Cornish Names and Surnames: 99 Names, Meanings and Tre Pol Pen

Cornish names and surnames come from Cornwall’s own Celtic language and saints: first names such as Kerensa (love), Elowen (elm tree), Lowenna (joy), Morwenna, Demelza, Tamsin, Piran and Jago, and surnames that start with Tre, Pol and Pen, such as Trelawny, Polkinghorne and Penrose. Only around 4 to 5 percent of people in Cornwall had Tre, Pol or Pen surnames in the later 19th century, according to Cornish surname historian Bernard Deacon, so the famous rhyme is a clue, not a rule.

This is written for anyone with a Cornish surname in the family tree, and for parents looking at Cornish first names that will not need spelling out for the rest of the child’s life (some will). You get 39 first names and 60 surnames with their Cornish forms, meanings from the Cornish dictionary and the saints’ lives, how to say them, and how many babies in England and Wales actually got each first name in 2025.

A wee bit of context. Cornish is a Brittonic Celtic language, the sister of Welsh and Breton, and it was the everyday language of west Cornwall into the early modern period; the history of the Cornish language covers its decline and revival. The surnames held on far better than the language, which is why so many families far from Cornwall still carry a Tre or a Pen.

How common are Cornish names and surnames today?

Cornish first names are rare but rising, and Cornish surnames are spread far wider than Cornwall. The ONS baby names data for 2025 shows a handful of Cornish names in steady use across England and Wales. Elowen is the stand-out, with 82 girls, and another 126 spelled Elowyn. In Cornwall itself the 2025 favourites were mainstream: Arthur, Noah and Oliver tied for boys with 32 each, and Florence led the girls with 27.

Name	For	Babies in England and Wales, 2025
Tristan	Boy	166
Elowen	Girl	82
Jago	Boy	57
Merryn	Girl	34
Lowenna	Girl	26
Ruan	Boy	25
Morwenna	Girl	11
Demelza	Girl	10
Constantine	Boy	10
Senara	Girl	9
Isolde	Girl	8
Tamsin	Girl	10
Piran	Boy	8

On surnames, the picture is clearer than you might think. Bernard Deacon’s work on the 1861 census found that the commonest surnames in Cornwall were Williams, Thomas, Richards, Rowe, Harris, Martin, James, Roberts, Pearce and Stephens, with Pascoe the only distinctly Cornish-language name in the top 20. Who Do You Think You Are magazine gives Williams, Richards and Thomas as the three most common Cornish surnames, and estimates that 250,000 to 500,000 people left Cornwall between 1815 and the First World War, taking the names with them.

Measure	Figure	Source
Share of people in Cornwall with Tre, Pol or Pen surnames, later 1800s	about 4 to 5 percent (under 2 percent in parts of the east, over 10 percent in parts of the west)	Bernard Deacon
Places in Cornwall with Tre in the name	around 1,300	Bernard Deacon
Surnames about 90 times commoner in Cornwall than England, 1881	Beswetherick, Daddow, Keverne, Medlyn, Oxnam, Penlerick, Sturtridge, Tellam, Tremewan, Vellanoweth	Bernard Deacon
Three most common Cornish surnames	Williams, Richards, Thomas	Who Do You Think You Are
People who left Cornwall, 1815 to the First World War	an estimated 250,000 to 500,000	Who Do You Think You Are

By Tre, Pol and Pen: how Cornish surnames work

The rhyme goes back to Richard Carew’s Survey of Cornwall of 1602: By Tre, Pol and Pen / Shall ye know all Cornishmen. William Camden recorded a longer version, By Tre, Ros, Pol, Lan, Caer and Pen / You may know the most Cornishmen, which is the better guide, because it adds the other common place-name starts. The Tre, Pol and Pen and Cornish surnames histories give the meanings below.

Element	Meaning	Surname examples
Tre	settlement, homestead, farm	Trelawny, Trevithick, Tremethick, Treloar
Pol	pond, pool, well or pit	Polkinghorne, Polwhele, Polglaze
Pen	hill, headland, head or end	Penrose, Penhaligon, Pengelly, Pentreath
Ros	heath, moor or promontory	Rosewarne, Rosdew, Rosevear
Lan	religious enclosure	Lanyon, Landry
Car	tor, or hill-fort	Carbines, Carvosso, Carlyon
Bos or Bod	dwelling, home	Boscawen, Beswetherick
Chy	house, cottage	Chynoweth, Chegwin
Nans	valley	Nankervis, Nankivell, Nancarrow

Three more habits are worth knowing. Patronymics often take a Cornish -o ending (Bennetto, Clemo, Kitto) or the diminutive -kin (Tonkin). The old word map, son, shrank to a single p, so map Ros became Prowse, the same way Welsh ap Richard became Pritchard. And when the language faded, some names were bent into English shapes: Kneebone is really Carn Ebwen, Ebwen’s tor or tomb.

