Today’s choice often masquerades as a medieval moniker, but probably wasn’t in use until the Victorian era.
Thanks to Another for suggesting our Name of the Day: Gwendolyn.
When we first considered Gwendolyn, we were quite certain we’d find her in myth and legend.
Sure enough, Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote of Queen Gwendolena in Historia Regum Britanniae in 1136. While it’s possible there was a queen who overthrew her husband and ruled Britain independently, there’s very little history in Geoffrey’s Historia, and no evidence supporting this particular tale. Some theorize that the author stumbled across the Welsh masculine name Guendoleu, mistook it for a feminine appellation and then tweaked the spelling to make it appear even more so.
Despite her questionable origins, the name’s roots are Welsh. Gwen, Gwenllian and Gwenhwyfar are all found in the Middle Ages. (Gwenhwyfar would eventually become the 1970s blockbuster Jennifer.) Gwen appears in the historical record as early as the 5th century, when the Catholic Church records a Saint Gwen in Wales. Other records list her as Wenn, Blanche and Candida, so that’s not an absolute confirmation. Gwen means white or fair, and dolen is usually attributed as ring. Gwendolyn might not be historic, but we can legitimately call her Welsh.
She first entered common use in the mid-1800s, when the Victorians mined multiple sources – botanical names, lesser read histories and legends – to find new naming possibilities.
Two literary uses of the name cemented her place in the lexicon:
- Gwendolen Harleth is the heroine in George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda. Published as a serial beginning in 1876, the character is lovely and polished, but suffers much in the story.
- Gwendolen Fairfax is part of one of the two couples ultimately united in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. The play debuted in 1895.
Gwendoline was also an 1886 opera by French composer Emmanuel Chabrier.
The ine ending mimics Katherine and Caroline, so that adaptation is logical. After Eliot and Wilde used the en ending, we’d expect that to become dominant, and it did for a time.
So where did the “y” come from?
While Gwendolens appear in US census records, especially in the early 20th century, only Gwendolyn ever charts in Top 1000. Our first guess was that Gwendolyn owed her spelling change to the popularity of JM Barrie’s Wendy in Peter Pan. While there are other explanations for Wendy’s name, she is often linked to Gwendolyn and considered a diminutive form. Unfortunately, Barrie’s play debuted in 1904.
Perhaps it is simply evidence that switching out for a “y” has always been popular, even before the days of Jordyn and Katelyn. Myrtle and Lydia, Gladys and Evelyn were all popular choices in the 1880s, and while Catherine and Katherine were more common, Kathryn also ranked in the Top 100.
Poet Gwendolyn Brooks was born in 1917, but first published in the 1940s. She may be part of the reason Gwendolyn peaked at #112 in 1953, but scarcely explains the “e” to “y” switch, which was effectively complete several decades earlier.
Today Gwendolyn stands at #650. Gwendolen and Gwendoline are all but extinct. It’s not a current favorite, but there is something timeless about this historically flawed choice. With Gwen Stefani in the limelight, it takes on an undeniably artistic edge. It’s not the best option if you’re hoping for an authentic Welsh heritage name, but it has a certain quirky charm and manages to be underused while remaining familiar.
I like Gwendolyn more than Guinevere and Gwen itself, but have some hesitation over the -lyn ending, because of the whole Welsh -lyn = male -len = female ordeal (ditto Bronwyn vs. Bronwen).
I personally see Gwendolyn as the daughter of an artsy NYC couple with a son named Martin and a daughter named Dorothy. Don’t really know why, but that’s the picture in my head.
In reference to the whole historical replacement ‘y’s, I think Lidia looks misspelled, while Lydia is historic. Evelyn is classic, while Evelin is tryndee. Myrtle and Gladys can’t be Mirtle and Gladis, that’s just wrong!
Side note: My great aunts were Gladys and Glynnis, their sisters were Dorothea and Theodora (my grandmother).
Interesting, Corinne … I’m half Italian, so Lidia and Silvia look right to my eye.
I’m also 1/4 Welsh and so I hear you on the y/e thing – as does my Great Aunt Olwen, who had would have some rather strong opinions on this point were she still with us. (Okay, she had strong opinions on everything. But still.)
I love Gwendolen, that ‘y’ looks wrong to me too. She’s pretty and I used to babysit one (brothers Adam & Paul, younger sister [oddly] Kelly) Gwendolen feels smart to me. Artsy too, as Corinne said. That adds at least three-quarters to winner for me. I like Gwen but am also partial to Wendy (as long as she’s not a redhead, that feels a tad sterotypical) (Yes, I am a Huge “Fish Called Wanda fan!). I wonder though, My Josephine is more often Josephine, burt sometimes Josie/Fifi/Posy; if I called the next one Gwendolen, would she be Gwendolen more of the time or would she end up exclusively Gwen/Wendy? I can’t decide and that makes me waffle on her, personally. And for Corinne: Evelyn started masculine and still feels so to me. I don’t care for it on a female at all! And Lidia’s valid, at least it is in Polish (where my Babci hailed from). So it looks right for me (although Lydia’s fine too).
Back to sweet Gwendolyn/Gwendolen and the mighty appealing Gwenllian(which feels like it might honor my other Grandmother: Lilian! Gwen Stefani definitely makes Gwen more appealing and Gwendolen in full feels like she belongs in a faerie tale, albeit the heroine in one. Strong, beautiful and absolutely feminine, Gwendolyn, with any spelling’s a real winner from where I stand. (just maybe not for me).
I love it. I love it with an E and I love it with a Y. I like it better than Gwyneth, better than Gwenhwyfar (which is how I’ve only ever seen Marion ZImmer Bradley spelled it, but I assume she had a reason, as she did with Kassandra, too) or Guinevere. I like it better than plain Gwen, though for me the only good nickname is Gwen. I like it quite a lot! Thanks for giving us some history on this one. I think it works with today’s names, yet with its history, it seems that much ore substantial than Kaelyn or Jaelyn (god, how I hate the -aelyns).
Verity, I’m half Italian as well, but was raised in an extremely Irish household (my other half), so the ‘i’ version seems missing something, to me.
Lola, I actually knew about Evelyn, which completely turned me off to the name as well. I much prefer Evangeline or just little Eve.
If your Josephine is usually Josephine but is an occasional Josie/Fifi/Posy (my absolute favorite, btw: a Posey lives just down the street from us!) then I’ve a feeling your Gwendolyn would be the occasional Gwen, though I can’t see Wendy fitting into that mix of nicknames.
I actually just remembered that my good friend Danielle has a sister named Gwendolyn, who is exclusively Gwen (oddly their other sisters are Katrina and Aimee, so it’s an interesting mix of cultures considering they’re 100% Filipino!)
Gwendolyn and Guinevere were two of the very first names I loved (way back in middle school). I’ve recently experienced a revival of interest in Gwendolen (now with the E spelling). It makes a very pretty middle name with a two-syllable first name (Clara Gwendolen? Sonia Gwendolen?). If I had enough daughters, one of them might end up Gwendolen Eve.
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I grew up with the Gwendolyn spelling, but have come to love and appreciate the Gwendolen spelling. To me, it looks right now. the LYN suffix seems uncesscary because the LEN does the job, pronunciation wise, unlike Eveline and Evelyn.
I understand that a Y denotes a masculine name in Wales, so to me, Gwendolyn now seems even more odd. Technically it would be Gwynndolen, but I don’t need much to dislike the letter Y these days.
http://www.namenerds.com/welsh/gwen.html
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