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you
pronounce
your name?
The name Trevathan is a change in spelling from the Cornish
name Trevethan. Cornwall which is on the southwestern tip of
the British Isles, was once a separate entity with its own Cornish
language. Today Cornwall is a county in England.
Names beginning with "Tre" are of Celtic origin and part of the
Cornish language. “Tre” translates as "homestead of" or "farm
of" and was followed by some characteristic of the homestead
or owner. See the Cornwall page for Trevethan locations in
Cornwall. There are a number of possible meanings of the
“vethan” part of the name – it may have come from budin or
buthyn meaning ‘meadow’, and could have had different
meanings in different parishes. People who lived on the
homestead often took that name as their surname when
surnames first came into use in England about 600 years ago.
or
Trevathan
what's the
difference?
through Trefudon: Trefuthon, Trefuthon and by the 1470's to Trevethen and
thereafter to Trevethan BUT never to "Trevathan! -- and more if you want it
including Trevethin in S. Wales."
Since the name Trevethan arose independently in several areas of Cornwall, the
people using that name are not necessarily related. While the spelling Trevathan
is usually a change from Trevethan, that is not always the case. The name of the
Trevathan Farm in Cornwall today was a change from the name Trevarthian.
The first group of Trevethans came to the U.S. over 300 years ago in the late 17th
and early 18th century but only one on them, William born about 1690, had male
offspring. An earlier immigrant William born about 1662 may have been his
father. The spelling of their name was changed to Trevathan in the early 18th
century. Paper research has identified two U.S. Trevathan lines, those known to
have descended from William born 1690 and those known to have descended
from John, born 1780 in South Carolina.
Some of the William descendants stayed in North Carolina; and some moved to
western Tennessee, western Kentucky and northern Arkansas in the first half of
the 19th century so Trevathans in those areas are likely William descendants.
The second line, beginning with John born about 1780 in South Carolina, moved
to Texas so most Trevathans in Texas are descendants of John. Of course,
extensive movement in the second half of the 20th century has blurred those
boundaries. Years of paper research have been unable to identify ancestors of
John or to find any evidence of a connection between the two lines. Now,
however, DNA testing has shown that it is almost certain John descended from
William though the exact connection will not be known until many more current
Trevathans have their DNA tested.
Since no other Trevethans who came to the U.S. are known to have changed the
spelling of their name to Trevathan, at least none with male offspring, it is likely
that nearly all Trevathans in the U.S. today descended from William b. 1690 and
thus as far as we know, nearly all U.S. Trevathans are related. There are
some 1500 people in the U.S. today with the surname Trevathan and many, many
thousands with other surnames who also descended from William born 1690.
(Statistically, there should be over 100,000 people alive today who descended
from William!)
A group of Trevethans who migrated from Cornwall to New Zealand, also
changed the spelling of their name to Trevathan. The N.Z. and the U.S.
Trevathans are not related. The fact that both groups changed the spelling in the
same way and apparently after they reached their new country is interesting and
is not understood.
Mining was a popular job in Cornwall. In the mid-19th century when there was a
reduction in the a number of Cornish mining jobs and an increase in mining jobs
in North America, many Trevethans migrated to work in in California,
Pennsylvania, and other mining areas. We have not yet found that any of these
Trevethans that are related to the U.S. Trevathans or any that changed the
spelling of their name to Trevathan.
From DNA testing we have learned that Trefethens in the U.S. are likely related to
the U.S. Trevathans from connections in Cornwall. We have not yet determined
that exact relationship.
The web site by Ruth Trevathan Delvige has a more on the history of Trevathans.
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vernon@trevathan.info
P. O. Box 37064, St. Louis, MO 63141
revised June 8, 2006
Copyright © 2006 Vernon L. Trevathan. All rights reserved