Wales Name Origin, Meaning and Family History

Discover how your Wales ancestors earned their living and spread across the country. Find out more about your family history by using the Free Search box.

Surname Distribution

Census frequency by county

Name Concentrations Within England and Wales

England

Bedfordshire 6
Buckinghamshire 4
Berkshire 1
Cambridgeshire 19
Channel Islands 0
Cheshire 17
Cornwall 54
Cumberland 29
Derbyshire 8
Devon 11
Dorset 7
Durham 167
Essex 26
Gloucestershire 8
Hampshire 28
Herefordshire 0
Hertfordshire 10
Huntingdonshire (and Rutland) 23
Isle of Man 8
Kent 120
Lancashire 98
Leicestershire 15
Lincolnshire 28
London 281
Middlesex 32
Northumberland 77
Norfolk 184
Northamptonshire 2
Nottinghamshire 27
Oxfordshire 3
Rutland (and Huntingdonshire) 23
Shropshire 2
Suffolk 77
Somerset 0
Surrey 107
Sussex 77
Staffordshire 14
Warwickshire 26
Westmorland 8
Wiltshire 12
Worcestershire 8
Yorkshire 541

Wales

Anglesey 0
Brecknockshire 1
Cardiganshire 0
Carnarvonshire 0
Carmarthenshire 20
Denbighshire 0
Flintshire 2
Glamorgan 26
Merionethshire 0
Montgomeryshire 1
Monmouthshire 1
Pembrokeshire 1
Radnorshire 0

Wales Surname Statistics


Top Professions for the Wales family

Profession Census Frequency
Scholar 413
Agricultural Labourer 52
Coal Miner 27
Labourer 23
Domestic Servant 21
General Labourer 21
General Servant 20
Dress Maker 15
Bricklayer 12
Annuitant 11
House Keeper 11
Charwoman 10
Laundress 10
Mason 10
Painter 10
Butcher 8
Carpenter 8
General Servant Domestic 7
No Occupation 7
Engine Fitter 7
Joiner 6
Grocer 6
Tailor 6
Mariner 6
Servant 6

Most Frequent Forenames for Wales

Name Census Frequency
Mary Wales 1,354
William Wales 1,354
John Wales 1,096
Elizabeth Wales 814
Thomas Wales 714
Sarah Wales 708
George Wales 656
James Wales 589
Charles Wales 448
Ann Wales 419
Jane Wales 396
Robert Wales 342
Henry Wales 333
Edward Wales 310
Margaret Wales 301
Eliza Wales 272
Joseph Wales 266
Annie Wales 237
Ellen Wales 215
Alfred Wales 211
Alice Wales 211
Emily Wales 200
Emma Wales 199
Hannah Wales 193
Frederick Wales 182

Wales Surname Variants Ranking

Rank Surname Match Census Frequency
1 Wiles 80% 20,946
2 Wales 100% 19,433
3 Wailes 83% 2,277
4 Whales 83% 1,817
5 Owles 60% 1,445
6 Wooles 67% 499
7 Wools 40% 477
8 Ewles 60% 370
9 Weals 60% 368
10 Walis 80% 332
11 Wils 60% 258
12 Weels 40% 223
13 Woolas 50% 213
14 Wayles 83% 211
15 Weles 80% 201
16 Ewels 40% 200
17 Wails 60% 160
18 Wels 60% 155
19 Weales 83% 146
20 Wilsea 50% 145
21 Wilis 60% 142
22 Wals 80% 129
23 Wilse 40% 116

Did you know?

The surname Wales is the 2nd most popular variant of Wiles.

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