Cornish girls’ names

Kerensa

Meaning: love, charity. Cornish: kerensa. Say it: ke-REN-za. For: girl.

Kerensa is simply the Cornish word for love, or charity, in the Cornish dictionary of Akademi Kernewek. Fewer than three babies got it in England and Wales in 2025, so it does not even make the ONS list. If you want a Cornish name with an obvious, happy meaning, this is the one.

Elowen

Meaning: an elm tree (elow, elms). Cornish: elowen. Say it: e-LOH-wen. For: girl. Babies in 2025: 82 in England and Wales.

From elow, elms, so an elm tree. Elowen is the Cornish name that has really taken off: 82 girls in England and Wales got it in 2025, and another 126 were registered as Elowyn. The downside is that it is no longer rare, and you will meet both spellings at the school gate.

Lowenna

Meaning: from lowena, happiness, bliss, joy. Cornish: lowena. Say it: lo-WEN-na. For: girl. Babies in 2025: 26 in England and Wales.

Built on lowena, which the dictionary gives as happiness, bliss and joy. Lowena dhis! is a Cornish greeting to one person. 26 girls got Lowenna in 2025: rare enough to stand out, common enough not to look made up.

Morwenna

Meaning: probably maiden (Welsh morwyn); sometimes read as white sea. Cornish: Morwenna. Say it: mor-WEN-na. For: girl. Babies in 2025: 11 in England and Wales.

St Morwenna is the patron of Morwenstow on the north coast. Her name is thought to be cognate with Welsh morwyn, maiden, though it is also read as white sea in Welsh and Breton. Our Breton names guide has the Breton cousins, including Gwenn.

Demelza

Meaning: fort of Melsa, from a Cornish hamlet. Cornish: Dinmelsa. Say it: de-MEL-za. For: girl. Babies in 2025: 10 in England and Wales.

A place name before it was a person’s name: the hamlet of Demelza takes its name from Cornish Dinmelsa, fort of Melsa, after an old hill fort, according to the history of Demelza. Winston Graham borrowed it for the heroine of Poldark, and it has been a Cornish favourite ever since. Ten girls got it in 2025.

Tamsin

Meaning: short form of Thomasina, twin. Cornish: Tamsin. Say it: TAM-zin. For: girl. Babies in 2025: 10 in England and Wales.

A short form of Thomasina, the feminine of Thomas, twin. It is especially popular in Cornwall and Wales. In 2025 there were 7 girls called Tamsin and 3 called Tamzin in England and Wales, so it is quietly hanging on.

Jenifer

Meaning: the Cornish form of Guinevere. Cornish: Jenifer. Say it: JEN-i-fer. For: girl. Babies in 2025: 59 in England and Wales.

The surprise on the list. Jennifer, or Jenifer, is the Cornish form of Guinevere, cognate with Welsh Gwenhwyfar, and it only spread across the English-speaking world in the 20th century, according to the history of the name Jennifer. Plenty of Jennifers have no idea they carry a Cornish name.

Isolde

Meaning: Iseult, wife of King Mark of Cornwall in the legend. Cornish: Eseld. Say it: i-ZOLD. For: girl. Babies in 2025: 8 in England and Wales.

Iseult, Eseld in Cornish, is the Irish princess of the Tristan legend, sent to marry King Mark of Cornwall. It is a romantic pick with a tragic story, and 8 girls in England and Wales got it in 2025.

Cornish boys’ names

Piran

Meaning: from St Piran, patron saint of tin miners and of Cornwall. Cornish: Peran. Say it: PIR-an. For: boy. Babies in 2025: 8 in England and Wales.

St Piran is the patron saint of Cornwall and of tin miners, and his flag is used as the flag of Cornwall. Perranzabuloe and Perranuthnoe are named after him, and the list of Cornish saints gives his story. Only 3 Pirans and 5 Perrans were registered in England and Wales in 2025, which is fewer than you might expect for the patron saint’s name.

Petroc

Meaning: from St Petroc, the captain of Cornish saints. Cornish: Petroc. Say it: PET-rok. For: boy.

