Lew History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Wales
Ireland

The proud Lew surname is from the personal name Lewis, an Anglicized form of the Welsh name Llewellyn. This name is often explained as meaning "lion-like," but is in fact probably derived from the Welsh word "llyw," which means "leader." Alternatively, the name Lewis is also an Anglo-French form of the Old Frankish name Hludwig, which means "loud battle."

Early Origins of the Lew family

The surname Lew was first found in Glamorganshire (Welsh: Sir Forgannwg), a region of South Wales, anciently part of the Welsh kingdom of Glywysing, where the family held a seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Lew family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lew research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1598, 1616, 1625, 1627, 1640, 1650, 1660, 1661, 1664, 1669, 1674, 1675, 1677, 1679, 1690, 1699, 1706 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Lew History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lew 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 Lew have included Lewis, Lewiss, Lewess, Lews, Llewys, Llewis, Lewwis, Llewess and many more.

Early Notables of the Lew family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was

Sir William Lewis, 1st Baronet (1598-1677), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1640 and 1677
William Lewis (1625-1661), an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1660
Richard Lewis (c 1627-1706), an English landowner and politician
David Lewis (1616-1679), a Welsh Catholic priest and martyr who was also known as Charles Baker
Pierce Lewis (1664-1699), a Welsh cleric who helped to "correct" the 1690 edition of the Welsh Bible

Lew Ranking

In the United States, the name Lew is the 4,595^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Lew family to Ireland

Some of the Lew family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lew migration to the United States +

During the latter half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the people of Wales journeyed to North America to find a new life. They made major contributions to the arts, industry and commerce of both Canada and the United States, and added a rich cultural heritage to their newly adopted societies. A look at the immigration and passenger lists has shown a number of people bearing the name Lew:

Lew Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Sarah Lew, who arrived in Virginia in 1701 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Lew (post 1700) +

Barzillai Lew (1743-1822), American soldier who served with distinction during the American Revolutionary War
Harry Haskell "Bucky" Lew (1884-1963), American who was the first to integrate professional basketball in 1902, direct descendant of Barzillai Lew
Joseph Lew, American Republican politician, Presidential Elector for Pennsylvania, 1920 3
Ginger Lew, American Democratic Party politician, Member, Rules Committee, Democratic National Convention, 2008 3
Randy "nanonoko" Lew (b. 1985), American professional poker and competitive fighting game player who has amassed over 2,600,000 playing poker on PokerStars
Scott Lew (1969-2017), American screenwriter, known for Sexy Evil Genius and Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas; he suffered from ALS
Ronald S.W. Lew (b. 1941), American jurist, U.S. District Court Judge for the Central District of California (1987-2006)
James Jene Fae Lew (b. 1952), American three-time Screen Actors Guild Award nominated martial arts actor
Jacob Joseph "Jack" Lew (b. 1955), American government administrator and attorney, the 76th and current United States Secretary of the Treasury (2013-)
Elizabeth L. Van Lew, American Republican politician, Postmaster at Richmond, Virginia, 1869-77 4
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Lew Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Patriae fidus
Motto Translation: Faithful to my country.

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 28) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html