Topics

• About the Onion One-Name Study
• Variants
• Origin of the surname
• Historical occurrences
• Frequency of the name
• Distribution of the name
• Data
• Contact Details

About the Onion One-Name Study

I have been researching the surname Onion for many years. Over this period I have amassed a large amount of information and am happy to pass on any relevant material to other researchers. I welcome any additional information from other researchers with an interest in the surname. During the months of March and August there may be a delay in replying to e-mails etc. I apologise for this and ask for your patience.

Variants

Onion / Onions / O'nion / Onnion / Onyon / Einion / Wenyon / Beynon / Bennion

Origin of the surname

Originally I thought that the origins were solely in Wales but over the years I am inclined to think that there were two distinct groups of people bearing this surname.

(1) Welsh. From the personal name EINION. Probably ultimately derived from the Latin personal name Annianus which enjoyed popularity as a result of association with Welsh - EINION (anvil) or UNIAWN (upright, just).

The ancient Welsh patronymic naming system is one that can cause problems for genealogists. Patronymics describes the process of giving a child the father's given, or forename, as a surname. This means that a family's name changes in successive generations. The Welsh patronymic system describes family trees in terms of the male line only and records the family association in the 'ap' or 'ab' prefix ('ap' is a contraction of the Welsh word 'mab', which means son). For example, Rhys ap Dafydd translates as Rhys, son of David. Modern Welsh surnames such as Beynon, Bennion could be the result of this contraction and a progressive tendency to anglicise Welsh names: under the patronymic system they would have been ap Einion/ ab Einion. Other modern Welsh surnames such as Powell, Price and Prichard would have been ap Hywell, ap Rhys and ap Richard under the old sytem.

The process of conversion to the system of fixed names in Wales began in the fifteenth century and continued through to the middle of the eighteenth. The trend was stratified socially: the higher classes in society began the process, which then passed on to the lower classes.

The way in which official records were kept also complicates the issue. The Act of Union (1536) stated that all official documentation in Wales was to be carried out in the English language. This meant that Welsh names were registered in an anglicised form.

The process of civil registration in 1837 completed the long transition to fixed surnames.

The traffic was not all one way though. The names of Welshmen who migrated to England were often transposed into English. Just as Caradog became Craddock so too could Einnion become Onion.

(2) French/English. Occupational name from an onion grower or seller. French OIGNON (onion)

Research over the years seems to throw up two distinct area in which the surname predominates. Staffordshire/Shropshire/Wales/Northern England and Essex/Kent/Hampshire/Suffolk.

An early North-South divide?

The French surname Hennion/ Hannion could also have been anglicised.

Historical occurrences

Many and varied. Ranging from King/St. Einion ap Lleyn, born c. 492, and Iorwerth ap Einion named as one of those involved in the 1327 seige of Caerphilly Castle. There are at least three Welsh legends with a character named Einion mentioned. Some were early settlers of America and those who settled in Maryland have a link with Augustine Washington, father of George Washington. Others sailed to New Zealand and you can toast their endeavours with a glass of wine from vineyards planted on land originally farmed by them. A few were transported to Australia, often for very minor crimes. Not all criminals went to Australia, my own gt.gt. grandfather was sentenced to 6 months hard labour in Stafford Gaol for stealing two hens and a cockerel.(claimed in court that he was drunk at the time or he would never have taken them!) Some went as missionaries to China. There were also plenty of stay-at-homes whose families resided within one parish for many generations. Onion men are found in many fields of conflict. One sailor surname Onion was wounded at Trafalgar, others gave their lives in both World War Wars, winning many gallantry awards including a Victoria Cross, and another was involved in the Wanhsien Incident in China. One became a successful author. 2009 also gave us a member of the English cricket team.

Frequency of the name

See distribution below

Distribution of the name

The 1881 Census of England, Wales and Scotland shows 2412 incidents of the name. 603 of these were in Staffordshire, 293 in Shropshire and 235 in Warwickshire.

Data

Information from parish registers, census, probate records, civil registration, newspapers, maps & photographs.

Contact details

For further information, contact:

Miss Catherine Onion

E-mail:

This page last updated 13 January 2012.

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Profiles of other one-name studies registered with the Guild may be found here.