Gavin

English

Etymology

Medieval variant of Gawain, the name of an Arthurian knight, first recorded as Old French Gauvain. It is probably of Celtic origin, like many other characters from Arthurian legends, perhaps from Proto-Brythonic *gwalx (“hawk”) + *gwɨnn (“white”). The form Gavin survived in Scotland and spread to other English-speaking countries in the 1960s. Doublet of Gawain. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡævɪn/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ævɪn

Proper noun

Gavin

1. A male given name from the Celtic languages
2. A surname originating as a patronymic.

Translations

male given name

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 加文 (Jiāwén)

• French: Gauvain (fr)
• Italian: Gavino (it)

See also

• Gawaine, Gawain
• Gavan
• Gabhainn

Further reading

• http://www.medievalscotland.org/problem/names/gavin.shtml

Anagrams

• Givan, Vigan, vigna