Gwyddion – the name

As each software, also this project should have a name. To find an acronym that would represent SPM analysis software and starts with the letter “G” (as GNU GPL) was really hard. Try it.

Finally, we decided not to use acronyms. After some Googling for unused fancy names we have chosen the name Gwyddion [gwid-ee-ohn] (which would turn out to be not-so-unused later, unfortunately).

Name Gwyddion comes from Welsh mythology. According to information on the internet, he was referred to as master if illusion, a helper of humankind and a fighter against the greedy and small-minded. He supported the cultural arts and learning, and tried to stamp out ignorance.

We apologize to the long-established Gwydion Dylan project (note the one “d”) for the name clash. We were confused about the right Gwyd[d]ion spelling a bit at first, so we used the double-d spelling which seems to be a variant, while Gwydion is the right, prevalent spelling.

To sum up: SPM Gwyddion – dd, Gwydion Dylan – single d.

There is also a question whether shouldn't the “dd” in Gwyddion be pronounced as “th” (thanks to Adam for pointing out). While this pronunciation would be correct if Gwyddion was Welsh, it seems Gwydion is the original Welsh spelling and Gwyddion is a later misspelling. So it makes sense to continue pronouncing the word [gwid-ee-ohn].