Gladys

Gladys is a Welsh name, the modern rendition of Gwladus, probably derived from the Welsh word “gwlad” meaning “country”. Gladys also became the Brythonified (Celtic-Welsh) version of the Latin name Claudia (from Claudius meaning “lame, crippled”). Gladys enjoyed popularity beyond the Welsh borders thanks to best-selling English author Ouida (the pen name of Maria Louise Ramé), who used the name in her 1870 novel “Puck”. Puck narrates the novel and, as a Maltese dog, passes through various levels of society offering his unique perspective on the Victorian-era British class system. The novel’s heroine, Gladys Gerant, is the idealized personification of the peasant class, an intellectually gifted orphaned farm girl from the “old, humble, impoverished [Saxon] race”. She is beautiful, talented and angelic – a lovely character to whom Ouida’s readers responded. The name quickly jumped the pond over to America in the late 19th century and became a fast favorite in the early years of the 20th century. People also often associate Gladys with the gladiolus flower (from the iris family). From this perspective, the flower’s name is taken from a diminutive of the Latin “gladius” (sword) and so means “little sword” in reference to the plant’s sword-shaped leaves.