Thewe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Wales
Ireland

The name Thewe can be traced to the ancient Celtic culture of Wales. The surname Thewe is derived from the Welsh word "tew," which means "portly" or "plump," and was most likely originally a nickname for a heavy-set person.

Early Origins of the Thewe family

The surname Thewe was first found in Cardiganshire (Welsh: Sir Aberteifi), the former Kingdom of Ceredigion, created as a county in 1282 by Edward I, and located on the West coast of Wales, where they held a family seat anciently. Traditionally they claim descent from Rhodri Mawr, the first great King of Wales through Lord Rhys, Prince of South Wales. Gwenllian, daughter of John Tew married Dafydd Llywellyn Lloyd of Castle Howel, first knight of the shire for Cardiganshire.

Early History of the Thewe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Thewe research. Another 34 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1650, 1654, 1695, 1714, 1715 and 1718 are included under the topic Early Thewe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Thewe 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 Thewe have included Tew, Tews, Tewell, Tewel, Tuel, Tuell and others.

Early Notables of the Thewe family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was John Tew of Cardigan; Henry Tew (1654-1718), early American 16th Deputy Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (1714-1715); and Thomas Tew (c. 1650-1695), American pirate who gained notoriety in the Red Sea...
Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Thewe Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Thewe family to Ireland

Some of the Thewe family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 39 words (3 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 Thewe 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 Thewe: Richard Tew, who settled in Newport R.I. in 1641; John Tew, who came to Virginia in 1650; Charles Tew, who came to Maryland in 1760; William Tewell was on record in St. Mary’.