Llewellyn (name)
Encyclopedia
Llywelyn is a Welsh
personal name
, which has also become a family name
most commonly spelt as Llewellyn. The name has many variations and derivations, mainly as a result of the difficulty in representing the sound of the initial double ll for non Welsh speakers, described by T.J. Morgan and Prys Morgan
as a 'unilateral hiss
'. The doubling of the second l in Llewellyn is by analogy; the name is never pronounced [ɬəˈwɛɬɪn].
The name Lewis
became closely associated with Llywelyn as early as the 13th century as Anglo-Norman scribes often used Lewis as an anglicised approximate to Llewellyn. By the 17th century when many Welsh families were adopting formal surnames; those whose father was named Llywelyn often chose Lewis as an anglicized alternate.
(evolving into Welsh as Lleu
) and Belenus
, the names of two individual Celtic gods
. The compounded name of Lugubelinos evolved
into Llywelyn; Lu(gu)-(b)elyn
The first element of Lly (Lugu) is seen in other Welsh names such as Llywarch and Lliwelydd. The second element of elyn (Belenus) is evident in the Welsh name Belyn.
Llywelyn was the most common form of the personal name in the early and late medieval period, but was largely absent as a name of choice for the Welsh princes prior to Llywelyn I the Great
(r. 1175-1240) and his grandson Llywelyn II
(r.1247-1282). As the name evolved, one of the early medieval variant spellings became Llewellyn, which led to a folk belief that the name was associated with lions as the Welsh word for lion is llew. The association of the name with lions produced another early variant Leoline, commonly used in Norman French and French manuscripts, making use of the association with lions of llew by using the Latin 'leo
'. The association of the name Llewellyn with lions was further reinforced by the adoption of Iorwerth ab Owain's
coat of arms
by his son Llywelyn the Great, which incorporated four lions on his shield, and became a symbol for Wales.
Following the successes of Llywelyn the Great and his grandson, Llywelyn became a popular naming choice. However, the name came to be translated and replaced to a great extent in English with the name Lewis as an anglicized approximate, especially post Edwardian Conquest (1284).
The name has many variations and derivations, mainly as a result of the difficulty in representing the sound of the initial double ll for non Welsh speakers, as well as the speaker's accent and pronunciation.
Additional variations (both medieval and modern) for Llywelyn and Llewellyn include:
Apswellen, Elilevelin, Ffuellen, Ffuellin, Fflellen, Flawelling, Fleuellen, Flewellin, Flewellen, Flewelling, Flewellyn, Fluellen, Fluellin, Fluelling, Flwellin, Fowellen, Fuelling, Lawellins, Lawellen, Leoloni, Lewlin, Lewilin, Llallin, Lleulin, Lleulini, Llewen, Llewelling, Llewellinge, Llewellen, Llewhellin, Llewhelyn, Llewillin, Lluellen, Thewell, Thewelinus, Thellyn, Thelen, Thewelling, Thelwelin, Thlewelyn, Swellin.
Llywelyn was rendered as Lewelinus and Lewelini in mideival Latin texts. The feminine form is Llywela and Loella.
name Llelo, Lelo, and Llela (the latter sometimes considered feminine), are pronounced without the characteristic voiceless 'unilateral hiss' of double l, and "therefore, in Welsh one uses Llelo/Lelo; in an English context, as it has the sound of fellow, bellow, the spelling is almost invariably Llello, Lello."
Curiously, as the name Lewis was in use before the abandonment of the patronomic system in Wales, T.J. Morgan and Pryse Morgan note that “it is difficult to understand why ap Lewis did not result in a surname Blewis." Examples of such substitution in literature include Lewis Glyn Cothi who was known as Llywelyn y Glyn, and Lewys Morgannwg
whose bardic name was Llywelyn ap Rhisiart. The interchangeability went both ways, at least amongst some:
The frequency of the name Welling appearing along Welsh Marcher counties indicates that it can be traced back to (Lle)wellyn and (Lle)wellin, though in other regions of England it is possible that Welling has an English place-name origin. Additional examples of a Llywelyn origin by way of Welling along the boarders include Bewellin, Bewlyn, Bewlen, Pawelin, Weallins, Wellings, Wellins, Welyn, Wellyns, Wellens, Wellence, Wellings, Wellon, Wellys.
