Hi everyone I live in Sydney, Australia, born in England with a Welsh father and my maiden name is Griffiths! I've been reading with interest the various messages going back and forth on the subject of this surname. Just like to let you know that Welsh surnames only came about in about the late 1700's. Before then they used the patronymic system of naming ie John son of William son of Griffith son of David etc etc etc. In your research you will probably see this written as John ab or ap William ap Griffith ap David - ap meaning son of. With women it is ferch or verch meaning daughter of. The last prince of Wales who died (was killed by soldiers of Edward) in 1284 was Llewellyn (modern spelling) ap Griffith (modern spelling). There hasn't been a Welsh Prince since that time. This naming system of course presents some difficulties as surnames were introduced. So you might have David ap Rhys who may become David Price or Preece. My father was born in the Rhondda Valley in Tonypandy in Glamorganshire South Wales. He left Wales and went to England and one of his uncles left Wales in the late 1800's and went to America. So you can see that from just my family alone there were moves outside of Wales. Look forward to reading your emails re your research. Regards Olwen Barnes nee Griffiths