition to the newly developed towns, cities, and villages. An investigation of the immigration and passenger lists has revealed a number of people bearing the name Gwilliam:

Gwilliam Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Gwilliam, who settled in Virginia in 1654
John Gwilliam, who landed in America in 1654-1679 4

Gwilliam migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Gwilliam Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Gwilliam, (Gwillam), Welsh convict who was convicted in Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Wales for 14 years, transported aboard the "Camden" on 21st September 1832, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. Thomas Gwilliam, English convict who was convicted in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England for 15 years, transported aboard the "Clyde" on 11th March 1863, arriving in Western Australia, Australia 6

Gwilliam migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 7

Gwilliam Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

John Gwilliam, who settled in Barbados in 1654

Contemporary Notables of the name Gwilliam (post 1700) +

John Albert Gwilliam (1923-2016), Welsh rugby union player and schoolteacher
George Henry Gwilliam (b. 1914), English Aramaicist
Brad Gwilliam (b. 1966), former Australian rules footballer
John Gwilliam, Headmaster of Birkenhead School

Historic Events for the Gwilliam family +

HMS Repulse

Mr. William H Gwilliam, British Ordinary Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 8

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 2nd December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/camden
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/clyde
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html