Thomas Fuller called St Petroc the captain of Cornish saints, and Petroc has also been listed as a patron saint of Cornwall. As a first name it is rare, which is part of its charm; Petroc Trelawny shows it works with a Cornish surname too.

Jago

Meaning: the Cornish form of James. Cornish: Jago. Say it: JAY-go. For: boy. Babies in 2025: 57 in England and Wales.

The Cornish James, and also a Cornish surname. It was given to 57 boys in England and Wales in 2025, more than any other Cornish-language boys’ name here. Short, strong, and nobody needs to ask how to spell it.

Tristan

Meaning: the Cornish knight of Tristan and Iseult. Cornish: Tristan. Say it: TRIS-tan. For: boy. Babies in 2025: 166 in England and Wales.

The Cornish knight of the Tristan and Iseult story, who falls for his uncle’s bride. The 6th-century Tristan Stone may be where the Cornish link started. With 166 boys in 2025 it is the most used name here, though many parents choose it without a Cornish thought in their heads.

Ruan

Meaning: from St Rumon (Ruan), an Irish missionary near Falmouth. Cornish: Rumon. Say it: ROO-an. For: boy. Babies in 2025: 25 in England and Wales.

From St Rumon, also called Ronan or Ruan, a missionary probably from Ireland who is said to have had a hermitage near Falmouth. 25 boys got Ruan in 2025. It makes a neat pair with the Breton Ronan.

Cornish surnames worth knowing

Tremethick

Meaning: farm of the doctor. Cornish: tre medhyk. Say it: tre-METH-ick. For: surname.

Farm of the doctor, from tre and medhyk. Bernard Deacon traces it to Madron, where it first appears as Tremethack in the parish registers in the 1570s, and finds that it mostly stayed close to home, which may point to fishing families.

Trelawny

Meaning: Tre, farmstead, plus a second element. Cornish: tre + ?. Say it: tre-LAW-nee. For: surname.

The best-known Tre name. Our sources explain only the Tre part (settlement, farmstead), not the rest, so we will not invent the second half. Sir Jonathan Trelawny, 3rd Baronet, is the famous bearer.

Penrose

Meaning: head of the moor. Cornish: penn ros. Say it: pen-ROZE. For: surname.

Head of the moor, from penn and ros. It is one of the few Pen names with both halves explained, and it reads easily in English, which may be why it travelled so well.

Nankervis

Meaning: valley of the deer or stag. Cornish: nans + kervys. Say it: nan-KER-vis. For: surname.

Valley of the deer or stag, from nans and kervys. There are many Nans (valley) surnames in Cornwall; this is the one with the clearest story.

Angove

Meaning: the smith. Cornish: an gov. Say it: an-GOVE. For: surname.

An gov, the smith. It is the Cornish twin of Smith, Scottish Gow and Breton Le Goff, and the clearest proof that Cornish surnames work like everyone else’s.

Pascoe

Meaning: Easter. Cornish: Pask. Say it: PASS-ko. For: surname.

From Pask, Easter. Bernard Deacon found Pascoe in the 1861 top 20 in Cornwall, the only distinctly Cornish-language name there.

Curnow

Meaning: Cornwall, a Cornishman. Cornish: Kernow. Say it: KUR-no. For: surname.

From Kernow, Cornwall, so a Cornishman. Cornish and Cornick belong to the same family of names, given to Cornish people who had moved elsewhere.

Kneebone

Meaning: Ebwen’s tor or tomb. Cornish: karn Ebwen. Say it: NEE-bone. For: surname.

The folk-etymology champion: it looks English, but it comes from Carn Ebwen, Ebwen’s tor or tomb. The change happened early, while the k in knee was still pronounced.

How to choose a Cornish name

1. Start with the meaning you want. Kerensa (love), Lowenna (joy), Elowen (elm), Steren (star) and Tegen (jewel) come straight from the Cornish dictionary.
2. Pick a saint if you want a place to visit. Piran, Morwenna, Endellion, Keyne, Mabyn, Neot and Austell all have a Cornish church or village named after them.
3. Check how rare you want it. Tristan and Elowen are now fairly common; Morwenna, Demelza and Senara sit around ten babies a year; Steren, Tegen and Meriasek barely register.
4. If a name feels too much, use it in the middle. Meriasek, Morvoren and Carantoc are cracking middle names and hard work as first names.

