A female name. Welsh Gwladys, in use in Wales from at least the 6th C. Gladusa is found in Cumberland in 1207. It is commonly said that Gwladys is a Welsh form of the Latin Claudia (q.v.), and from an early date the Claudia mentioned in 2 Tim. iv. 21 was supposed to be a Welshwoman, and her name identified with Gwladys, though Welsh Bibles do not so translate it. Camden 1605 says: 'Gladuse (Brit) for Claudia'. The adoption of the name in England seems to date from the ’70’s of the last century and in 1877 there was an interesting correspondence on the subject in Notes and Queries. The first letter asked ‘Is Gladys a male or female name, or a name at all - at least out of a novel?’ All the replies treat the name as purely Welsh, except for one which says ‘I have also seen a Gladys, and I have frequently met with the name in fiction’. Another says that in Caernarvonshire, where Gwladys is common, bearers of it commonly sign their name Claudia. One novel in which the name occurs is Ouida’s Puck (1870), and this may well have been the origin of its use in England where it is now common.

The Welsh form of Claudia. Sometimes spelt Gwladys, which seems to be a pseudo-erudite affectation.

A name not uncommonly given to Welsh females. It is found written Gladuse, Gladusa, Gwladus, Gwladis (pronounced Gladus), Wladis, and in Latin charters Gladowsa. It is most probably a Welsh form of Claudia. One writer, however, has seen the name Gladuse, Gladusa, Gladys, rendered ‘lame,’ but he doubts the meaning. Another says the name should be spelt Gwladus, and not Gladys; that therefore some are of opinion that the root is gwlad, country; that in Welsh gwladgar is patriotic, and gwladwr a countryman, and that there is greater resemblance between the roots of these words and Gladys than with Claudia; and he gives as a name Gwladus Dhu. Again another writer observes, ‘The name Gwladys is purely Celtic, and means ‘a princess.’ It is derived from the Welsh gwlad, which now means ‘of country,’ but must formerly have signified a prince, a sovereign, a meaning which still survives in several of its derivations, as well as in the cognate forms in some of the Celtic languages; the first element ys is a form of the feminine es constantly used to form feminine appellatives from corresponding masculines, and is the same with the English ess, Greek ισσα, &c.’ In Carnarvonshire, however, persons colloquially called Gwladus or Gladus generally write their name Claudia; and Littleton renders the name Gladys, Gladuse, as a British name, by Claudia. See also N. Q. 5th S. viii. 436, et passim.

Celtic (feminine) - Brilliant, splendid.

A Cymric name, meaning: Lame.