#1Famous people · Tonyrefail, Mid Glamorgan
Tonyrefail counts 6 famous people, first among them Matthew Rees
The best known is the Welsh rugby union player Matthew Rees, with articles in 10 languages. Close behind are Jeffrey John and Vaughan Jones. 5 of them were born in the 20th century, more than in any other period. Born in 1904, Ned Jenkins is the first name on record, and Matthew Rees, born in 1980, the most recent.
Born here
6
notable people
Best known
Matthew Rees
in 10 Wikipedia languages
First
1904
Ned Jenkins
Youngest
1980
Matthew Rees
Most common field
Sports
3 people
What stands out about Tonyrefail’s famous people
★ What stands out · Through the years
When Tonyrefail’s famous people were born
The 1950s top the chart, with 2 births in the decade.
SportsFaithFilm, TV & StageNotable
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
The best known
Born in Tonyrefail
Two of the three are athletes.
#1
#2Faith
Jeffrey John
born 1953Dean of St Albans; Bishop-designate of Reading; British Anglican priest
6 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
VJ#3
Known for
What Tonyrefail is known for
Athletes are the most numerous, 3 of them.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Tonyrefail
A further 3 follow, born between 1904 and 1966.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Around it, Porth has the most people on record, 51 of them.
TEPorth · 2 miTrevor Edwards & 50 more
Tonypandy · 3 miRhys Davies & 39 more
Pontypridd · 4 miStuart Burrows & 15 moreBDLlantrisant · 4 miBradley Davies & 11 more
Pontyclun · 4 miZoe Bäckstedt & 4 moreAMBeddau · 4 miAdrian Lewis Morgan & 2 more
Tylorstown and Pontygwaith · 4 miPaul Whitehouse & 1 moreTRWattstown · 4 miTrevor Rowlands
Tonypandy · 3 miRhys Davies & 39 morePontypridd · 4 miStuart Burrows & 15 moreBDLlantrisant · 4 miBradley Davies & 11 morePontyclun · 4 miZoe Bäckstedt & 4 moreAMBeddau · 4 miAdrian Lewis Morgan & 2 moreTylorstown and Pontygwaith · 4 miPaul Whitehouse & 1 moreTRWattstown · 4 miTrevor RowlandsQuestions about famous people from Tonyrefail
Who is the most famous person from Tonyrefail?
Matthew Rees (Welsh rugby union player) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 10 languages. Next come Jeffrey John and Vaughan Jones.
How many famous people were born in Tonyrefail?
6 people born in Tonyrefail have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 8 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Tonyrefail known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 3 of the 6. That is 50% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Tonyrefail?
Ned Jenkins, born in 1904. The youngest on the list was born in 1980.
Who counts as from Tonyrefail?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Tonyrefail’s built-up area (the ONS 2022 boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary (Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (6)
- Matthew Rees: National Assembly for Wales from Wales, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jeffrey John: Richard Gillin from St Albans, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Rhys Davies: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Stuart Burrows: Sain (Records) Ltd, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Zoe Bäckstedt: Nicola, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Paul Whitehouse: Marcus Liversedge, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.