Rune Names — Wynn

Another seasonally appropriate rune — by pure coincidence — Wynn.

It means “joy.”

Wynn is only found in two systems, the Eldar Futhark, and the Anglo-Frisian; it is missing from both the Younger and the Marcomannic:

• Eldar Futhark: *Wunjō
  
• Anglo-Frisian: Ƿynn (Wynn)

Predictably, with the meaning “joy,” it is all sunshine and light in the rune poems.

Modern rune interpreters see Wynn as symbolic of joy in all its aspects, from the wonder and delight of childhood, to the sexual pleasure of adulthood.

As such it is a rune that reminds us to embrace the Now; to live in and enjoy the moment, grasping life with both hands, and not dwelling always in the past or the future, a trap so many of us fall into all too readily.

Wynn itself has a great deal of name potential, both as a boy’s name and a girls. With other one syllable “-nn” names, such as Finn and Flynn, making waves at the moment, Wynn slips right in alongside as a more unusual alternative.

It also has quite a long heritage.

Wyn occurred as a given name in Wales in the Middle ages as a variant of Gwyn, the straightforward use of gwyn  “white” as a personal name. It was also common as a proto-surname, and both gave rise to the Welsh surname Wynn — also spelled Wynne.

Meanwhile, in Medieval England, there existed the personal name Wine “friend”, usually in use as a short form of one of the many names which contained it as an element, such as Edwin. Like the Welsh gwyn, wine was also used as a proto-surname, and led to the English surname Wynn — also spelled Winn, etc.

Both the Welsh and English surnames started to given as first names from the seventeenth century.

The Old English wynn itself was used as an element in girls’ names in Anglo-Saxon times:

• Ælfwynn — “elf-joy.” Old variants: Elfwyn, Elfwynn, Alfwen. The name of one of Alfred the Great’s granddaughters
  
• Æþelwynn — “noble-joy”; the Modern English form Ethelwynn was adopted in the nineteenth century.
• Æscwynn — “ash-joy.” The Modern English form is Ashwynn.
• Beorhtwynn — “bright-joy”; one of the sources of the surname Brightwen.
• Beornwynn — “warrior-joy.”
• Burgwynn – “fort-joy.”
• Ceolwynn — “bright-ship”; old variant: Ceolwen.
• Deorwynn — “dear-joy.”
• Eawynn — “river-joy” (though possibly originally Eadwynn “rich-joy”).
• Ealuwynn — “ale-joy.”
• Ecgwynn — “sword-joy.”
• *Eohwynn — “horse-joy.” Not a known name in Anglo-Saxon or medieval times; Tolkien, however, used the elements to form Éowyn.
• Herewynn — “army-joy.” Old variant: Herewinne.
• *Hroðwynn — “fame-joy.” Normalized as Rothwyn, this is often cited as the origin of Rowena, but it is not actually attested in Anglo-Saxon or medieval times.
• Leofwynn — “dear-joy.” Old variant: Lefwen. Probably the source of the old country name Levina.
• Mærwynn — “famous-joy.” Source of the lovely Merewen.
• Oswynn — “(a) God-joy.”
• Sæwynn — “sea-friend.” Old variant: Sewenna.
• Wulfwynn — “wolf-joy.”
• Wynstan — “joy-stone.” The only male name in this list, it is one source of the surname Winston.

As for other names with the meaning “joy,” I covered many of them recently in my post celebrating the festive cheer and merrymaking that was the Roman Saturnalia, which can be found here. But there’s still a few more:

• Adebayo — Yoruba: “the crown has met with joy.” Short-form: Bayo
• Adedayo — Yuruba: “the crown has turned to joy.” Short-form: Dayo
• Amena — Spanish: “delightful”
• Aniel — Hebrew; possibly “joy of (a) God”
• Aoibhinn — Irish: “delightful” and “charming”
• Chara — Greek: “joy”
• Charidotes — Greek: “giver of joy” (an epithet of Hermes)
• Charmian — Greek: kharma “joy”
• Delicia  — Latin: “delight.” Var: Delice
• Delight
• Desta  — Ethiophian: “joy”
• Eden — as in “Garden of –“; one option for its source is a Hebrew root meaning “delight”
• Etsuko — Japanese: “delight-child”
• Euphrosyne — Greek: “mirth” and “merriment”; the Hungarian Fruzsina derives from it, and it is probably the true source of the curious English Frusannah
• Euterpe — Greek: “delightful”
• Euthymia — Greek: “joy”
• Fiayosemi — Yoruba: “mold me with joy”
• Freyde — Yiddish: “joy” and “delight”
• Gwenydd — Welsh: “joy”
• Hedone — Greek: “joy” and “pleasure”
• Hephzibah — Hebrew: “my delight is in her.” Often shortened to the gorgeous Eppie (I fell so in love with Hephzibah and Eppie after the BBC dramatization of Silas Marner in 1985)
• Hesione — Greek; possibly from êdô “to please.”
• Ifedayo — Yoruba: “love has turned to joy.” Short-form: Dayo
• Le’a — Hawaiian: “joy” and “pleasure”
• Libentina — Roman Goddess of sensual pleasure, from Latin: libens “glad”
• Mayowa — Yoruba: “comes with joy”
• Myrna — Irish: “joy” and “affection”
• Nishatsi — Hausa: “joy of being alive”
• Omolayo — Yoruba: “a child is joy.” Dim: Layo
• Omotayo — Yoruba: “a child worthy of joy.” Dim: Tayo
• Oregano — interpreted in ancient times as deriving from Greek oros “mountain” and ganos “joy,” “brightness” and “pride”
• Rana — Sanskrit: “delight” and “pleasure”
• Rati — Sanskrit: “delight,” “love potion” and “sexual pleasure”
• Rina — Modern Hebrew: “joy,” “divinity,” “soul,” etc
• Shin — Korean: “joy”
• Terpsichore — Greek: “delight-dance”; one of the Muses
• Yuki — one reading of this Japanese name is “reason-joy.”

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