County of Dyfed, Wales Genealogy

Guide to County of Dyfed, Wales ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

The county of Dyfed, in the south-west of Wales, was formed during the controversial re-organisation of local government in Wales in 1974.

It consisted of the whole of the historic counties of Cardiganshire and Pembrokeshire and the majority of historic Carmarthenshire.

The county was divided into six administrative districts:


 * Ceredigion (the whole of historic Cardiganshire)
 * Carmarthen (from historic Carmarthenshire)
 * Dinefwr (from historic Carmarthenshire)
 * Llanelli (from historic Carmarthenshire)
 * Preseli (from historic Pembrokeshire)
 * South Pembroke (from historic Pembrokeshire)

The county town was Carmarthen.

The county was named after the ancient region of Dyfed which once covered parts of the south-west of Wales.

Further re-organisation of local government in Wales abolished the county of Dyfed on 1 April 1996.

The county of Gwynedd was split up into three new Unitary Authorities, which were roughly based on the historic counties abolished in 1974, Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire.

Today, Dyfed continues as a ceremonial county only.