Meaning uncertain, from the Latin form Walganus used by the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth. This was the name of a nephew of King Arthur and one of the Knights of the Round Table in Arthurian legend. He can be identified with the earlier Welsh hero Gwalchmei, and it is likely that the name derives from Gwalchmei. Alternatively it may have a different Celtic or even a Germanic origin. Gawain was a popular hero in medieval stories such as the 14th-century romantic poem 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'.