Penrorth History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Wales

The origins of the Welsh name Penrorth go back to the ancient Celtic culture that existed in the hills and Moors of Wales. The forbears that initially held the name Penrorth once lived in or near either the manor of Pen-rhys in the county of Glamorgan, or in one of the places called Penrose in Cornwall or Devon. 1 2 The surname Penrorth belongs to the category of habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Penrorth family

The surname Penrorth was first found in Glamorganshire (Welsh: Sir Forgannwg), a region of South Wales, anciently part of the Welsh kingdom of Glywysing. Penrice Castle is a castle near Penrice, Swansea on the Gower Peninsula, Wales.

Later, some of the family were found in Worcestershire: "The old Worcestershire family of Penrice resided in the parish of Crowle in the first half of the 17th century; the name was probably taken from Penrice, a manor and castle in Glamorganshire. " 3

The Cornish branch may be related to the surname Penrose as the name Penrice and Penrose were found there as early as the Pipe Rolls of 1195. 4

Early History of the Penrorth family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Penrorth research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1692, 1777 and 1904 are included under the topic Early Penrorth History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Penrorth Spelling Variations

The Welsh have an extremely large amount of spelling variations of their native surnames to their credit. 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 Penrorth have included Penrice, Penrise and others.

Early Notables of the Penrorth family

Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Penrorth Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Penrorth 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 Penrorth: John Penrice settled in Virginia in 1623; Robert Penrise settled in Virginia in 1630; Lawrence Penrice settled in Virginia in 1751.

The Penrorth 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: Tuto et celeriter
Motto Translation: Safely and quickly.

Citations +

Charnock, Richard, Stephen, Ludus Patronymicus of The Etymology of Curious Surnames. London: Trubner & Co., 60 Paternoster Row, 1868. Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)