Lynne Ingalls <Lynne.Ingalls@comcast.net> wrote: Readers - can a Welsh speaker tell me the meaning of Ty Obrey? I know that Ty means house, but what could Ty Obrey signify? On Google, I find it in reference to a classification of rocks in Northern Wales. Could it be referring to an area (location), or a house, or something all together different? Is anyone familiar? ================= Dear Lynne, Both Reaney and Wilson (1997), and Hanks et al. (2000) give OBRAY as a spelling variant of the personal name Awbrey (Aubrey). Rowlands & Rowlands (1996) have an entry for AWBREY, an important Breconshire family who arrived there with Bernard Newmarch shortly after the Norman Conquest. They give AUBREY as a common spelling variant, "... while one family became OBRAY in 19th Century Pembrokeshire". I suggest the 'Obrey' in 'Ty Obrey' is a reference to this family name. References: 1. HANKS, Patrick, HODGES, Flavia, MILLS, A. D., & ROOM, Adrian (2002) "The Oxford Names Companion", Oxford University Press, Oxford. ISBN 0-19-860561-7 2. REANEY, P. H. & WILSON, R. M. (1997) "A Dictionary of English Surnames", Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. ISBN 0-19-860092-5 3. ROWLANDS, John & Sheila (1996) "The Surnames of Wales", Federation of Family History Societies (Publications) Ltd., Birmingham UK. ISBN 1-86006-025-0 Kind regards, John -------------------- John Ball, Brecon, Mid-Wales, UK E-mail: john@jlb2005.plus.com John's Homepage: http://www.jlb2005.plus.com/ Images of Wales: http://www.jlb2005.plus.com/walespic/ Welsh Family History Archive: http://www.jlb2005.plus.com/wales/ GENUKI Breconshire Maintainer: http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/BRE/ Joint Administrator - Powys (& BRE/MGY/RAD) RootsWeb mailing lists