Macthomas History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England-Alt
• England
• Scotland
• Wales-Alt
• Wales
• Ireland

Etymology of Macthomas

The roots of the surname Macthomas lie in the rugged landscape of Wales. Macthomas was a popular Medieval given throughout Europe, coming from the popular biblical name. It is ultimately derived from the Aramaic personal name meaning "twin." Prior to the Norman Conquest, this name was rarely found, but by the 13th and 14th centuries, it became extremely common in Britain.

Early Origins of the Macthomas family

Early History of the Macthomas family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Macthomas research. Another 97 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1613, 1633, 1654, 1656, 1665, 1677, 1683, 1689 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Macthomas History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Macthomas Spelling Variations

There are relatively few surnames native to Wales, but they have an inordinately large number of spelling variations. Early variations of Welsh surnames can be explained by the fact that very few people in the early Middle Ages were literate. Priests and the few other literate people were responsible for recording names in official documents. And because most people could not specific how to properly record their names it was up to the individual recorder of that time to determine how a spoken name should be recorded. Variations due to the imprecise or improper recording of a name continued later in history when names originally composed in the Brythonic Celtic, language of Wales, known by natives as Cymraeg, were transliterated into English. Welsh names that were documented in English often changed dramatically since the native language of Wales, which was highly inflected, did not copy well. Occasionally, however, spelling variations were carried out according to an individual's specific design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by minor variations. The spelling variations of the name Macthomas have included Thomas, Tomas, MacThomas, FitzThomas, Thomasett and others.

Early Notables of the Macthomas family

Sir William Thomas of Folkington; Rt. Rev. William Thomas D.D. (1613-1689), a Welsh Anglican bishop, Dean of Worcester (1665-1683), Bishop of St David's (1677-1683) and Bishop of Worcester (1683-1689); and Edmund Thomas...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Macthomas Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Macthomas family to Ireland

Some of the Macthomas family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 81 words (6 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 Macthomas 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 Macthomas: Joe, John, Robert, and Nathaniel Thomas, who all settled in Virginia in 1621; as did Christopher Thomas in 1635 and Evan Thomas in 1653; Henry Thomas, who came to Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, in 1685.