Dafydd Iwan Jones was born in Brynamman, Carmarthenshire. One of four boys, his siblings include the actor Huw Ceredig and the politician Alun Ffred Jones.[2] His paternal grandfather, Fred Jones, was a member of the Bardic family Teulu'r Cilie, and a founding member of Plaid Cymru.[3] He spent most of his youth in Bala in Gwynedd before attending the University of Wales, Cardiff, where he studied architecture.