Oct. 19th, 2004 05:15 pm
Let's have a little onomastics
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muckefuckIt's a reflection of how diverse the Cardiff area has become that the names of the choristers in Pendyrus aren't as stereotypical as you'd imagine. That doesn't mean that there aren't a lot of Williamses, Evanses, and Joneses, just that they're not all Williamses, Evanses, and Joneses.
Most of the given names are pretty standard, but there are a few beauties, Rhydfen formost among them. Since this is pronounced /'r@dvEn/, Nuphy immediately hit upon the theory that it was the origin of the unusual British name Ruthven (pronounced /'ri:vn/). Sadly, the learned consensus (based on a personal survey of available reference works) does not support this.
Ruthven is one of those surnames-turned-given-names, which started out as a toponym in Perthshire. There are two prominent etymologies, one Norse and one Gaelic, but both referring to ruddiness and dampness. So either rauðr "red" + fen "swamp" or ruadh "red" + abhainn "river"--take your pick.
The only thing we can say for certain is that has nothing to do with a Welsh name that apparently means "white ford". That is, assuming that Rhydfen is simply a variant of the more common Rhydwen from rhyd "ford" and gwyn/gwen "white".
Most of the given names are pretty standard, but there are a few beauties, Rhydfen formost among them. Since this is pronounced /'r@dvEn/, Nuphy immediately hit upon the theory that it was the origin of the unusual British name Ruthven (pronounced /'ri:vn/). Sadly, the learned consensus (based on a personal survey of available reference works) does not support this.
Ruthven is one of those surnames-turned-given-names, which started out as a toponym in Perthshire. There are two prominent etymologies, one Norse and one Gaelic, but both referring to ruddiness and dampness. So either rauðr "red" + fen "swamp" or ruadh "red" + abhainn "river"--take your pick.
The only thing we can say for certain is that has nothing to do with a Welsh name that apparently means "white ford". That is, assuming that Rhydfen is simply a variant of the more common Rhydwen from rhyd "ford" and gwyn/gwen "white".