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About Names: A Column on Gwyneth

Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his September 27th column, he looks at the history of the name Gwyneth.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Most experts believe Gwyneth is an alteration of Welsh place name Gwynedd. The kingdom of Gwynedd was created in northwestern Wales around 450. After the Romans abandoned Wales around 383, Irish raiders settled there. Gwynedd is thought to be a Welsh form of either Irish “fían” (warrior band) or “Féni” (Irish people).

Native Welsh speakers defeated the Irish to found the kingdom. Then, in the ninth century, Gwynedd’s King Rhodri the Great united most of Wales under his rule. The letters “th” represent two different sounds in English. Teeth/teethe and Ethan/heathen contrast the two sounds. In Welsh, the former is spelled “th” and the latter “dd.” The final syllable of “Gwynedd” sounds like the middle of “weather.” It was natural for British parents to respell Gwynedd with “th” when giving the name to a daughter, ending it with the same sound as the familiar Elizabeth and Edith.

The first Gwyneth in the United States census was Gwyneth Williams, born in Rockland County, New York, in 1856 to Welsh immigrants David and Mary. Her younger sister was the first American-born Gladys.

Want to know more? Read on to find out more about Gwyneths in history!

BabyNames.com seeking experts for interviews!

BabyNames.com is seeking name experts to be interviewed on future episodes of The Baby Names Podcast. We’ve already had the pleasure of speaking with ANS members Cleve Evans and Laurel Sutton and have received a great response.

If you have an expertise in any of the subjects, below, or know someone who does – please contact us. If you have a recommendation for another subject that you’ve researched, also let us know!

The Baby Names Podcast receives approximately 10,000 listeners per month and growing. We promote it through our site and social media and are happy to link to your social accounts and/or research. Email Jennifer Moss, jennifer@babynames.com, to submit yourself for a topic…or to suggest one!
  • Spanish Names and Spanish Naming Conventions
  • Shakespeare Names
  • Biblical Names / Saint’s Names
  • Early American & Puritanical Names
  • Presidents, Prime Ministers and Political Names
  • Irish Names and Naming
  • Immigration and Naming (“Americanizing Names”)
  • Chinese Names

Registration opens for the 2020 ANS Conference, New Orleans, LA, January 2-5, 2020

American Name SocietyRegistration is now open for the 2020 ANS Conference in New Orleans, LA. The ANS conference will take place in conjunction with the Linguistic Society of American (LSA) Conference from January 2-5, 2020.

To register, you must join the ANS or renew your ANS membership.

LSA Registration is now open! Go to the LSA Meeting page to register. You must be a member of the LSA (as well as the ANS) in order to attend.

You can also reserve your room at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside via the LSA. Use the LSA link to receive a special discounted room rate.

Once your membership is up to date, you can register online here, or download a PDF of the Conference Registration Form and mail it to ANS Treasurer Saundra Wright, as per the instructions on the form.

For more information about the ANS Conference and the LSA Conference, including rate and hotel information, please visit our Conference Page.

About Names: Presidents, poets and TV cowboys have helped Tyler remain a popular baby name

Director/Writer Tyler Perry (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his September 13th column, he looks at the history of the name Tyler.

Tyler is an English surname indicating one’s medieval ancestor made or laid floor tiles. There were 66,056 people with the last name Tyler in 2010, making it the 509th most common surname in the United States. When the custom of turning surnames into first names began in the late 18th century, boys named Tyler appeared. In the 1840s, many were named after John Tyler (1790-1862), the 10th president.

Tyler had been elected vice president in 1841 under William Henry Harrison, the first President to die in office. Many thought Tyler should be “acting president,” but he insisted he was president, with all the powers of the office. Tyler remained a controversial figure after his term. He sided with the Confederacy in the Civil War, being elected to the Confederate Congress shortly before his death.

As a top name for men now in their 20s, Tyler is borne by scores of professional athletes — as well as Tyler Knott Gregson (born 1981), a poet famous through social media for posting daily haiku on Tumblr, Instagram and Twitter.

Want to know more? Read on to find out more about Tylers in history!

In memoriam: Alan Rayburn (1932-2019)

On the 19th of September 2019, Alan Rayburn, former president of the American Name Society and internationally recognized toponymist passed away at the age of 86. Alan is survived by his wife, Mary Teresa (née Fox); their three sons Kevin, Sean, and Garth; and their grandson Thomas. A funeral mass will be held to celebrate Alan’s life in Ottawa, Canada at St. Martin de Porres RC Church, Bells Corners, on Thursday, September 26, 2019 at 10:00 am.

The American Name Society would like to express its sincere condolences to the Rayburn family. Alan will always be remembered for his outstanding contributions to the scientific study of place names, his many decades of service to the American Name Society, and his extraordinary kindness to the ANS family. Friends and colleagues of the Alan Rayburn can share their condolences at www.kellyfh.ca

Toledo City Council approves airport name change

Toledo City Council on 17th September 2019 voted unanimously to officially change the name of Toledo Express Airport to the Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport.

The name change is to honor Mr. Kranz, 86, who served as flight director for Apollo 11 and directed the successful rescue mission of the Apollo 13 crew. He was born in Toledo and graduated from Central Catholic High School.

Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz first announced his intention to change the airport’s name to honor the NASA icon. Now all that’s left is for the Federal Aviation Administration to authorize the name change.

The Scottish Place-Name Society’s annual Autumn Day Conference, Arrochar, UK, November 2, 2019

The Society’s annual Autumn Day Conference will be held at the Three Villages Community Hall, Arrochar, on Saturday 2 November 2019.

 

The program is as follows:

Ronald Black: Place-names in the Dewar Manuscripts

Alan Cameron: The Place-names in the Poem Flory Loynachan

Sue Furness, Fiona Jackson and Elizabeth Carmichael: Arrochar Place-names and the Hidden Heritage Project

Peter Drummond: The Cobbler and his Neighbours: Some Mountain Names around Arrochar

Alison Grant: The Nicolaisen Archive

Bill Stephens: Sneaky Swans: Ealaidh in Place and Tradition

Bay Area city to name street after Barack Obama

The Milpitas City Council has approved to change the name of Dixon Landing Road to Barack Obama Boulevard. The council voted 3-2 in favor of moving forward with the name change. The length of the renamed stretch has yet to be determined.

This is the first city in Santa Clara County to have a Barack Obama Blvd. It could take up to a year to get the name change done.  Council members Bob Nunez and Anthony Phan suggested the name change.

“A lot of staff work. Research and fiscal analysis. Then staff will bring back everything to us for a vote and that’s the main event,” said Phan. The reaction in the community and on social media has been divided.

Tasmanian Aboriginal community prepared for war over place-name legislation

Premier Will Hodgman says new legislation to penalise those who use place names not formally recognised as Tasmanian nomenclature will not extend to Aboriginal place names. Greens leader Cassy O’Connor asked Mr Hodgman in Parliament how the proposed legislation to worked with the government’s pledge to reset its relationship with the Aboriginal community. She said Aboriginal names attached to places had been used for thousands of years. Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre chief executive Heather Sculthorpe said the community would resist the legislation and would risk prison time if necessary. “This bill is a direct attack on Aboriginal rights to use our own language and maintain our cultural heritage,” she said.