ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1276
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1276
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08 Nov 1998
From: Jodi McMaster 

Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel!

You asked whether the surname <Jennewein> would be appropriate for a
14th century German woman.

There was a St. Genuinus (also referred to as St. Ingenuinus) who was a
bishop near Brixen, Tyrol, and who died in the 7th century.  As the
veneration of the saint spread, so did the name in various forms, which
are still in use today [1,2].

We were not able to find the form <Jennewein> in period. However, by
combining several lines of evidence we infer that it is a possible 16th
century surname.  First, the citation <Petrus Ja:nnini> 1424 shows that
by that date there were already variants of the name with the first
syllable pronounced \YEN\ instead of \GEN\ (with hard \G\ as in <good>).

To show that <-wein> is a reasonable 16th century spelling of the second
part of the name, we have to look at the development of other similar
names. It's not clear whether the name was originally Germanic or Latin,
but it was treated like a Germanic name with an original second element
<-win>.  The Germanic name <Gie{sz}wein> provides an apt analogy: it
began as a forename, <Go{sz}win>, and gave rise to several surnames [1]:

        Ge{sz}win 1570
        Go:swin   1571 (the "o:" is an o-umlaut)
        Gi{sz}wein 1547

The {sz} in each of these represents the ess-zett ligature--the German
letter that looks like a beta.

>From these examples of <Gie{sz}wein>, we can see that although the
<-win> form continued through our period, <-wein> was beginning to
appear in the 16th century.  Thus, <Jennewein> is a possible 16th
century form of the surname.  We don't have examples of <-wein> in the
previous century, but on the basis of the 1424 <Ja:nnini> citation we
judge that <Jennewin> and <Ja:nnewin> (both pronounced \YEN-nuh-veen\)
are possible 15th century spellings.

We hope this letter has been helpful.  Please write us again if any part
of it has been unclear or if you have other questions.  Arval Benicoeur,
Talan Gwynek, and Aryanhwy Prytydes merch Catmael Caermyrdin contributed
comments and/or research for this letter.

For the Academy,

   AElfwyn aet Gyrwum
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References:

[1] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, _Etymologisches Worterbuch der
deutschen familiennamen_, s.n. Jen(n)ewein, Go:nn(en)wein, Gennewein,
Jennin (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag, 1957-1960).