DIASPORA CYMRU

Exploring the Welsh names, families and communities that carried the story of Wales across the world.

For centuries, Welsh men and women left their homeland in search of work, opportunity, adventure and new beginnings. They travelled to the coalfields of Pennsylvania, the plains of Patagonia, the goldfields of Australia and the growing cities of Canada and beyond.

Yet wherever they settled, many carried with them something of Wales: a surname, a family story, a chapel tradition, a memory of a valley, a river or a distant coastline.

Diaspora Cymru explores these connections between Wales and its global diaspora. Through surnames, family histories, migration stories and the landscapes from which they emerged, we seek to reconnect Welsh descendants around the world with the places, communities and histories that helped shape their identity.

Whether your ancestors left Wales generations ago, or you live in Wales and want to know the parts of the world your surname has spread to, or if you are simply curious about a Welsh surname in your family tree, Diaspora Cymru offers a place to explore, participate and share your story.