Message: "Gwyndelen" - Behind the Name

[Opinions] Gwyndelen

by Donham

7/27/2011, 5:36 AM

Could this spelling ever work, or is it just horribly misspelled?
I'm toying with this idea because this spelling would honor three of my child's four grandparents....
my mother's name is Gwyn
my mother in law's name is Dell
and my father's name is Lenray.

I googled it, and it has been used before.

#Gwyndelen

Replies

- Norah Namenerd

7/27/2011, 8:31 PM

Interesting. I'd say go for it! Better than Delwyn-Ray or Raydelyn anything else I can think of! I think even if you used a "normal" spelling like Gwendolen or Gwendolyn, a kid with this name would have to spell it every time anyway, so why not Gwyndelen? It actually looks nice, and not too much like a Kreativ spelling.

- guru (BBH) +6

7/27/2011, 11:56 AM

I think it looks like a misspelling. Gwendolen is the optimal spelling, and the most tasteful. I think it would honor Gwyn well enough, though I think Dell might be disappointed. How about Gwendolen Delia or Delia Gwendolen?

- Donham +5

7/27/2011, 12:09 PM

Oh! I really like the suggestion of Gwendolen Delia!
I'm going to run that by my husband.
Thanks.

- guru (BBH) +4

7/27/2011, 12:12 PM

You're extremely welcome :)

Gwyneth Delia also has a very pleasant flow. I think I prefer Gwyneth Delia, though I like Gwendolen Delia, too. :)

- Donham +3

7/27/2011, 12:21 PM

What do you think of Gwyndolen Adelle?
I do like Gwyneth, but if I'm honoring grandparents, then I don't want to leave my dad out, so I need the -len part. I figure my father in law gets the last name, so I'm not worried about fitting his name in there.

- guru (BBH) +2

7/27/2011, 12:58 PM

Okay. I see the situation. What I'd suggest you is honor them each with a separate name rather than trying to contract three names into two. If there isn't a ready solution that isn't awkward, I'd take the two middle name route. Is Len short for Leonord? If so, I'd consider Gwyneth Leonie Adele. Are you planning to have other children? If so, one of them could wait. There are a LOT of ways to honor Len. Lena, Helen, Lenora, Leonora, Magdalen, Leonie, Leona.

ETA: I just saw the Lenray. I guess Gwyndolen isn't bad, but I really don't like GwyndElen. Gwyndolen Adelle I suppose serves a purpose.

This message was edited 7/27/2011, 1:00 PM

- guru (BBH) +1

7/27/2011, 1:10 PM

I've changed my mind. Since it is honoring, I think the spelling Gwyndelen might be allowable. Change of heart.

- Donham

7/27/2011, 3:13 PM

Thanks! You made me chuckle, especially seeing your change of heart documented throughout the post.
We probably won't have any more. This one would be number 4, and I'm 38! That's why I'm on the search for the perfect name. I'm not even pregnant yet, but I'm expecting to be expecting soon.
I don't even know if my husband is going to like the name at all since I haven't mentioned it to him. I have to come up with a final list to present to him. He isn't a name nerd like I am and can't handle all my obsessiveness. He's pretty set on using Elan for a mn, so I'd have to talk him out of it or have twins!

- Pie

7/27/2011, 11:16 AM

I think it's a nice idea, but to be honest, as a Welsh person and a former literacy teacher, I see it and really cringe. Sorry!

- Hola123

7/27/2011, 9:49 AM

Since it's honouring, I think it works. It's not horribly misspelled. As a namenerd, if I hadn't known you were honouring three relatives I might have thought, "eek", but I don't think the average person would think that way. Believe me, I've seen some pretty horribly spelled names in my time that don't seem to really phase the average person that much.

- kudriashkajo (jodirae)

7/27/2011, 9:40 AM

I think there's enough spellings of the name, that she would have to spell it anyways, so sure. It doesn't look awful at all and I love the honouring behind it.

- New_Chloe

7/27/2011, 9:31 AM

Yeah, I like it! I don't think it looks horribly misspelled because I assume it would be said like "GWINN-del-in" instead of "GWEN-doh-len", which makes it sort of a different name. And I love the personal nature of its creation.

- Xenokleia (Dragon_Clarinet)

7/27/2011, 6:10 AM

Well it's a good thing you have a reason, because it look like 'dwindling' for some reason to me with this spelling.

- Llewella (penguiny7)

7/27/2011, 5:40 AM

Since there's a reason for you spelling it that way, it's not so bad. I say go for it because even if you spelled it Gwendolen she'd always be spelling it out for people anyway!

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