Quick list: all 99 Cornish names and surnames

Name	For	Origin	Cornish form or elements	Meaning	Say it	Babies in England and Wales (2025)
Austell	Boy	Saint	Austol	from St Austol, a 6th-century Cornish saint	OSS-tel
Breaca	Girl	Saint	Breaca	from St Breaca, an Irish nun who founded a church in Cornwall	BREK-a
Budoc	Boy	Saint	Budoc	from St Budoc, a Breton saint	BEW-dok
Cador	Boy	Legend	Cador	a legendary Duke of Cornwall in Geoffrey of Monmouth	KAY-dor
Carantoc	Boy	Saint	Carantoc	from St Carantoc, one of the Truro honorary canon saints	ka-RAN-tok
Constantine	Boy	Saint	Constantine	from St Constantine, linked with Custennin of Cornwall	KON-stan-tyne	10
Demelza	Girl	Place	Dinmelsa	fort of Melsa, from a Cornish hamlet	de-MEL-za	10
Elowen	Girl	Cornish word	elowen	an elm tree (elow, elms)	e-LOH-wen	82
Endellion	Girl	Saint	Endelient	from St Endelienta, said to be a daughter of King Brychan	en-DEL-ee-on
Euny	Boy	Saint	Uny	from St Euny, patron of Lelant and Redruth	YOO-nee
Ia	Girl	Saint	Ia	from St Ia, an Irish evangelist of the Cornish coast	EE-a
Isolde	Girl	Legend	Eseld	Iseult, wife of King Mark of Cornwall in the legend	i-ZOLD	8
Jago	Boy	Cornish form of a European name	Jago	the Cornish form of James	JAY-go	57
Jenifer	Girl	Cornish form of a European name	Jenifer	the Cornish form of Guinevere	JEN-i-fer	59
Kenwyn	Boy	Place	Keynwynn	from Kenwyn, a parish and river at Truro	KEN-win
Kerensa	Girl	Cornish word	kerensa	love, charity	ke-REN-za
Keyne	Girl	Saint	Keyne	from St Keyne, a hermit who crossed the Severn into Cornwall	KAYN
Lowenna	Girl	Cornish word	lowena	from lowena, happiness, bliss, joy	lo-WEN-na	26
Mabyn	Girl	Saint	Mabyn	from St Mabyn, by tradition a child of Brychan	MAB-in
Mawes	Boy	Saint	Mawes	from St Mawes, on the list of Cornish saints	MAWZ
Meriasek	Boy	Saint	Meriasek	from St Meriasek, a Cornish and Breton saint	me-ree-AH-sek
Merryn	Girl	Saint	Merryn	from the parish of St Merryn	MER-in	34
Morvoren	Girl	Cornish word	morvoren	a mermaid	mor-VOR-en
Morwenna	Girl	Saint	Morwenna	probably maiden (Welsh morwyn); sometimes read as white sea	mor-WEN-na	11
Nectan	Boy	Saint	Nectan	from St Nectan, a 5th-century Welsh and Cornish saint	NEK-tan
Neot	Boy	Saint	Neot	from St Neot, a hermit in Cornwall	NEE-ot
Nonna	Girl	Saint	Nonna	from St Nonna, on the list of Cornish saints	NON-na
Peder	Boy	Cornish form of a European name	Peder	Peter, the rock	PED-er
Petroc	Boy	Saint	Petroc	from St Petroc, the captain of Cornish saints	PET-rok
Piran	Boy	Saint	Peran	from St Piran, patron saint of tin miners and of Cornwall	PIR-an	8
Ruan	Boy	Saint	Rumon	from St Rumon (Ruan), an Irish missionary near Falmouth	ROO-an	25
Senara	Girl	Saint	Senara	from St Senara, on the list of Cornish saints	se-NAH-ra	9
Steren	Girl	Cornish word	steren	a star	STEH-ren
Tamsin	Girl	Cornish form of a European name	Tamsin	short form of Thomasina, twin	TAM-zin	10
Tegen	Girl	Cornish word	tegen	a jewel	TEG-en
Tommas	Boy	Cornish form of a European name	Tommas	Thomas, twin	TOM-as
Tristan	Boy	Legend	Tristan	the Cornish knight of Tristan and Iseult	TRIS-tan	166
Wenna	Girl	Saint	Wenna	from St Wenna, on the list of Cornish saints	WEN-na
Winwaloe	Boy	Saint	Winwaloe	from St Winwaloe, a Breton saint born to Cornish parents	WIN-wa-lo
Angove	Surname	Job or description	an gov	the smith	an-GOVE
Angwin	Surname	Job or description	an gwynn	the white or fair	an-GWIN
Bennetto	Surname	Son of	Bennett + -o	son of Bennett	ben-NET-o
Beswetherick	Surname	Bos	bos + ?	Bos, dwelling or home, plus a second element	bes-WETH-er-ick
Bligh	Surname	Job or description	bleydh	wolf	BLY
Boscawen	Surname	Bos	bos + ?	Bos, dwelling or home, plus a second element	bos-KAW-en
Carbines	Surname	Car	karn byghan	little tor	kar-BINES
Carlyon	Surname	Car	ker + ?	Car, fort or round, plus a second element	kar-LY-on
