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 16
Buckinghamshire 10
Berkshire 0
Cambridgeshire 29
Channel Islands 3
Cheshire 14
Cornwall 41
Cumberland 54
Derbyshire 6
Devon 6
Dorset 0
Durham 57
Essex 38
Gloucestershire 14
Hampshire 8
Herefordshire 0
Hertfordshire 18
Huntingdonshire (and Rutland) 32
Isle of Man 2
Kent 96
Lancashire 106
Leicestershire 28
Lincolnshire 34
London 297
Middlesex 6
Northumberland 45
Norfolk 209
Northamptonshire 12
Nottinghamshire 12
Oxfordshire 1
Rutland (and Huntingdonshire) 32
Shropshire 0
Suffolk 58
Somerset 3
Surrey 37
Sussex 53
Staffordshire 6
Warwickshire 25
Westmorland 5
Wiltshire 2
Worcestershire 10
Yorkshire 445

Wales

Anglesey 0
Brecknockshire 8
Cardiganshire 1
Carnarvonshire 0
Carmarthenshire 9
Denbighshire 0
Flintshire 3
Glamorgan 3
Merionethshire 0
Montgomeryshire 0
Monmouthshire 1
Pembrokeshire 1
Radnorshire 0

Wales Surname Statistics


Top Professions for the Wales family

Profession Census Frequency
Scholar 234
Agricultural Labourer 81
House Servant 35
Labourer 30
At Home 26
Farm Labourer 23
Servant 22
Dress Maker 15
Shoe Maker 10
Annuitant 10
Scholar At Home 10
House Maid 9
Tailor 8
Pauper 8
Butcher 8
Mason 7
Assistant 7
Coal Miner 7
General Servant 7
House Keeper 7
Carpenter 7
Ag Lab 6
Dressmaker 6
Painter 6
Cordwainer 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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