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Try keeping up with these Joneses!

By CNN's Graham Jones

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(CNN) -- "Keeping up with the Joneses" took a much bigger dimension Friday as hundreds of Joneses from around the globe headed to Cardiff, Wales, to join the ultimate flash mob.

More than 1,200 people with the surname Jones broke the world record Friday for the biggest get-together of people with the same last name, Britain's Press Association reported, citing Guinness World Record officials.

The gathering more than doubled the size of the previous record-holder -- a meeting of 583 people named Norberg in Sweden in 2004, according to reports from The Associated Press.

Joneses from the United States and Australia traveled to join Welsh Joneses to try to beat the current world record for a gathering of people with the same family name.

The Welsh attempt was a bid to attract up to 2,000 Joneses to the Millennium Centre in Cardiff where everyone was being entertained by singers and dancers -- all named Jones.

Singer and former Bond-girl Grace Jones was set to star in the show. Opera singers Dame Gwyneth Jones and Gwyn Hughes Jones and West End star John Owen-Jones were also booked.

The current record for a gathering of people with the same name is 583 Norbergs in Sweden.

Not all the famous Joneses were due to be there. Singer Tom Jones -- well, that isn't his real surname anyway, he changed it from Woodward -- was not headlined to appear.

Other famous Joneses from the world of entertainment were seemingly also too busy -- or coy -- to attend.

No Catherine Zeta Jones. Though she is now in Hollywood, married to Michael Douglas. No Davy Jones, ex-of the Monkees. Jack Jones. John Paul Jones (ex-Led Zeppelin). Terry Jones (ex-Monty Python). James Earl Jones (Darth Vader and "This... is CNN").

And not many people know that David Bowie's real name is David Jones, and therein perhaps the problem.

Would you want to have the second most common name in Britain (after Smith) and the fourth most common in the United States (after Smith, Johnson and Williams)?

Well, perhaps. There are famous fictional Joneses like "Indiana Jones," "Bridget Jones" and another Davy Jones, of "Pirates of the Caribbean" fame. Not to mention "Alias Smith... and Jones."

And what is the most important financial index in the world -- why, the Dow Jones of course!

Jones as a surname is common in Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The name is generally considered to be derived from the term "Son of John."

It is the most common surname in Wales and in previous generations was so ubiquitous in the small valley communities that locals had to be distinguished by their their trade or profession such as "Jones the baker" or "Jones the butcher."

Of the estimated 58,789,200 people in the UK, approximately 562,400 (0.95 percent) are called Jones, according to official census figures. Of the estimated 2,903,100 people in Wales, approximately 391,900 (13.48 percent) are called Jones.

People called Jones have given their name to at least 142 villages, towns, cities, counties and geographical features all over the world -- including five in The Philippines, three in Jamaica, two in Canada, two in Australia, one in Zambia, one in Belize, 17 in Antarctica, one in the Pacific Ocean, and 117 in America, according to the Cardiff event's organizers.

The name has become synonymous with the phrase "keeping up with the Joneses" -- trying to gain the same social status as one's swankiest neighbors.

It originates from the American comic strip created by Arthur R. Momand, the organizers say. The "Joneses" were neighbors of the strip's main characters, and were spoken of but never actually appeared in person.

The Jones' event's organizers helpfully add two quotations: "Before you try to keep up with the Joneses, be sure they're not trying to keep up with you" -- Erma Bombeck, U.S. author and humorist (1927-1996).

"Never keep up with the Joneses. Drag them down to your level" -- British author and wit Quentin Crisp (1908-1999).

Guinness World Record officials were due to attend to validate the attempt, and the show was being recorded for Welsh TV channel S4C.

S4C commissioning editor of entertainment Meirion Davies said he was confident the record could be broken.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be involved in a record-breaking attempt," he told the UK's Press Association.

Those named Jones were being given priority in attending the event and audience members were told to bring proof of identity with them.

The Joneses may hope no one in China has the same idea.

The world's most common surname is Chang or Zhang. There are approximately 100 million of them.

Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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