Who are the Welsh descended from? As you probably already know, most Welsh people trace their ancestry to the Celts. As to the genetic makeup of the Celts and the rest of the Welsh DNA puzzle, the answers may surprise you!
Who are the Welsh descended from? If you love Cymru and enjoy tracing your ancestry, you’ve probably asked that question at least once in your search. While researchers are still gathering data on the complete answer to the makeup of the Welsh genome, we do know quite a bit. You may already know some of it, while the rest might be completely new.
We need to clarify a few things to answer the question properly. When we speak of “the Celts,” it’s important to understand that this late Bronze Age and Iron Age culture weren’t one distinct genetic group. They were different tribal societies that once flourished throughout Europe, the Iberian Peninsula, and the British Isles that held certain customs, religious practices, and a language in common. The Celts in what is now Wales spoke Brythonic, the language that eventually developed into Cornish, Breton, and Welsh.
Over thousands of years, many groups of people migrated to the British Isles from as far away as India. That is why the Welsh have a diverse genetic makeup, like almost all humans today. Despite all this, one thing is for sure. Welsh people are genetically unique from the rest of Great Britain, and they have a special claim to being the true Britons.
This post answers the question, “Who are the Welsh descended from?”
Who Are the Welsh Descended From?
Welsh Ancestry: Where do the Welsh come from?
Who are the Welsh genetically related to? Like so many humans descended from a long line of other humans, the Welsh are related to many people. Yet, they are also unique, as you’ll soon see.
Mediterranean farmers, the Beaker Folk, Irish, French, Spanish, Portuguese, the Celts, and Britain’s original hunter-gatherers
- Welsh DNA traces all the way back to the people who first settled in the British Isles around 10,000 years ago, after the last Ice Age. This information suggests that the Welsh are the true Britons, with their ancestry dating to the island’s first inhabitants.
- Some people in North Wales share ancestry with Ireland, while people in South Wales can find roots in France. This genetic makeup has much to do with the first migration to Britain after the Ice Age.
- They also share a large portion of their ancestry with the Beaker Folk, a Bronze Age people who came to Britain around 2,500 BC. They migrated to Britain from the Eurasian Steppe—grasslands covering 5,000 miles from Hungary through Ukraine and Central Asia to Manchuria.
- Modern Welsh people also trace their heritage back to the Neolithic Farmers. These Mediterranean agriculturists who came to Wales share DNA with the people of modern Turkey.
- Many Welsh also have Spanish and Portuguese DNA, particularly from the Iberian Peninsula. Spanish, Portuguese, and Mediterranean genes explain why some Welsh people have darker skin.
- Last but definitely not least, the Welsh people trace their ancestry to the Brythonic-speaking Celts who settled in Cymru near the start of the Iron Age.
Italians, Vikings, Germanic Tribes (Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Frisians), and Neanderthals
- Some Welsh people carry genes usually found in Italy, which tells us they likely have Roman ancestry.
- A good number of Welsh people have genetic links to Anglo-Saxon England, as people in the neighboring English and Welsh kingdoms interacted and intermarried. On average, a Welsh man or woman may share as much as 22% of their genetics with Germanic tribes like the Angles, Saxons, Jutes, or Frisians.
- Some Welsh also share ancestry with the Vikings.
- The Welsh also have 2 – 4% Neanderthal DNA, as all humans do.
So, who are the Welsh descended from, and where did the Welsh originally come from? While they have DNA from many sources, the Neolithic Farmers, the Beaker Folk, and the Celts have influenced Welsh heritage the most. Historians believe the Welsh identity as we know it today began as early as the 9th century and strengthened by the 12th century. However, there can be no doubt that earlier history, especially its religion and mythology, helped shape the culture.
The Welsh Language
When we speak of Welsh ancestry, it wouldn’t be fair to leave the language out, especially since so many Welsh people trace their roots back to the Celts.
Is Welsh Germanic or Celtic?
Welsh is a Celtic language. It comes from Brythonic, one of the two branches of Insular Celtic spoken by Celts in Great Britain. The Britons (ancient Welsh people) spoke Brythonic during the Iron Age and Roman era. Eventually, three new languages developed from Brythonic. These languages were Cornish, Breton, and Welsh.
However, the Germanic tribes who began migrating to the British Isles in the 5th century AD did speak a Germanic language: Old English. Old English came from the West Germanic branch of Germanic languages and was spoken from 450-1150 AD. In addition to its Germanic roots, Old English was influenced by Norse and Latin. Tribes of Angles, Saxons, and Jutes spoke Old English in ancient Britain. For about one hundred years, both Brythonic and Old English were spoken in Britain before Primitive Welsh emerged around 550 AD. The Welsh and English languages influenced one another as they developed while remaining very different.
What is Welsh most closely related to?
Cymraeg, the Welsh language, is most closely related to Cornish (historically spoken in Cornwall) and Breton (spoken in Brittany in northwestern France). However, Cornish is more similar to Breton than it is to Welsh. Some Welsh speakers might be able to understand a small amount of Cornish or Breton. Still, the three languages aren’t mutually understandable as they evolved differently from their Brythonic beginnings.
Are Welsh people British?
Yes and no. Welsh people are British according to some definitions, as we’ll explain below, although not all Welsh people identify as British.
They are British in the sense that Wales is located in Great Britain, the largest island in the British Isles. Wales is also one of the four countries comprising the United Kingdom. The Welsh alone, of all the ethnicities in the UK, trace their ancestry back to the original hunter-gatherer population of Britain (the original Britons). Additionally, the Brythonic-speaking Celtic tribes who eventually formed the Welsh kingdoms called themselves “Brythoniad,” which means “Britons.” They continued using this term until about the 1100s. At that time, they began using the term they still use—the “Cymry”—which means “fellow countrymen” or “compatriots” in the Welsh language.
Many Welsh people don’t identify as British but as Welsh only. In Wales’ 2021 census, this was 55.2% of the population of Wales. 18.5% identified as British only, and 8.1% identified as both Welsh and British. 15.3% of people identified as English only. The main reason that many Welsh don’t identify as British is because “British” is often thought of as synonymous with “English.” Wales and England each have their own cultures as well as bitter rivalries extending back to the 5th century. Identifying as Welsh only makes the distinction.
Where do the Welsh live?
Wherever they want to—why else would King Offa of Mercia build a 169-mile earth wall to keep those wild Welshmen out of his kingdom in the 8th century? Okay, I’m kidding, but only a little—especially since the origins of the dyke may go farther back to the early 5th century.
The largest concentration of Welsh people is in Cymru (Wales). While that’s their native country, there are, of course, many Welsh living in various other countries worldwide. If you want to know where communities speak Welsh besides Wales, that’s a question we can answer more easily. You’ll find them in the Welsh colony in Patagonia, Argentina. People also speak Welsh in parts of England, Scotland, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and the US. In Wales, there are more Welsh speakers in the north and western parts than in the south.
If you want to know how the Welsh feel about their language and its value, the proverb “Cenedl heb iaith, cenedl heb galon” explains it very well. “A nation without language is a nation without a heart.”
This post answered the question, “Who are the Welsh descended from?”
Leave a Reply