Carvosso	Surname	Car	ker fosow	walled hill-fort	kar-VOSS-o
Chegwin	Surname	Chy	chi + ?	Chy, house, plus a second element	che-GWIN
Chynoweth	Surname	Chy	chi + noweth	Chy, house, plus noweth (new, as in Vellanoweth)	chy-NO-weth
Couch	Surname	Job or description	kough	red	KOOCH
Curnow	Surname	Other place	Kernow	Cornwall, a Cornishman	KUR-no
Glasson	Surname	Other place		greensward	GLASS-on
Gwavas	Surname	Other place	gwavos	winter dwelling	GWAH-vas
Hammett	Surname	Other place	havos	summer dwelling	HAM-et
Kelynack	Surname	Other place		holly grove	ke-LY-nak
Kitto	Surname	Son of	Kit + -o	son of Christopher	KIT-o
Kneebone	Surname	Other place	karn Ebwen	Ebwen’s tor or tomb	NEE-bone
Landry	Surname	Lan	lann dre	enclosure of the farmhouse or church-house	LAN-dree
Lanyon	Surname	Lan	lann + ?	Lan, church enclosure (sometimes lyn, pool)	LAN-yon
Marrack	Surname	Job or description	marghek	horseman, knight	MARR-ak
Menadue	Surname	Other place		dark hill	men-a-DEW
Nancarrow	Surname	Nans	nans + ?	Nans, valley, plus a second element	nan-KARR-o
Nankervis	Surname	Nans	nans + kervys	valley of the deer or stag	nan-KER-vis
Nankivell	Surname	Nans	nans + Cyfel	the valley of Cyfel (a personal name), or perhaps of the horse	nan-KIV-el
Pascoe	Surname	Job or description	Pask	Easter	PASS-ko
Penaluna	Surname	Pen	penn + ?	Pen, head or end, plus a second element	pen-a-LOO-na
Penberthy	Surname	Pen	penn + ?	Pen, head or end, plus a second element	pen-BER-thee
Pendarves	Surname	Pen	penn + ?	Pen, head or end, plus a second element	pen-DAR-vis
Pengelly	Surname	Pen	penn + kelli	Pen, head or end, plus a second element	pen-GEL-ee
Penhaligon	Surname	Pen	penn + ?	Pen, head or end, plus a second element	pen-HAL-i-gon
Penprase	Surname	Pen	penn pras	head of the meadow or common pasture	pen-PRAYZ
Penrose	Surname	Pen	penn ros	head of the moor	pen-ROZE
Pentreath	Surname	Pen	penn + treth	Pen, head, plus a second element (treth, beach, is one guess)	pen-TRETH
Polglaze	Surname	Pol	pol + ?	Pol, pit or pool, plus a second element	pol-GLAYZ
Polkinghorne	Surname	Pol	pol + ?	Pol, pit or pool, plus a second element	pol-KING-horn
Polwhele	Surname	Pol	pol + ?	Pol, pool, plus a second element	pol-WHEEL
Prowse	Surname	Son of	map ros	son of the heath	PROWSS
Rosdew	Surname	Ros	ros du	black moor	roz-DEW
Rosevear	Surname	Ros	ros + ?	Ros, promontory or moor, plus a second element	roz-VEER
Rosewarne	Surname	Ros	ros gwern	alder heath, or heath by an alder marsh	roz-WORN
Tonkin	Surname	Son of	Ton + -kin	little Tony or Tom	TONK-in
Trahair	Surname	Job or description		tailor	tra-HAIR
Trebilcock	Surname	Tre	tre + ?	Tre, farm or settlement, plus a second element	tre-BIL-cock
Tregoweth	Surname	Tre	tre + ?	farm of someone; second part unclear	tre-GO-weth
Trelawny	Surname	Tre	tre + ?	Tre, farmstead, plus a second element	tre-LAW-nee
Treloar	Surname	Tre	tre + ?	Tre, farm or settlement, plus a second element	tre-LOR
Tremayne	Surname	Tre	tre + ?	Tre, farmstead, plus a second element	tre-MAYN
Tremellan	Surname	Tre	tre + melin	mill farm	tre-MEL-an
Tremethick	Surname	Tre	tre medhyk	farm of the doctor	tre-METH-ick
Tremewan	Surname	Tre	tre + ?	Tre, farm or settlement, plus a second element	tre-MEW-an
Trengrouse	Surname	Tre	tre an grows	farm at the cross	tren-GROWSS
Trenowden	Surname	Tre	tre Renowden	Renowden’s farm (Renowden is Reginald)	tre-NOW-den
Trescothick	Surname	Tre	tre + ?	Tre, farmstead, plus a second element	tres-KOTH-ick
Trevaskis	Surname	Tre	tre + ?	Tre, farm or settlement, plus a second element	tre-VAS-kis
Trevelyan	Surname	Tre	tre + ?	Tre, farmstead, plus a second element	tre-VEL-yan
Trevithick	Surname	Tre	tre + ?	Tre, farmstead, plus a second element	tre-VITH-ick
Tyack	Surname	Job or description		farmer	TY-ak
Vellanoweth	Surname	Other place	melin nowydh	new mill	vel-a-NO-weth

