Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 033

Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 033

This report is available at http://www.s-gabriel.org/033

This is one of the Academy's earliest reports. We are not confident that these early reports are accurate. Please use it with caution.

Greetings,

Here is the information we were able to gather on the name "Gwynnethe Gordon Alwyn."

"Gwynnethe" is a documentable name. However, it comes from Wales rather than Scotland, and is documented only to the 16th century, with the spellings Gwineth (1577), "Gwenett" (1629), and "Gwinne" (1630). (1) We aren't sure what the original meaning of the name is, but it's possible that it came from "gwennith," which literally means "wheat" but which had the additional meaning of "the favorite, the choice pick".

We found a surname "Gwyneth" which derives from the region of Gwynedd in northern Wales. The surname is found in many spellings, including "Gwynnethe," but since the origins of the first name "Gwineth" and the last name "Gwyneth" are not the same, we can't use the spelling of one to spell the other.

We were unable to document any form of "Gwineth" in the period 1100-1300. If the lady wants a name consistent with that period, then our best recommendation is that she consider a different given name. We have appended a list of Scottish women's names which are documented as having been used in period. Although the dates for most of these are fairly late, we've eliminated the names most likely to have been introduced after 1300. If she wants a name similar in sound to "Gwynnethe," she may want to consider "Jennet," which is well-documented. On the other hand, if she prefers to keep the given name "Gwineth", then we recommend that she choose a spelling which we were able to document and shift her persona to late-period Wales.

"Gordon" and "Alwyn" are both documented in Scotland and England. They've been used from the period of your persona until the present. "Gordon" derives from a place name in Berwickshire, Scotland and from any of several places "Gourdon" in France. It also derives from the French descriptive byname "Gourdon" which originally meant "stupid, boorish" (2) and derived in turn from the word "gourd". The name appears in Scotland as "de Gordun" as early as 1150. It appears without the preposition in 1220 (Gurdun) and 1279 (Gordon). Our sources derive Alwyn from the Gaelic given name Ailin (via latinized Ailenus, Alwynus) and from Old English given name AElfwine (via Latin Aluuinus). We found many forms of the name: Algunbe (1131), Aluuinus (1175-1224), Elwynus, etc. As a surname, we have John Elwyn (1564). (3)

Double surnames are simply not found in Britain in our period, and certainly not before 1300. Since "Gordon" is a place-name, it could be used with a preposition in a compound name -- <given name> Alwyn de Gordon. In our opinion, this construction is correct for the lady's period. If she sets her persona closer to 1100, then it would be interpretted to mean that her father's name is Alwyn and she lives in Gordon. If her dates are closer to 1300 or later, then it might mean that or it might mean that her father's _surname_ is Alwyn and that she lives in Gordon.

To summarize: For Scotland in the period 1100-1300, the given name "Gwineth" is not documented. The similar-sounding name "Jennet" might be an alternative. Double surnames are not found in that period, but it would be historically accurate to use "Jennet Alwyn de Gordon" or "Jennet Alwyn" or "Jennet Gordon". The name "Gwineth" appears in Wales in several spelling in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. In that period, correct names include "Gwineth Alwyn" and "Gwennet Gordon".

Tangwystl ferch Morgant Glasvryn and Arval D'Espas Nord assisted in researching this name. Talan Gwynek compiled the list of Scottish women's names.

In service,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of St. Gabriel

(1) Morgan, T.J., and Prys Morgan, Welsh Surnames, University of Wales Press, 1985.

(2) Dauzat, Albert, Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Famille et Prenoms de France, Libraire Larousse, Paris, 1987.

(3) Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland, The New York Public Library, 1986. [ed. note: the name list originally included in this article can be found at http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/scottishfem.html.