Glynn
An Irish and Cornish surname, most often from a place-name meaning a wooded valley.
The #3,731 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 32,496 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Glynn is usually a locational surname from a place called Glynn or Glin. In Cornish and related Brittonic usage, the name is commonly linked to a word for a valley, especially a wooded valley; one source explicitly glosses it that way. In Ireland, the same surname can also reflect place-based or Gaelic family usage, and some forms appear as MacGlynn or Glinn. The surname therefore has more than one geographic stream, but the core idea is a name taken from a valley place.
History
Historical sources place notable Glynn families in Cornwall, especially around Cardinham and nearby districts, and also connect Irish forms such as Mac Glynn to Gaelic family names. The spelling varies between Glynn, Glyn, Glynne, Glinn, and Glenn in older records. In Wales and Cornwall, the surname was sometimes treated as a local name adopted from the place rather than a directly inherited tribal surname. The name remains established in both Irish and English-speaking genealogical traditions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century Cornish source says the Glynn family flourished for many generations at Glynn in Cardinham, making this one of the better-known local surnames in Cornish genealogy.
From the historical record
“GLYNDE. A parish in Sussex. GLYNN. A place In the parish of Gar- diuham, co. Cornwall, the abode of " an ancient family of gentlemen of this name, who for many generations flourished there." Hals, in D. Gilbert's Cornwall, i. 171. GLYNNE. The baronet derives his des- cent from Cilmiu Droed-tu, one of the fif- teen…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom