Llywarch

This is a very traditional medieval Welsh surname. Recorded in a number of spellings including: Louargh, Leuwargh, Loward, LLowarch, and LLywarch, it is believed to derive from the ancient words 'llaw weorc', the place with fort. This is certainly a meaning which would make logical sense, in that the later surname is most recorded in the Border Counties or Welsh Marches, an ancient battleground between the Welsh and the English. If so this in itself is unusual, Welsh surnames being predominently patronymic, as in the development of the biblical names, Johannes to Jones and Tomas to Thomas and Thomson, to quote two very popular examples. All surviving surnames from the pre 7th century Old English have fairly simple origins, which are almost always associated with features in the landscape such as rivers, hills or fields for instance. In this case the first known recording of the name although this is not a surname as such is possibly that of Eynon ab Louargh in the Subsidy Rolls of Glamorgan (?) in 1292. Later examples of what one would now call 'hereditary surnames' include: Ewan Llowarch, who married Martha Jones at Llanfair Caereinion, in the old county of Montgomeryshire, on Jamuary 8th 1759, and as a later example, Evan Llywarch, and his wife the former Ann Roberts, who were witnesses at the christening of their daughter Gwen, also at Llanfair Caereinion, on August 31st 1836.