Show ContentsWelshman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Welshman family

The surname Welshman was first found in Montgomeryshire (Welsh: Sir Drefaldwyn), located in mid-Eastern Wales, one of thirteen historic counties, and anciently the medieval kingdom of Powys Wenwynwyn. Conjecturally they descend from Rolf de Valeys who held the manor and castle of Yaire. Adam the Welshman (c. 1130-1181) was a Welsh theologian and Bishop of St Asaph from 1175 to 1181. Little is known of his life and many people believe he was one in the same as Adam of Balsham ((c. 1100-1157.)

Early History of the Welshman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Welshman research. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1176, 1187, 1665, 1732, 1736 and 1739 are included under the topic Early Welshman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Welshman 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 Welshman have included Welshman, Welchman and others.

Early Notables of the Welshman family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was Edward Welchman (1665-1739), English theologian, son of John Welchman, 'gentleman,' of Banbury, Oxfordshire. "He became chaplain to the bishop of Lichfield, who collated him...
Another 33 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Welshman Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Welshman migration to the United States +

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 Welshman:

Welshman Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Charles Welshman, who arrived in Maryland in 1637 1
Welshman Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Edward Welshman, aged 34, who landed in New York in 1812 1

Canada Welshman migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Welshman Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
Welshman Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • John Welshman was recorded at Twillingate, Newfoundland in 1843 2
  • Isaac Welshman from England was married at Grand Bank, Newfoundland, in 1849 2

New Zealand Welshman migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Welshman Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Joseph Welshman, (b. 1848), aged 26, Cornish farm labourer departing on 6th April 1874 aboard the ship "Atrato" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand in 1874 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Welshman (post 1700) +

  • Emery Welshman (b. 1991), Guyanese international footballer
  • George Welshman Owens (1786-1856), American politician, Mayor of Savannah, Georgia, 1832-33; Resigned 1833; U.S. Representative from Georgia at-large, 1835-39 4


  1. 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)
  2. Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
  3. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to Lyttelton 1858-84 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/new_zealand_assisted.pdf
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 26) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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