JENNIFER SPAIN

Of Celtic (Arthurian) origin, a Cornish form of the name of King Arthur's unfaithful Guinevere. At the beginning of the 20th century, the name was merely a Cornish curiosity, but since then it has become enormously popular all over the English-speaking world, partly due to the influence of the film star Jennifer Jones (b. 1919 as Phyllis Isley). Another factor in its rise was probably Bernard Shaw's use of it for the character of Jennifer Dubedat in The Doctor's Dilemma (1905). See also Gaynor. More recent well-known bearers include the American tennis player Jennifer Capriati (b. 1976) and the British comedienne Jennifer Saunders (b. 1958).

English and Irish: 1. (of Norman origin): habitational name from Épaignes in Eure, recorded in the Latin form Hispania in the 12th century. It seems to have been so called because it was established by colonists from Spain during the Roman Empire. 2. (of Norman origin): habitational name from Espinay in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, so called from a collective of Old French espine ‘thorn bush’. 3. ethnic name for a Spaniard or, in the case of the Irish name, for someone returning from Spain (from Gaelic Spainneach ‘Spanish’); many Irish took refuge in Spain during the 17th century wars.