The surname Welsh
A nickname surname, carried by 30,153 people in the United States.
Pronounced /ˈwɛlʃ/ 1 syllable Soundex W420
Origin
From Middle English Walsch, Welische, from Anglian Old English wǣlisċ (“Briton; Roman; Celt”), from Proto-West Germanic *walhisk, from Proto-Germanic *walhiskaz (“Celt; later Roman”) (thus cognate with German welsch, Dutch Waals, Danish vælsk, Old Norse valskr), from *walhaz (“Celt, Roman”) (compare Old English wealh), from the name of the Gaulish tribe, the Volcae (recorded only in Latin contexts). This word was borrowed from Germanic into Slavic (compare Old Church Slavonic Влахъ (Vlaxŭ, “Vlachs, Romanians”), Medieval Greek Βλάχος (Blákhos)). Doublet of Vellish. Compare Walloon, walnut, Vlach, Walach, Gaul, Cornwall.
Welsh is a nickname surname: from a description or nickname of an ancestor.
Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How common it is
2010 US Census
There were 30,153 people named Welsh in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 10,239 Americans. That is up 3.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 29,217.
Who is named Welsh
Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census
91% of people named Welsh identified as white (not Hispanic), 3.3% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.7% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
- White (not Hispanic) 91%
- Black (not Hispanic) 3.3%
- Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.7%
- Two or more races 1.6%
- Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%
- American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
Famous Welshs
7 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Mary Welsh HemingwayAmerican journalist (1908–1986)
- Matt WelshAustralian swimmer, born 1976
- William WelshActor (1870-1946)
- Thomas WelshAmerican basketball player (born 1996)
- Mikey WelshAmerican musician and painter (1971-2011)
- Pat WelshAmerican actress best known for voicing E.T. (1915-1995)
- Lilian WelshAmerican physician, educator, and suffragist, 1858–1938
Notable Welshs come mostly from the United States (6) and Australia (1).
Spellings and sound-alikes
Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling
Questions
- Where does the surname Welsh come from?
- From Middle English Walsch, Welische, from Anglian Old English wǣlisċ (“Briton; Roman; Celt”), from Proto-West Germanic *walhisk, from Proto-Germanic *walhiskaz (“Celt; later Roman”) (thus cognate with German welsch, Dutch Waals, Danish vælsk, Old Norse valskr), from *walhaz (“Celt, Roman”)…
- How common is the surname Welsh?
- 30,153 people in the United States had the surname Welsh in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 10,239 Americans. It ranked 1,166th of 162,253 surnames.
- What ethnicity is the surname Welsh?
- In the 2010 Census, 91% of people named Welsh identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.3% as Black (not Hispanic).
- Who is the most famous person named Welsh?
- Mary Welsh Hemingway, American journalist (1908–1986), followed by Matt Welsh.
- Where is the surname Welsh most common?
- Wikidata records people named Welsh in the United States and Australia.
- How do you pronounce Welsh?
- Welsh is /ˈwɛlʃ/, one syllable.
- What type of surname is Welsh?
- Welsh is a nickname surname, from a description or nickname of an ancestor.
- Is the surname Welsh getting more or less common?
- More common. 29,217 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 30,153 in 2010, up 3.2%.
- What are other spellings of Welsh?
- Welch.