The meaning of Trevathan related names

THE WESTERN MORNING NEWS, DECEMBER 2, 1965
ORIGINS OF THE CORNISH TRE SURNAMES
BY RICHARD R. BLEWETT

TREVARTHEN (PERSONAL, 84). SLIGHT VARIATIONS OF THE SURNAME OCCUR AS PLACE NAMES IN THREE PARISHES. TREVARTHIAN IN ST. HILARY PARISH (MARAZION DISTRICT), WITH MEDIEVAL SPELLINGS. TREVARTHYAN IN 1250, 1327 AND 1359. TREVARDIAN, 1269. TREVARTHIAN IN NEWLYN, IN PYDAR PARISH - TREVARTHEN 1284, TREVATHEN IN ST. KEW PARISH-TREVARTHEAN.

THE SECOND PART IS THE OLD WELSH PERSONAL NAME ARTHAN. IT OCCURS IN THE ANCIENT BOOK OF LLANDAFF. ANOTHER FORM IS ARTHIEN, DERIVED FROM ARTH-GEN=SON OF A BEAR (STRONG, BRACE, &c.). SO SAYS GOVER, BUT THERE IS NO CONFIRMATION OF THIS IN EITHER OF NANCE'S CORNISH DICTIONARIES.

THERE IS A PLACE NAME IN BRITTANY-TREF ARDIAN (LOTH). THE TREVARTHENS TODAY ARE FOUND IN 13 PARISHES, WITH THE MOST IMPORTANT CONCENTRATIGN OF ABOUT 40 IN CAMBORNE.

FROM 1600 TO 1800 THEIR MARRIAGES OCCURRED IN 23 PARISHES-111 WITH A TREVARTHEN BRIDEGROOM OR BRIDE; 18 OF THESE TOOK PLACE IN CROWAN CHURCH, 15 IN NEWLYN IN PYDAR CHURCH AND 13 IN CAMBORNE CHURCH.

RICO TREWARTHYAN WAS TAXED IN THE PAROCH SCI MICH' de MONTE (ST. MICHAEL'S MOUNT PARISH) IN 1327. IN THE SAME YEAR JOHNE TREVARTHYAN OF ST. HILARY PARISH WAS TAXED 3s.-A WELL-TO-DO VILLEIN.

TREVARTON 114). THIS IS CERTAINLY A DIALECTICAL CORRUPTION OF TREVAR- THEN. BEFORE THE EDUCATION ACT OF 1870, THE TREVARTHENS WERE KNOWN AS TREVARTONS TO THE ILLITERATE. I WAS ASSOCIATED WITH TREVARTHENS AS A SCHOOLBOY 'ROUND 1890 AND ONE OF MY EARLY SURPRISES WAS THE SPELLING OF THEIR SURNAME.

TREVERTON (?.23), AS IN TREVERS, ABOVE, THERE IS NO PLACE-NAME AND AS THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE SURNAME IS ENTIRELY DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF TREVARTHEN AND ITS DIALECTICALLY CORRUPT FORM TREVARTON, ABOVE, IT SEEMS TO HAVE AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT ORIGIN FROM THOSE SURNAMES.

THOUGH THE NUMBERS ARE SMALL, HALF OF THEM ARE IN THE PARISHES OF ST. KEW, ST. MABYN, AND ST. MINVER. A SPRINKLE MOVED TO REDRUTH AND ILLOGAN, MINING AREAS, AND TO ST. AUSTELL, CHINA CLAY AREAS, EARLY IN THE 19TH CENTURY. THE BEST GUESS IS THAT THE FINAL "TON" IS AN ANGLO-SAXON ENDING TO THE CELTIC NAME TREVERS.

ANGLO-SAXON TON A SUFFIX, IS THE NEAREST PARALLEL TO THE CORNISH CELTIC 'TRE', A PREFIX=FARM, HOMESTEAD, AND IF THE GUESS IS RIGHT THE LITERAL MEANING OF TREVERTON IS "FARM-REEVES-FARM". SEE THE SURNAME TREVARTHA, IN WHICH AN ANGLO-SAXON ENDING HAS BEEN JOINED TO A CORNISH CELTIC PREFIX-A SIGN THAT THE SURNAME OR PLACE NAME HAS AN EAST CORNWALL ORIGIN. IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO KNOW THE ORIGIN OF THE DEVON PLACE-NAME TIVERTON.

TREVETHAN. (TOPOGRAPHICAL. 91). THE THREE CORNISH PLACE-NAMES ARE TREVETHAN IN ST. EVAL PARISH SPELT TREVETHEN IN 1474, 1510 AND 1549. TREVETHEN IN BUDOCK PARISH (FALMOUTH DISTRICT) SPELT TREFUDON 1306, TREFUTHON 1325, TREFUTHEN 1327, TREMUTHON 1342, TREVETHEN 1476. TREVETHAN IN GWENNAP PARISH SPELT TREFUDON 1302, TREFUTHON 1326, TREFUTHYON IN 1516 AND TREFUTHEN 1558. THEY SPELT AS THEY FELT.

THE SECOND PART IS DERIVED FROM CORNISH CELTIC "BUTHYN" AND ITS VARIANTS "VETHAN" AND "VETHYN" = MEADOW. HOMESTEAD (IN THE) MEADOW. THE "b" IS MUTATED TO "v".

THE SURNAME IS FOUND IN 19 PARISHES FROM CAMBORNE IN THE WEST TO PADSTOW AND TINTAGEL IN THE NORTH-EAST, AND CALSTOCK AND ST. GERMANS IN THE SOUTH-EAST. FROM 1600 TO 1800 THERE WERE 160 TREVETHAN MARRIAGES (ONE EVERY 15 MONTHS) IN 39 PARISHES.

(THIS INFO COPIED OUT OF NEWSPAPER RECEIVED FROM STEPHEN TREVATHAN, native of Kentucky, who now resides in England)

Links to other sites on the Web

Back to the Trevathan Homepage

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page