A name like Cadwallader certainly catches your attention. It is a Welsh name that has attracted much attention along the genealogist highway. A little of the name's history is given.
Cadwallader is a Welsh name with a distinctive history and significance for the ancient Welsh people. The name Cad means "battle" and wallader means "king". Thus the name means "battle king" or "war king". The name appears among the Welsh kings as early as 617 AD, and the last "King of Wales" was named Cadwaladr Vendigaid (the blessed). After his defeat by the Saxons, the Welsh rulers were referred to only as "princes" instead of "kings". [Some feel that he died of the plague.] At any rate, after his death [ca. 682 AD] the Welsh bards began a political campaign which included a series of prophecies foretelling the return of Cadwalader and the defeat of the foreign invaders. In the Welsh:
"A phan del Kadwalader y orescin mon dileaur Saeson o tirion prydein"
"And when Cadwalader comes to seize Anglesey, the English will be driven from the lands of Britain".
One can understand why Welsh mother's and father's would want to name their sons Cadwallader! Thus, the name appears frequently in the Welsh, particularly among the ruling households looking to claim the fulfillment of the prophecies lingering in Welsh lore and culture. A "War King" who would set his people free!
This account is abstracted from: The Jones Genealogist, Vol. XI, No. 5, Jan/Feb, 2000, pp. 1-2.