Kenelm

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A masculine given name of Old English origin, borne by an Anglo-Saxon boy-king venerated as a saint in medieval England
2. Old English male first name associated with Saint Kenelm, a young Mercian prince revered as a martyr after his murder
3. The personal name of an Anglo-Saxon royal child who became a medieval English saint, and an uncommon first name today

Etymology: Kenelm is an Old English personal name, and its story is a saint's legend. Its first element is "cyne", meaning "royal" or "kin", and its second is "helm", meaning "helmet" or "protection", so the name roughly means "bold in kin" or "royal protector". The best-known bearer was Saint Kenelm, a Mercian boy-king said to have been murdered around 821 at the age of about seven, on the orders of his jealous older sister. According to the legend, a dove flew to Rome carrying a note that revealed the crime, and the body was found at Clent in Worcestershire. Kenelm's cult spread widely in medieval England, and pilgrims visited his shrine at Winchcombe Abbey. The name stayed in use in England for centuries after the saint's fame faded, and it survived mainly among families of English gentry. Its rarity today reflects the decline of older Anglo-Saxon names after the Norman Conquest, when many such names fell out of fashion.