What’s in a name?

my name is Guy Tyrone Lynn. According to my father, his father, (my grandfather,) who was born in county Tyrone, Northern Ireland, was actually of Scottish descent and the name Lynn was changed over several generations from O’Flynn to Flynn to Lynn, mainly to escape notice and attention from the British authorities. So that is the story of my last name, and my middle name, and now for the story of my first name, Guy.

according to my mother, they were going to name ne Clifford. But when in the hospital , and my father waiting out in the waiting area, the nurse came rushing out to my dad, and excitedly told him That he was a new father to a boy, she broke the news by saying “ you have to call him Guy! It’s November 5th.” So on a dime, my parents changed their minds and called me Guy. Was Clifford not important, just a name they picked out of the wind ? Was it an ancestor? I’ve never heard the name before.

Because I was born in Southern Rhodesia, a British colony in southern central Africa, November 5th is known and celebrated as Guy Fawkes Day, with fireworks and explosions. I came into this world with a bang.

This is the history of Guy Fawkes:

Fawkes converted to Catholicism and left for mainland Europe, where he fought for Catholic Spain in the Eighty Years' War against Protestant Dutch reformers in the Low Countries. He travelled to Spain to seek support for a Catholic rebellion in England without success. He later met Thomas Wintour, with whom he returned to England. Wintour introduced him to Robert Catesby, who planned to assassinate King James I and restore a Catholic monarch to the throne. The plotters leased an undercroft beneath the House of Lords; Fawkes was placed in charge of the gunpowder that they stockpiled there. The authorities were prompted by an anonymous letter to search Westminster Palace during the early hours of 5 November, and they found Fawkes guarding the explosives. He was questioned and tortured over the next few days and confessed to wanting to blow up the House of Lords.

Born 13 April 1570 (presumed)

York, England

Died 31 January 1606 (aged 35)

Westminster, London, England

Other names Guido Fawkes, John Johnson

Occupation(s) Soldier, alférez

Criminal status Executed

Motive Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to assassinate King James VI and I and members of the Houses of Parliament

Conviction High treason

Criminal penalty Hanged, drawn and quartered

Role Explosives

Enlisted 20 May 1604

Date apprehended 5 November 1605

Fawkes was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. However, at his execution on 31 January, he died when his neck was broken as he was hanged, with some sources claiming that he deliberately jumped to make this happen; he thus avoided the agony of his sentence. He became synonymous with the Gunpowder Plot, the failure of which has been commemorated in the UK as Guy Fawkes Night since 5 November 1605, when his effigy is traditionally burned on a bonfire, commonly accompanied by fireworks.

so that is the background history of my first name. I love it. It’s a spectacular historical story, full of action and drama, and the date of my birth pinpointed on the calendar and celebrated with fireworks. How cool is that? Very cool! And it’s a great ice breaker when meeting new people at a party to talk about and start a conversation. I mean, how many people do you know who have such an interesting history tied to their name. One thing I did learn when researching my name was that Italians say Guido for Guy. I did know that the French pronounce Guy as Gee. That’s also very cool.

‘hey, I just have a very cool and interesting name.