How old is Raewyn?

[ckevans]

A posting on another board has gotten me curious about Raewyn. This is a female name which has been regularly used in Australia and New Zealand for many years. It is probably just a created name blending Rae and Wynn.

But just how old is it? Doing about half an hour of Googling on geneology sites and the like, the oldest Raewyn I was able to come up with was born in 1927. Do any posters on this board from Australia or New Zealand know of any Raewyns who would have been born before that date? And does anyone know if there is a literary origin? Was there a particular character in a novel or play named Raewyn that could account for the use of the name? Or is it an example of a name that somehow caught on without there being such a specific cultural reference?

[KNY]

Interesting - it's a pretty name, sounds Welsh to me. I've never heard of it.

[Nikalyn]

This is actually my mom's best friends name, but she just goes by Rae. She's Welsh but lived in New Zealand for most of her life. Interesting, I had no idea the name was so uncommon...

[ckevans]

Nikalyn, was your mother's friend born in Wales, or was she born in New Zealand and is just of Welsh ancestry?

This seems to be a New Zealand name from my further research. Most of the examples of women living in Australia with the name actually seem to have been born in New Zealand. :)

[Nikalyn]

She was born in Wales, her dad was Welsh and her mom was from New Zealand. They moved to New Zealand when she was really young and after her mom died she moved back to Wales with her father and siblings.

[KNY]

This seems to be a New Zealand name from my further research. Most of the examples of women living in Australia with the name actually seem to have been born in New Zealand. :)

Interesting - it makes us think of our member Delwyn from NZ, with the -wyn ending :)