An additional substitution for Llywelyn by way of Lewis was the latinization of Lewis as Leodovicus, which then reentered into English as Lodwick, Ludwick, and Lodowick, especially in South Wales around Swansea and Pembrokshire. Characteristic hardening of the Glamorgan and Gwent accent evolved into another variant as Lotwick. Lodwick for Llywelyn/Llewellyn is also found in East Flint, Holywell, and Oswestry areas, amongst other locals.
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
personal name
Personal name
A personal name is the proper name identifying an individual person, and today usually comprises a given name bestowed at birth or at a young age plus a surname. It is nearly universal for a human to have a name; except in rare cases, for example feral children growing up in isolation, or infants...
, which has also become a family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
most commonly spelt as Llewellyn. The name has many variations and derivations, mainly as a result of the difficulty in representing the sound of the initial double ll for non Welsh speakers, described by T.J. Morgan and Prys Morgan
Prys Morgan
Prys Morgan FRHistS FSA FLSW is a Welsh historian.He was born in Cardiff, the son of academic T. J. Morgan. Like his brother, Rhodri Morgan, Prys Morgan was educated at Whitchurch Grammar School and St John's College, Oxford. He then joined the teaching staff of the University of Wales, Swansea,...
as a 'unilateral hiss
Voiceless alveolar lateral fricative
The voiceless alveolar lateral fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents voiceless dental, alveolar, and postalveolar fricatives is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is K...
'. The doubling of the second l in Llewellyn is by analogy; the name is never pronounced [ɬəˈwɛɬɪn].
The name Lewis
Lewis (surname)
Lewis is a surname in the English language. It has several independent origins.One of origins of the surname, in England and Wales, is from the Norman personal name Lowis, Lodovicus. This name is composed of the Germanic elements hlod and wig, meaning "fame" and "war"...
became closely associated with Llywelyn as early as the 13th century as Anglo-Norman scribes often used Lewis as an anglicised approximate to Llewellyn. By the 17th century when many Welsh families were adopting formal surnames; those whose father was named Llywelyn often chose Lewis as an anglicized alternate.
Etymology
The name is a compound of two Old British names; LugusLugus
Lugus was a deity of the Celtic pantheon. His name is rarely directly attested in inscriptions, but his importance can be inferred from placenames and ethnonyms, and his nature and attributes are deduced from the distinctive iconography of Gallo-Roman inscriptions to Mercury, who is widely believed...
(evolving into Welsh as Lleu
Lleu Llaw Gyffes
Lleu Llaw Gyffes is a hero of Welsh mythology. He appears most prominently in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, the tale of Math fab Mathonwy, which tells the tale of his birth, his marriage, his death, his resurrection and his accession to the throne of Gwynedd...
) and Belenus
Belenus
In Celtic mythology, Bel, Belenos was a deity worshipped in Gaul, Cisalpine Gaul, and Celtic areas of Austria, Britain and Spain. He is particularly associated with Cornwall, West Cornwall being anciently called Belerion, the place of Bel...
, the names of two individual Celtic gods
Celtic mythology
Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure...
. The compounded name of Lugubelinos evolved
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
into Llywelyn; Lu(gu)-(b)elyn
The first element of Lly (Lugu) is seen in other Welsh names such as Llywarch and Lliwelydd. The second element of elyn (Belenus) is evident in the Welsh name Belyn.
Variations and history
Llywelyn the Great
Llywelyn the Great , full name Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, was a Prince of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually de facto ruler over most of Wales...
(r. 1175-1240) and his grandson Llywelyn II
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd may refer to:*Llywelyn the Last *Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan...
(r.1247-1282). As the name evolved, one of the early medieval variant spellings became Llewellyn, which led to a folk belief that the name was associated with lions as the Welsh word for lion is llew. The association of the name with lions produced another early variant Leoline, commonly used in Norman French and French manuscripts, making use of the association with lions of llew by using the Latin 'leo
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
'. The association of the name Llewellyn with lions was further reinforced by the adoption of Iorwerth ab Owain's
Iorwerth Drwyndwn
Iorwerth ab Owain Gwynedd , meaning "the broken-nosed", was the eldest legitimate son of Owain Gwynedd and his first wife Gwladys ferch Llywarch. He married Marared ferch Madog. His son Llywelyn the Great eventually united the realm and became known as Llywelyn Fawr and is one of Wales's most...
coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
by his son Llywelyn the Great, which incorporated four lions on his shield, and became a symbol for Wales.
