Jones (surname)

Jones is a surname of Welsh and English origin meaning "son of John". The surname is common in Wales. It evolved from variations of traditionally Welsh names: Ieuan, Iowan, Ioan, Iwan, or even Siôn (note how the letter 'J' was originally being pronounced as 'i', akin to how J is pronounced in the Latin alphabet). The sound generated from ‘Si-’ in Siôn is a Welsh approximation of the English ‘J’ sound that does not exist natively to the language (refer to Irish ''Seán''), equivalent to the English ‘Sh’ such as in “''shed''.”

It exists as an anglicisation of these names during periods in which many Welsh were forced to change their names, ridding their patronymic names (“''Ap Rhys''” to “''Prys''” and then “''Price''” in English, or attaching an ‘-s’ to the end of a given name to signify an old patronym: “''Owain''” to “''Owen''” to finally “''Owens''”), or English speakers transliterating these names to a more conventional spelling through mishearing. They may also come from the English patronymic “''Johns'',” or “''Johnson''” (“''son of John''”). Provided by Wikipedia