Wynn
A Welsh surname often linked to the nickname Gwyn or Gwynn, meaning “white” or “fair.”
The #1,203 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 10,495 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Wynn is usually treated as an Anglicized Welsh surname, closely related to Gwyn or Gwynn, a nickname meaning “white,” “fair,” or “blessed.” In Welsh naming practice, such nicknames could become hereditary surnames, and English records often wrote the name as Wynn or Wynne. Some older writers also connected the family name to specific Welsh lineages, but the simplest and most widely accepted sense is a descriptive nickname.
History
The name is strongly associated with Wales and appears frequently in Welsh genealogical records in the forms Wynn and Wynne. Older surname dictionaries often grouped Wynn with Winne, Wynne, and Winn as related spellings or Anglicized forms of Welsh Gwyn. The surname became established in both Wales and England, and later spread widely through migration to North America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Welsh surnames built from color words are common, and Wynn belongs to the same broad family as Gwynn and Gwyn, all pointing back to the idea of fairness or whiteness.
From the historical record
“WYNDHAIVI = Windhann, q.v. WYNN \ _ wui„„/„ ri„ WYNNE } = ^'""(^' ''■''• WYNSER, like Winser, for Windsor, q.v. WYNTER = Winter, q.v. WYON = Quyon, q.v. WYSE = Wise, qv. WVTH^} = WltHe,q.v. YABSLEY (Eng.) Dweller at Yabb's or Yebb's”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)