Following the successes of Llywelyn the Great and his grandson, Llywelyn became a popular naming choice. However, the name came to be translated and replaced to a great extent in English with the name Lewis as an anglicized approximate, especially post Edwardian Conquest (1284).
The name has many variations and derivations, mainly as a result of the difficulty in representing the sound of the initial double ll for non Welsh speakers, as well as the speaker's accent and pronunciation.
Additional variations (both medieval and modern) for Llywelyn and Llewellyn include:
Apswellen, Elilevelin, Ffuellen, Ffuellin, Fflellen, Flawelling, Fleuellen, Flewellin, Flewellen, Flewelling, Flewellyn, Fluellen, Fluellin, Fluelling, Flwellin, Fowellen, Fuelling, Lawellins, Lawellen, Leoloni, Lewlin, Lewilin, Llallin, Lleulin, Lleulini, Llewen, Llewelling, Llewellinge, Llewellen, Llewhellin, Llewhelyn, Llewillin, Lluellen, Thewell, Thewelinus, Thellyn, Thelen, Thewelling, Thelwelin, Thlewelyn, Swellin.
Llywelyn was rendered as Lewelinus and Lewelini in mideival Latin texts. The feminine form is Llywela and Loella.
Pet names Llello, Lelo, Llela
According to Morgan, the hypocoristicHypocoristic
A hypocorism is a shorter form of a word or given name, for example, when used in more intimate situations as a nickname or term of endearment.- Derivation :Hypocorisms are often generated as:...
name Llelo, Lelo, and Llela (the latter sometimes considered feminine), are pronounced without the characteristic voiceless 'unilateral hiss' of double l, and "therefore, in Welsh one uses Llelo/Lelo; in an English context, as it has the sound of fellow, bellow, the spelling is almost invariably Llello, Lello."
For Llywelyn; see Lewis, Welling, and Lodwick
Lewis became associated with Llywelyn through a deliberately conscious policy by Anglo-Norman clerks to use Anglo-Norman names in place of Welsh names as early as the 13th century. The first syllable for Llywelyn, especially if spelt as Llew and pronounced as Lew, was sufficiently close enough for medieval Anglo-Norman scribes to associate the name with Lewis as something familiar for their audience. Lewis variants for Llywelyn appear as Lewes, Lewys, Lowys, Lowis, Llewys, Llewis, Llwys, Llewes.Curiously, as the name Lewis was in use before the abandonment of the patronomic system in Wales, T.J. Morgan and Pryse Morgan note that “it is difficult to understand why ap Lewis did not result in a surname Blewis." Examples of such substitution in literature include Lewis Glyn Cothi who was known as Llywelyn y Glyn, and Lewys Morgannwg
Lewys Morgannwg
Lewys Morgannwg was a Welsh language poet from Morgannwg, south Wales. He lived at St. Bride's MajorLewys was one of the foremost poets of the sixteenth century. Most of his poems that have survived are eulogies and elegies in strict metre. Lewys was the household poet to Sir William Griffith of...
whose bardic name was Llywelyn ap Rhisiart. The interchangeability went both ways, at least amongst some:
The frequency of the name Welling appearing along Welsh Marcher counties indicates that it can be traced back to (Lle)wellyn and (Lle)wellin, though in other regions of England it is possible that Welling has an English place-name origin. Additional examples of a Llywelyn origin by way of Welling along the boarders include Bewellin, Bewlyn, Bewlen, Pawelin, Weallins, Wellings, Wellins, Welyn, Wellyns, Wellens, Wellence, Wellings, Wellon, Wellys.
An additional substitution for Llywelyn by way of Lewis was the latinization of Lewis as Leodovicus, which then reentered into English as Lodwick, Ludwick, and Lodowick, especially in South Wales around Swansea and Pembrokshire. Characteristic hardening of the Glamorgan and Gwent accent evolved into another variant as Lotwick. Lodwick for Llywelyn/Llewellyn is also found in East Flint, Holywell, and Oswestry areas, amongst other locals.