English
Welch
Welch comes from Proto-West Germanic *walhisk ‘foreign, non-Germanic’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *walhaz ‘a Celt, a Celtic-speaker’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*walhaz‘a Celt, a Celtic-speaker’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*walhiskaz‘foreign, non-Germanic’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*walhisk‘foreign, non-Germanic’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150welisc
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Welich
- Englishearliest quotation 2025Welch
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*walhaz‘a Celt, a Celtic-speaker’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*walhiskaz‘foreign, non-Germanic’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*walhisk‘foreign, non-Germanic’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150welisc
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Welich
- Englishearliest quotation 2025Welch
Earliest quotation: 2025, Shuvrajit Das Biswas, Hawk Tuah girl: “Haliey Welch is no stranger to popularity, having gone…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos ‘wolf’
Today it means
name A British and Irish surname transferred from the nickname, a variant of Walsh.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *walhaz / Welch