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Yvaine?
Was Yvaine a legit name before Stardust came out? Was it just made up by the author or is it a real name? Thanks.

This message was edited 6/25/2008, 7:35 PM

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This message was edited 6/26/2008, 12:06 AM

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This message was edited 6/26/2008, 12:07 AM

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Yvaine is the feminine form of the French Yvain, an Arthurian name from the French cycle. Its origin is dark and argued, because the character corresponds to the Welsh character Owein/Owain and perhaps the name is related but some reliable scholars (Dauzat, for instance) think that Yvain is derivate from Yves, through the Breton form Yven. However, it seems clear that if Owein/Owain (character and name) is the origin of Yvain, it was attracted by Yves.You have a real example of use of Yvaine: Yvaine Buffelan-Lanore, emerit professor of laws at the Université de Cergy-Pontoise.(I think that in some versions of Chrétien's Yvain, the name appears spelled Yvaine, but I'm not sure about that.)
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There's this hit for Yvain (which is male):http://www.behindthename.com/name/yvainIt seems to me that a lot of authors made up pseudo-Celtic or pseudo-Gaelic names to suit their purposes. There's user-submitted info for Yvaine that links it to the name Gavin (they share a root, according to this person) but in my opinion, Yvaine is most likely either a derivative of Yvain or a pseudo-Welsh name derived from a known name like Ygrainn (notice the similarity?).Perhaps someone else will come along who knows better, but it is my educated guess that Yvaine was formed from known Welsh elements to suit Gaiman's purposes.*edit: The DB only recognizes Igraine, but I know I have seen Ygrainne and Ygrainn as well. Hopefully someone else pokes along who can correct me and/or add more info.*

This message was edited 6/25/2008, 9:22 PM

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YgraineThat's the only spelling I've seen (aside from Igraine). That seems to be the most common one too in any Arthurian thing I see.
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