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Comments and insights on the name Baldwin

SHould be used as middle name

USAGE: English, Ancient Germanic
PRONOUNCED: BAWLD-win (English)
VARIANT: Baldovin (Ancient Germanic)
OTHER LANGUAGES: Boudewijn (Dutch), Baudouin (French), Baldovino, Baldo (Italian), Balduíno (Portuguese), Balduino (Spanish), Maldwyn (Welsh)

Personal experiences with the name Baldwin

Nicknames for Baldwin

Winn

Meanings and history of the name Baldwin

The name Baldwin is of English origin, from the Old English Bealdwine, or the Old German equivalent Baldavin, meaning "bold friend". It was frequently used in medieval Britain as a surname.

Derived from the Germanic elements bald "bold, brave" and win "friend". In the Middle Ages this was a popular name in Flanders and among the Normans, who brought it to Britain. It was borne by one of the leaders of the First Crusade, an 11th-century nobleman from Flanders. After the crusaders conquered Jerusalem, he was crowned as the king of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Famous real-life people named Baldwin

Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC (1867–47), a British Conservative politician, statesman, and major figure on the political scene in the interwar years.
Alec Baldwin, actor of 30 ROCK, Beetlejuice, Glengarry Glen Ross, and 14 time SNL host
James Arthur Baldwin (1924–87), an American novelist, writer, playwright, poet, essayist and civil rights activist

Baldwin in song, story & screen

Baldwin is the antagonist ex-boyfriend of Alison Vernon-Williams in John Waters' and Johnny Depp's 1990 cult musical film Cry-baby.