FAQ about Cornish names and surnames

What are common Cornish surnames?

The most common surnames in Cornwall are Williams, Richards and Thomas, followed in the 1861 census by Rowe, Harris, Martin, James, Roberts, Pearce, Stephens, Johns, Pascoe, Hicks, Harvey, Bray, Phillips, Rogers, Mitchell, Hocking and Jenkin. The most distinctively Cornish are Tre, Pol and Pen place names such as Trelawny, Polkinghorne and Penrose.

What does By Tre, Pol and Pen mean?

It is a rhyme recorded by Richard Carew in 1602: By Tre, Pol and Pen, shall ye know all Cornishmen. Tre means a settlement or farm, Pol a pool or pit, and Pen a hill or headland. In practice only about 4 to 5 percent of people in Cornwall had such surnames in the later 19th century.

What are some Cornish girls’ names?

Popular Cornish girls’ names include Elowen (elm tree), Kerensa (love), Lowenna (joy), Morwenna, Demelza, Tamsin, Jenifer and Senara. Elowen is the most used today, with 82 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025, plus 126 spelled Elowyn. Steren (star) and Tegen (jewel) are rarer word-names from the Cornish dictionary.

Is Jennifer a Cornish name?

Yes. Jennifer, also spelled Jenifer or Jenefer, is the Cornish form of Guinevere and is related to the Welsh Gwenhwyfar and the Old Irish Findabair. It only became popular across the English-speaking world in the 20th century.

How do you pronounce Cornish surnames?

Cornish surnames and place names are generally stressed on the second syllable: tre-LAW-nee, pen-ROZE, pol-KING-horn, nan-KER-vis. The first syllable, Tre, Pol, Pen or Nans, is said lightly. Names that look English, such as Kneebone, can hide a Cornish place name underneath.

Final thoughts on Cornish names

For a first name, Elowen and Lowenna are the sweet spot: real Cornish words with clear meanings, used enough not to look odd, rare enough to stand out. For a surname search, forget the rhyme for a minute and start with the parish: Bernard Deacon’s work shows that even Tre names usually trace back to one farm in one parish.

For the wider family of Celtic surnames, with Mac, O’, ap and the Manx Q and K, see our Celtic last names guide, and for first names from next door, our Welsh names guide.

Sources

• Akademi Kernewek, Gerlyver Kernewek (Cornish dictionary, SWF, PDF edition December 2020)
• Cornish surnames (elements, trades, nicknames, patronymics, folk etymology)
• Tre, Pol and Pen (Carew 1602; examples)
• Who Do You Think You Are Magazine, Cornish surnames: how to tell if you have Cornish ancestry (2023, updated 2025)
• Bernard Deacon, What makes a surname Cornish?
• Bernard Deacon, By Tre, Pol and Pen. But mainly Tre (2020)
• Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales: 2025
• List of Cornish saints
• Jennifer (given name)
• Demelza, Cornwall
• Cornish language
• Wikipedia pages for St Endelienta, St Keyne, St Mabyn, St Ia, St Breaca, St Euny, St Nectan, St Neot, St Austell, Meriasek, St Rumon, Cador, Tristan, Iseult, Constantine of Dumnonia, Kenwyn, Winwaloe and Thomasina