Matthews History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Matthews

What does the name Matthews mean?

The surname Matthews is a patronymic surname created from the personal name Matthew.

Early Origins of the Matthews family

The surname Matthews was first found in Glamorganshire (Welsh: Sir Forgannwg), a region of South Wales, anciently part of the Welsh kingdom of Glywysing, where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the Matthews family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Matthews research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1378, 1400, 1408, 1484, 1546, 1577, 1600, 1628, 1655, 1656, 1660, 1676, 1751, 1797 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Matthews History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Matthews Spelling Variations

Although there are not an extremely large number Welsh surnames, there are an inordinately large number of spelling variations of those surnames. This variety of spellings began almost immediately after the acceptance of surnames within Welsh society. As time progressed, these old Brythonic names were eventually were recorded in English. This process was problematic in that many of the highly inflected sounds of the native language of Wales could not be properly captured in English. Some families, however, did decide to modify their own names to indicate a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even a patriotic affiliation. The name Matthews has seen various spelling variations: Mathews, Mathew, Matthew, Matthews, Mathewes and others.

Early Notables of the Matthews family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was

• Captain Samuel Matthews (1600-1660), became an English Colonial Governor of Virginia in 1656