Gruffudd
Gruffudd or Gruffydd ( or , in either case) is a Welsh name, originating in Old Welsh as a given name and today used as both a given and surname. It is the origin of the Anglicised name "Griffith[s]", and was historically sometimes treated as interchangeable with the etymologically unrelated Germanic name "Galfrid" (Latinised as "Galfridus"). The Welsh form evolved from the Common Brittonic "Grippiud" or "Gripuid". Evolution and history. One of the oldest forms which gave rise to all other variations is "Grippiud" or "Gripuid", which evolved into Old Welsh "Griffudd". The second element of the name, "iudd", as a  noun has a meaning of 'lord' and is found in other Welsh names such as "Meredith" ("Mared[i]udd") and "Bleidd[i]udd". In North Wales "Griffudd" evolved into "Gruffudd". “When u came to have the same quality as the clear y (the y of monosyllables and final syllables) the name generally became Gruffydd, and this is now regarded as the standard form,” according to T.J. Morgan and Prys Morgan. "Gruffudd" of Old Welsh became spelt as "Gruffydd" in Middle Welsh and Modern Welsh of today. The high central vowel sound of "u/y" was lost entirely in South Wales and replaced by the  i sound, and the form "Griffidd" became standard in the south, the region to first be encountered by Anglo-Norman scribes. Variations. Anglo-Norman scribes rendered "Griffidd" and "Gruffydd" as "Griffith", with both "Gruffydd" and "Griffith" becoming the standardized forms for the same name since the High Middle Ages and into the modern era. The form of the name encountered in Latin texts is "Griffith", "Griffini" and "Gruffin". Many variations have evolved since the Middle Ages and Tudor period, with many springing from abbreviated forms such as "Griff". "Griffri, Griffith, Griffyn, Griffei, Griffies, Griffitte, Griffits, Griffitts, Griffes, Griffyths, Gripthis, Gripphes , Griffithi, Griffen, Griffee, Griffey, Gruffudd, Gruffydd" Patronymics evolving from "Griffith" include "Griffiths" and "Griffyths", "son of Griffith". Hypocoristic forms. Hypocoristic forms, or “pet names”, included "Guto, Gutyn, Gitto, Getyn, Gitton," and "Gutta", with many of these becoming surnames themselves. Derivations of Gruffydd by way of Guto/Gitto include "Gittos, Gittose, Gittoss, Gittas, Gyttes, Gitts, Gytts, Gittus, Gitthouse, Gyttors, Gittonce, Gittal, Gittall, Gyttall, Gittall, Gethyn." The name "Gatehouse" may have originated in some parts of Wales and the March from "Gittose" or a variant as a conscious effort to further anglicize the name. Names. The name may refer to the following  people, often with either spelling used, among other variants such as Gruffuth, Griffudd, etc. :