Tewdwr: Eponymous Ancestor of the Tudor Dynasty

Abstract The standard derivation of the dynastic name Tudor from Welsh Tudur, surname of the grandfather of Henry VII, is problematic on phonological grounds, as well as the fact that Tudur was never used as a surname by Henry himself, being attributed to him only by his enemies with implication of lowly origins. This article proposes an alternative derivation by presenting evidence relating to Tewdwr (Latin Theodorus), the name of an eleventh‐century prince of the south‐Wales kingdom of Deheubarth, who was an ancestor of Henry VII. This derivation is supported by forms of the dynastic name, such as Tewdor, when it first appears in the last years of the reign of Elizabeth I. William Cecil and his son Robert are suggested as proponents of Tewdwr as royal ancestral figure.