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EspañolMEREDITH (NAME)
:''For people named Meredith and other uses of the name, see Meredith''
'Meredith' is an uncommon male and female first name, and a surname common in parts of Wales.
It is one of the older surviving Welsh personal names, 'Maredudd' and 'Meredydd' being early variants of today's more familiar anglicized form (see for instance Madog ap Maredudd). The final element, ''iudd'', means 'lord'; as can be found in the older variants of Gruffudd (anglicized Griffith) - however, the meaning of the initial element is open to conjecture though some Welsh scholars have translated it as "great" or "splendid".[1]
The name is commonly misinterpreted to mean "''guardian or protector from the sea''". This is a misapprehension (based on misinterpreting the name as 'mer' (Latin, sea) + Edith (Old English, rich battle, but confused with Edward, rich guardian)) especially as the name is more commonly found in the upland non-coastal regions of Mid-Wales[2] and also if translated back into Welsh, "guardian..." would bear no resemblance to Meredith in any form.
The correct Welsh pronunciation is with the accent on the penultimate syllable. The anglicized pronunciation with the accent on the first syllable is more common in English-speaking countries.
The original gender of the name has become confused increasingly since the mid-20th century as the surname has given rise to the name Meredith being used for girls, originally in the United States (this usage is first recorded at the end of the 19th century), but now also in the UK, and even in Wales.
In modern Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom, the name survives predominantly as a surname due to the patronymic heritage of the families of Welsh migrants from Wales to England pre- and post-Industrial Revolution.
1. "Welsh Surnames" by T.J. Morgan and Prys Morgan (University of Wales Press, 1985, ISBN 0-7083-0936-4)
2. www.spatial-literacy.org
'Meredith' is an uncommon male and female first name, and a surname common in parts of Wales.
It is one of the older surviving Welsh personal names, 'Maredudd' and 'Meredydd' being early variants of today's more familiar anglicized form (see for instance Madog ap Maredudd). The final element, ''iudd'', means 'lord'; as can be found in the older variants of Gruffudd (anglicized Griffith) - however, the meaning of the initial element is open to conjecture though some Welsh scholars have translated it as "great" or "splendid".[1]
The name is commonly misinterpreted to mean "''guardian or protector from the sea''". This is a misapprehension (based on misinterpreting the name as 'mer' (Latin, sea) + Edith (Old English, rich battle, but confused with Edward, rich guardian)) especially as the name is more commonly found in the upland non-coastal regions of Mid-Wales[2] and also if translated back into Welsh, "guardian..." would bear no resemblance to Meredith in any form.
The correct Welsh pronunciation is with the accent on the penultimate syllable. The anglicized pronunciation with the accent on the first syllable is more common in English-speaking countries.
The original gender of the name has become confused increasingly since the mid-20th century as the surname has given rise to the name Meredith being used for girls, originally in the United States (this usage is first recorded at the end of the 19th century), but now also in the UK, and even in Wales.
In modern Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom, the name survives predominantly as a surname due to the patronymic heritage of the families of Welsh migrants from Wales to England pre- and post-Industrial Revolution.
| Contents |
| References |
References
1. "Welsh Surnames" by T.J. Morgan and Prys Morgan (University of Wales Press, 1985, ISBN 0-7083-0936-4)
2. www.spatial-literacy.org
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