Blevan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Wales

Etymology of Blevan

What does the name Blevan mean?

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

Early Origins of the Blevan family

The surname Blevan 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

Dafydd ap Bleddyn (died 1346), also known as David ap Blethin, was the Welsh Catholic Bishop of St. Asaph in Wales from 1315 to 1346.

Early History of the Blevan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Blevan research. Another 137 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1366, 1391, 1524, 1579, 1590, 1601, 1627, 1652 and 1669 are included under the topic Early Blevan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

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

Early Notables of the Blevan family

William Blethyn, (d.1590), Bishop of Llandaff in 1579. He was born in Wales, and educated at Oxford, at either New Inn Hall or Broadgates Hall (now Pembroke College.) "He died in October 1590, leaving three...
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Blevan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Blevan family

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 Blevan: G. Blethen, who arrived in San Francisco in 1851.

Sources +

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