Powys (surname)

Powys is a Welsh surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Albert Powys (1881–1936), British architect and Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
• Arthur Powys (1842–1875), New Zealand cricketer
• Betsan Powys (born 1965), Welsh journalist, political journalist and editor for BBC Wales
• Caroline Girle Powys (1736–1817), British diarist
• Eiludd Powys, early 7th-century King of Powys
• Frederick Powys (1808–1863), English cricketer
• George Powys, 7th Baron Lilford (1931–2005), British businessman
• Horatio Powys (1805–1877), priest in the Church of England and Bishop of Sodor and Man
• John Cowper Powys (1872–1963), English novelist, lecturer and philosopher
• John Powys, 5th Baron Lilford (1863–1945), British peer and cricketer
• Littleton Powys (1647–1732), British judge
• Littleton Powys (cricketer) (1771–1842), English cricketer
• Llewelyn Powys (1884–1939), British novelist and essayist, brother of John Cowper, Philippa and T.F.
• Mark Powys, 8th Baron Lilford (born 1975)
• Philip Lybbe Powys Lybbe (1818–1897), born Philip Powys, English rower, barrister and Conservative politician
• Philippa Powys (1886–1963), British novelist and poet, sister of John Cowper, Llewelyn and T.F.
• Richard Powys (1844–1913), English cricketer
• Stephen Powys, 6th Baron Lilford (1869–1949), British peer
• T. F. Powys (1875–1953), British writer
• Thomas Powys (judge) (1649–1719), English lawyer, judge and Tory politician
• Thomas Powys (priest) (1747–1809), Anglican clergyman
• Thomas Powys, 1st Baron Lilford (1743–1800), British politician
• Thomas Powys, 2nd Baron Lilford (1775–1825), British peer
• Thomas Powys, 3rd Baron Lilford (1801–1861), British peer and Whig politician
• Thomas Powys, 4th Baron Lilford (1833–1896), British aristocrat and ornithologist
• Walter Powys (1849–1892), English first-class cricketer

Of the people above, six are descended from the same family that was clearly found in Ludlow, Shropshire in the sixteenth century. There is evidence, but not strong, from the seventeenth century that the Ludlow Powyses came from Cockshutt, also in Shropshire (see the unpublished 1662/3 Visitation of Shropshire in the College of Arms). The Cockshutt Powyses (and Powis and Powes, etc.) are to be found in public records from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries (see charters in Shropshire Record Office). There are other families of Powis, who also are probably descended from this Cockshutt branch. It is possible that these Powys/Powis/Powes are of Welsh ancestry but there is no clear evidence to support this.

See also

• Edward Powys Mathers
• Gerard Powys Dewhurst
• Horatio Powys-Keck
• Kingdom of Powys
• Kyle Powys Whyte
• Lionel Powys-Maurice
• Powis Castle
• Powys