Name of the Week: Macsen

 

Origin:

Macsen is the Welsh form of the Roman name Maximus – from the Latin maximus "greatest." It was used as cognomen in the Roman Empire: the third name which started life as a nickname and eventually became hereditary, often used much like a surname to distinguish a certain branch of a Roman clan (gens).  Why the 'cs' in Macsen? This is simply because the Welsh language does not contain the letter 'x'. However, Maxen is sometimes found as a anglicised form.  Magnus Maximus The name Macsen is most commonly associated with Magnus Maximus (c.335-388), the Roman Emperor of the Western Empire, who is known as Macsen Wledig (wledig = "lord, king, prince, ruler") in Welsh tradition.  According to historical sources, Magnus Maximus was born in Gallicia, Spain. He cut his teeth early on in the Roman army and became a respected general. By 380, Magnus Maximus was the commander of Roman troops in Britain, defeating the Picts and Scots again in 381.  As Susan Wise Bauer point out: "At first Magnus Maximus posessed only the loyaty of the troops in Britannia: he was, in effect, king of the Britons – despite being a Roman citizen and Spaniard by birth. But it seems likely that he had exercised a king-like power in isolated Britannia for some years."* At this time, three Emperors ruled the Roman Empire: Theodosius I in the East, Valentinian II in Italy (a 12 year old boy) and Gratianus in the West of which Britannia was part. As Gratian became increasingly unpopular, Magnus Maximus' British troops proclaimed him Emperor in 383 and he quickly marched across Europe to confront Gratian's troops, many of whom he won over. Gratian was defeated and Maximus reigned as Western Emperor until he was defeated by Theodosius in 388.  Macsen: Father of the Welsh Nation Magnus Maximus's time and exploits as leader of Britain is remembered several times in Welsh folklore as the figure Macsen Wledig, many of which give him the role of the founding father of several medieval Welsh royal dynasties. John Davies describes him as a "ubiquitous lurker" in the history or mythology of the kingdoms of Wales, as well as in the stories of the saints and Cornish literature.* Gwynfor Evans argues that Macsen is second only to Arthur in Welsh legend* while others go so far as to regard him as the father of the Welsh nation.* "Macsen Wledig’s virtues as a leader and as a warrior were considered a benchmark against which the qualities of future Kings were judged, and it would seem that future royal and noble families drew legitimacy and honour from their claim as his descendants." (Alisdair Menzies*) The most famous account of Macsen is The Dream of Macsen Wledig (Breuddwyd Macsen) which was written in the 11th century and now makes up part of The Mabinogion [a collection of Twelve main tales from Welsh folklore].   According to the legend, Emperor Macsen has a dream in which he is transported over rivers, mountains and valley, finally arriving at a great castle. There he meets the most beautiful woman he has ever beheld, and, as he embraces her, he awakes.  Every night he dreams of her. Consumed with longing, Macsen sends messengers for three years to the three parts of the world to seek the maiden out.  After a year, thirteen of his messengers reach Arvon (modern day Caernarfon) – which perfectly matches Macsen's description – and the Castle of Aber Sain where they meet the beautiful Elen Luyddog (Helen of the Hosts).  When news reaches Macsen, he travels to Wales and immediately marries Elen and remains in Britain for seven years, building roads and castles, and thus becomes the forefather of the Welsh royal houses.

Usage:

Despite Macsen Wledig's fame as the progenitor of several Welsh kingdoms, Macsen itself wasn't used as a given name in the Middle Ages. It does not appear in any of the early royal Welsh houses and didn't see any use in the early modern period. It seems that the name Macsen was too attached to the legendary figure – like Vortigern, Merlin or Lear.  The surname Maxon looks to be from the same source, but it is fact a corruption of Maxton – a place name found in Kent and Roxburghshire.  In fact, Macsen was so rare, that it didn't even see a revival in the late 19th century in Wales, when many legendary Welsh names were revived and vocabulary names were created.  The first Macsen to be registered in the Birth Index of England and Wales 1838-2007 was Macsen Jay [Surname] in 1968 in Lancashire, followed by a Dominic Macsen Geraint [Surname] in 1971 in Hereford, then Macsen Jago [Surname] in 1975 in Lincolnshire. It is interesting to note that these earlier registrations for Macsen were outside of Wales, which perhaps indicates that it was first used as a legendary/historic choice (in the same vein as Guinevere, Isolde, Gawain etc) rather than as a Welsh revival.  The chart below shows births in the Birth Index of England and Wales 1838-2007 with Macsen as a first name, which I have separated into registrations in England and Wales separately. As we can see, Macsen was used more in England and Wales up until the turn of the millennium.   Wales England 1980-85 1986-90 1991-95 1996-00 2001-05 1 3 0 10 23 0 4 7 14 18 Ironically, the teenage character Macsen "Macs" White, who featured in the Welsh language soap Pobol Y Cwm from 2002 to 2004, had a somewhat anachronistic name as the approximate birth year of the character would have been around 1985 when (as we can see from the table above) Macsen was an extremely rare name in Wales. In recent years, Macsen has risen swiftly in England and Wales, as we can see from the chart below: click to enlarge However, most of the births for Macsen in recent years have been in Wales. When the data for England and Wales is separated, we get a very different picture. The following chart shows the regional data for Wales alone from 2010 to 2016: The 2013 regional data is missing, as it was not released by the ONS. However, based on the total number of births of Macsen in that year, I am estimating would have ranked around the #120 mark in Wales that year.  The chart below shows the disparity between the usage of Macsen in Wales and England individually.    Wales England E&W Combined 2014 2015 2016 #77 (44 births) #92 (37 births) #75 (50 births) #1421 (17 births) #1815 (12 births) #1498 (16 births) #583 #682 #565 Macsen looks set to continue to rise within the Welsh top 100, while it remains outside of the top 1000 in England.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Macsen Wledig, Welsh name for Magnus Maximus (c.335-388), Western Roman emperor.  Contemporary: * Macsen Lintz, American actor. Literature and Other Media: * Macsen "Macs" White, character in Welsh soap Pobol y Cwm (2002-04) played by Iwan Rheon.

Variants:

Maxen (Anglicised), Massen (Cornish)

Pronunciation:

MAKS-ən [key]

Possible diminutives:

Mac, Max

Sibling Names:

Seren     Nia     Eleri     Lowri     Cerys     Eira       Cole     Jonah     Rhys     Griffith     Rowan     Caio

Name Lists:

Cool Celtic

 

If you like Macsen you may also like:   Morgan, Jago, Myles, Rhydian, Gethin, Maxwell, Lorcan, Rex, Finlo, Jowan

Thanks to Kristin for requesting this name.