Without knowledge of the parents, you're not going to be able to know the origin of his given name...however the way the welsh naming pattenrn went; a man named John Rowland, has a son, and that son would be named with John as his surname....thus his name would be, for instance, Reece John.... Rowland or Rowlan might be a maternal surname used as a given name. The child of Roland Evans would, using Welsh naming, be named, for instance, Cadlallader Rowland......father's given name becomes child's surname. I've found a good many wills in Philly that include mentions of the name Rowland Evans.....if interested, let me know. The Able Thomas included in Father and Cope is not the same one you mentioned..this one was married several times and the son of Peter and Elizabeth Thomas, b.1711. S. "I found the following archived message in our archives: I have two totally separate questions to ask.....first one is the name Rowland. Is it a surname used as a first name? Or is Rowland a given name used often in Welsh naming patterns? Second question: Is there more information about the Abel Thomas and wife Elizbeth Humpries? I am particularly interested in a list of their children. "