English
Mervyn
Mervyn comes from Welsh Merfyn.
- Welshc. 1500–presentMerfyn
- Englishearliest quotation 1863Mervyn
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Welshc. 1500–presentMerfyn
- Englishearliest quotation 1863Mervyn
Earliest quotation: 1863, Sheridan Le Fanu: “Mervyn, in the meantime, had had his solitary meal…”
The story
Welsh Merfyn, probably from mer (‘marrow’) (from Proto-Brythonic *mer) + myn (‘eminent’) (compare Irish mín (‘smooth, elegant, courteous’)).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *smérus ‘grease’
Today it means
name A male given name from Welsh.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Welsh Merfyn / Mervyn