During most of our lives we are called by our first names. For the Welsh, this has not always been the case, but for the JONES surname it became a factor in the English legal records around 1273. [After Edward I got control.]
The following post describes the first names that were recorded for the surname JONES from 1273 until 1600. They are recorded in chronological sequence from the date that they were first recorded in the English legal system.
Please note that the Philip Jones family is not included because this group was not discovered until after this article was published in 1996. So actually, Philip would be the first male name appearing.
The most common first name is of course John, but it is tied with William and Thomas comes in a close second.
Female names begin to appear in larger numbers after 1563. I suspect this has to do with the fact that the first generation of JONES surnames are ending, and the wives (or widows) are entering the court system.
The data are taken from The Jones Genealogist, Vol.VIII, No.3, Sept/Oct 1996.
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