Gwendolen () is a feminine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

, in general use only since the 19th century. It has come to be the standard English form of Latin '' Guendoloena'', which was first used by Geoffrey of Monmouth as the name of a legendary British queen in his '' History of the Kings of Britain'' (). He reused the name in his '' Life of Merlin'' (c. 1150) for a different character, the wife of the titular magician "

Merlinus Myrddin Wyllt (—"Myrddin the Wild", kw, Marzhin Gwyls, br, Merzhin Gueld) is a figure in medieval Welsh legend. In Middle Welsh poetry he is accounted a chief bard, the speaker of several poems in The Black Book of Carmarthen and The Red ...

", a counsellor to

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

; the metre shows that Geoffrey pronounced it as a pentasyllable, ''Guĕndŏlŏēnă'', with the "gu" pronounced . Dr. Arthur Hutson suggests that "Guendoloena" arose from a misreading of the

old Welsh Old Welsh ( cy, Hen Gymraeg) is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic ...

masculine name '' Guendoleu''; Geoffrey may have mistaken the final ''U'' for an ''N'', then Latinized *''Guendolen'' as a feminine name to arrive at Guendoloena. In the ''Vita Merlini'', however, Geoffrey Latinizes the masculine name of Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio as ''Guennolous''. Spelled '' Gwendoloena'', the name reoccurs in the anonymous Latin romance '' De Ortu Waluuanii'' belonging to Arthur's queen

Guinevere Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...

. It did not become a common English given name until the 19th century. '' Gwendoline'' was in use in England by the 1860s (an early example being Lady Gwendoline Anson, born c. 1837, a daughter of the 1st Earl of Lichfield),Sheard, K. M. (2011), , p. 262, . and '' Gwendolen'' appeared in ''

Daniel Deronda ''Daniel Deronda'' is a novel written by Mary Ann Evans under the pen name of George Eliot, first published in eight parts (books) February to September 1876. It was the last novel she completed and the only one set in the Victorian society ...

'', written by George Eliot and published in serialized form 1874–6.

Notable bearers

People

* Gwendolen Margaret Carter (1906–1991), Canadian scholar of African affairs * Gwendolen Mary "Gwen" John (1876–1939), Welsh painter * Gwendolen Fer (born 1986), french Equestrian rider * Gwendolen Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk (1877–1945), British duchess * Gwendolen Guinness, Countess of Iveagh (1881–1966), Conservative politician in the United Kingdom * Gwendolen "Len" Howard (1894–1973), British naturalist and musician * Joyce Gwendolen Quin (born 1944), Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom * Gwendolen Mary "Gwen" Raverat (1885–1957), English wood engraver *

F. Gwendolen Rees Florence Gwendolen Rees, (Gwendolen'' or Gwen) Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (3 July 1906 – 4 October 1994) was a Welsh Zoology, zoologist and parasitology, parasitologist. She was the first Welsh woman to become a fellow of the Royal So ...

(1906–1994), British zoologist and parasitologist * Ella Gwendolen Rees Williams (1890–1979), novelist from Dominica * Guendalina Sastri (born 1953), Italian actress and singer * Gwendoline Christie (born 1978), English actress and model

Fictional characters

* Gwendolen, mythical queen of the Britons *Guendoloena (Gwendolen),

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

's wife in the '' Life of Merlin'' *Guendolen, the fairy mistress of King Arthur and mother of Gyneth in Sir Walter Scott's work '' The Bridal of Triermain'' (1813) *Gwendolen, loathly lady in

Reginald Heber Reginald Heber (21 April 1783 – 3 April 1826) was an English Anglican bishop, man of letters and hymn-writer. After 16 years as a country parson, he served as Bishop of Calcutta until his death at the age of 42. The son of a rich lando ...

's ''Fragments of The Masque of Gwendolen'' (written 1816, published 1830) * Gwendolen Harleth, heroine in ''

'' (1876), the last novel George Eliot completed * Gwendolen Fairfax, a major character in

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

's comedy '' The Importance of Being Earnest'' (1895) *Gwendolen, a tragic, snobbish novelist in Henry James's 1896 short story ''

The Figure in the Carpet "The Figure in the Carpet" is a short story (sometimes considered a novella) by American writer Henry James first published in 1896. It is told in the first person; the narrator, whose name is never revealed, meets his favorite author and becomes ...

'' *Gwendolen, the mistress of Thomas Becket and Prince Henry II in Jean Anouilh's play '' Becket'' (1959) *Gwendolen Chant, antagonist in Diana Wynne Jones' fantasy novel '' Charmed Life'' (1977) * Gwendolyn Tennyson, supporting protagonist in the

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

animated show, '' Ben 10'' *Gwendolen, a dragon in

The Last Dragon Chronicles ''The Last Dragon Chronicles'' is a series of seven children's fantasy novels written by Chris d'Lacey. The books follow a college student, David Rain, as he discovers the existence of living clay dragons in the house he lodges at. This seri ...

*Gwendolyn, a hero character from ''Bloons TD 6''

Other

* SS ''Gwendolen'', a British steamship launched in 1899 and named for Lady Gwendolen Cecil, daughter of Lord Salisbury *

10870 Gwendolen 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, a main-belt asteroid named for the discoverer's mother, educator Mary Gwendolen Ellery Read Aikman (1903–1994) *'' Gwendolen'', a 1989 novel by

Buchi Emecheta Florence Onyebuchi "Buchi" Emecheta (21 July 1944 – 25 January 2017) was a Nigerian-born novelist, based in the UK from 1962, who also wrote plays and an autobiography, as well as works for children. She was the author of more than 20 books, ...

References

Footnotes Citations {{given name Welsh feminine given names English feminine given names

Notable bearers

People

Fictional characters

Other

See also

References