Given name & surname · also Middle English
Welch
Welch is a surname from Middle English, ultimately from Proto-Germanic.
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Welch comes from Middle English, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From Middle English Welich, from Old English welisc, from Proto-West Germanic *walhisk, from Proto-Germanic *walhiskaz.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1914. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Welch through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 51
- 51 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1919
- 10 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 7 in 1929. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 10 in 1919. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 103,903 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Welch’s family of names
Welch has a related form in Wallace. In English usage, Welch as a surname has a related form in WALCH. In English usage, Welch as a surname has a related form in Walsh.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Similar names
If you love Welch, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Weldon
“from the hill near a spring”
>99% boys
Worth
“enclosure”
>99% boys
Wilbur
“one who is willful; a bright man”
>99% boys
Wellington
“estate”
>99% boys
Wilfred
“one who wishes for peace”
>99% boys
Wilbert
“one who is willful; a bright man”
>99% boys
Algerd
“holy temple”
>99% boys
Wilton
“from the town on the river”
>99% boys