Llewellyn - Meaning of Llewellyn

What does Llewellyn mean?

Pronounce
Llewellyn

[ 3 syll. (l)le-wel-lyn, ll-ewell-yn ] The baby boy name Llewellyn is pronounced as HHLUW-WER-LihN †.

1: Llewellyn is used mostly in Welsh and it is of Celtic origin. Old forms of the name include Lugobelinos (Celtic) and Lugubelenus (Old English). The name is most likely derived from the Celtic Lugubelenus, although it has sometimes been considered to be of Welsh roots. Lugubelenus is from the combination of the names of the Celtic gods Lug and Belenus. The name was borne by several kings and princes such as Welsh ruler Llywelyn the Great (1173-1240), and by a number of Welsh poets.

Llewellyn has 21 derivatives that are used in English and other languages. English derivatives include Fluellen, Lewellen, Lewellyn, Lewis, Llewe, Llewelin, Llewellen, Llewelleyn, Llewellin, Llwewellin, Llyweilun, and Llywellynn. Another English derivative is the shortening Lynn (used in Welsh too).

Derivatives of Llewellyn used in other languages include the Welsh Leolin, the Welsh Leoline, the Welsh Llewelyn, the Welsh Llywellyn, and the Welsh Llywelyn. The shortenings Llew (Welsh) and Lyn (Welsh), and the diminutive form Llelo (Welsh) are other foreign variants.

The origin and thus the meaning of the name Llewellyn is inherited by all variant forms.

2: Llewellyn's language of origin is Welsh. Here, the meaning is 'shining one; lion-like; leader; likeness'. Based on the first element of the name, it is sometimes taken to mean 'shining, bright' ultimately from the Indoeuropean leuk, like its short form Llew, or else it could be of the Welsh llyw or eilun (meaning 'likeness, image, idol').

See also the related form, Lugh (Irish).

See also the related categories, kings, combination, gods, brightness (joy), english, lion, bright (wise), element, indoeuropean, welsh, and celtic.

Llewellyn is uncommon as a baby name for boys. At the modest height of its usage in 1910, 0.009% of baby boys were given the name Llewellyn. Its ranking then was #722. The baby name has since experienced a decline in popularity, and is of only irregular use now. Within the group of boy names directly linked to Llewellyn, Lewis was the most popular in 2018.

† English pronunciation for Llewellyn: HH as in "he (HH.IY)" ; L as in "lay (L.EY)" ; UW as in "two (T.UW)" ; W as in "we (W.IY)" ; ER as in "hurt (HH.ER.T)" ; IH as in "it (IH.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)"