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ArchivesIt's a Scottish surname . . .
in reply to a message by Briallen
The probable origin of the name:
"Ruthven: From the lands and barony of Ruthven, in Perthshire, Scotland; a river of the same name; "Ruithabhainn," i. e., the rushing or swift stream." (http://www.last-names.net/surname.asp?surname=Ruthven)
Some history of the Ruthven family:
"Ruthven: ancestry traced to Swan, son of Thor, son of Swein, who held lands in Perthshire and Clydesdale; Thor took the name de Ruthven. Patrick Ruthven was one of the Scottish lords involved in the murder of Mary, Queen of Scots' secretary, David Rizzio. His son, the first earl of Gowrie, kidnapped the young king and held him for ten months in what is known as the Ruthven Raid. The king escaped and Gowrie was executed in 1584. Because of the later Gowrie Conspiracy, the name was proscribed for forty years until its reinstatement in 1641." (http://www.daire.org/names/scotsurs3.html)
I've never heard it used as a first name, but if it was I'd expect to see it on a boy.
It's also the name of the street my uncle lives on in Sydney! :-D
♦ Chrisell ♦
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J.R.R. Tolkien.
"Ruthven: From the lands and barony of Ruthven, in Perthshire, Scotland; a river of the same name; "Ruithabhainn," i. e., the rushing or swift stream." (http://www.last-names.net/surname.asp?surname=Ruthven)
Some history of the Ruthven family:
"Ruthven: ancestry traced to Swan, son of Thor, son of Swein, who held lands in Perthshire and Clydesdale; Thor took the name de Ruthven. Patrick Ruthven was one of the Scottish lords involved in the murder of Mary, Queen of Scots' secretary, David Rizzio. His son, the first earl of Gowrie, kidnapped the young king and held him for ten months in what is known as the Ruthven Raid. The king escaped and Gowrie was executed in 1584. Because of the later Gowrie Conspiracy, the name was proscribed for forty years until its reinstatement in 1641." (http://www.daire.org/names/scotsurs3.html)
I've never heard it used as a first name, but if it was I'd expect to see it on a boy.
It's also the name of the street my uncle lives on in Sydney! :-D
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J.R.R. Tolkien.
1
Replies
Gilbert and Sullivan:
Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd
His leisure and his riches
He ruthlessly employed
In persecuting witches...
(It goes on. As you can imagine ...)
It's also pronounced, or it is in G&S: Rivven. So that gorgeous pun on Ruthven/ruthless is only visual, and the theatre audience would be likely to miss it. But man, those guys were good!
Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd
His leisure and his riches
He ruthlessly employed
In persecuting witches...
(It goes on. As you can imagine ...)
It's also pronounced, or it is in G&S: Rivven. So that gorgeous pun on Ruthven/ruthless is only visual, and the theatre audience would be likely to miss it. But man, those guys were good!
1