This very interesting name is generally considered in modern times to be of Welsh origin, but in fact there are at least four possible origins. These are "Gwyn", Old Welsh, and possibly as it translates as "Fair", a descriptive nickname for an Anglo-Saxon invader. Next is "Wine", an Olde English pre 7th Century word and personal name meaning "the Friend". Then there is the Norse-Viking pre 9th Century "Hvin", translating literally as "Gorse", but probably a nickname for a prickly person, and finally "Wynn", an Olde English baptismal name which translates as "Joy". All early recordings are in England, these include Thomas filius Win (1255, Shropshire). Agneta, daughter of Willmi Wynne, was christened at St. Andrew's, Enfield, London, on March 2nd 1577, and Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Wynne, was christened at St. Margaret's, Westminster, also in London, on August 12th 1613. One George Wynne, together with his wife Mary, daughters Anne and Cathleen, and sonsPpatrick and James, sailed from Liverpool aboard the "Pacific" bound for New York on January 20th 1847. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Osketel Wyn, which was dated 1199, in the "County Pipe Rolls of Suffolk", during the reign of King Richard 1, known as "The Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.