by Jim Young (guest)
1/12/2008, 3:56 AM
That's pretty much how it came about. Rhys is an old Welsh male name, said to mean "lord". Other Welsh names that have developed in this way are Pritchard, Probert, Probin, Parry (Ap Harry) and Pugh (Ap Hugh). There's also Bevan, Bowen and Bedward; Ab is used when the name begins with a vowel.