Gyllenhaal family
Encyclopedia
Gyllenhaal is a Swedish noble family
descended from the cavalry Lieutenant Nils Gunnarsson Haal (d. 1680 or 1681), ennobled in 1652 with a change of surname to Gyllenhaal. Some notable members of this family are:
as a cavalry captain.
The members of the older branch descending from Lars are still living in Sweden
. The most notable member of that branch is the above mentioned Prime Minister for Justice Lars Herman Gyllenhaal
. In 1851 he was created Knight and Commander of the Royal Order of the Seraphim. His great-great grandson Herman Gyllenhaal till Haerlingstorp b. 1934, is now the baron of the family and his son, the above-mentioned Lars Gyllenhaal
, is now the head of both branches of the noble family Gyllenhaal.
All the members of the family in the USA are descending from Hans Gyllenhaal and come from his great great-great grandson Anders Leonard b.1842 d. 1905, who in 1866 immigrated to the USA, and his wife Amanda b. Nelson b.1859 d.1948. The hitherto most memorable member of this younger branch was the above-mentioned *Leonard Gyllenhaal
(1752-1840). He was in 1807 created a Knight of the Royal Order of Vasa
for his scientific works as an entomologist and his scientific work about Swedish insects, Insecta Suecia descripta.
De la Gardie
).
Jake Gyllenhaal, great-great grandson of the above-mentioned Anders Leonard Gyllenhaal, joked to an interviewer, in connection with the British première of the movie Prince of Persia in May 2010, that his last name was pronounced "Yil-en-hoo-luh-hay", poking fun at Swedish pronunciation.
Difficulties with the pronunciation of "Gyllenhaal" are, however, not new. In the Scandinavian languages a double "aa" as in Gyllenhaal, has for centuries normally been pronounced with an "o" sound as in English "for". In this case, however, in Swedish
it is pronounced with a long "a" as in the English word "far"; the double "aa", as with the "ah" in the alternative "Gyllenhahl" (see above) only indicates a long vowel "a".
The second problem for English-speakers is how to pronounce the prefix "Gyllen", i.e. Golden. The family branch in USA has solved it with pronouncing it "Jill-EN-hall", but in Sweden the letter "y" is pronounced as a close front rounded vowel
, similarly to the German vowel "ü".
Swedish nobility
The Swedish nobility were historically a legally and/or socially privileged class in Sweden, part of the so-called frälse . Today, the nobility is still very much a part of Swedish society but they do not maintain many of their former privileges...
descended from the cavalry Lieutenant Nils Gunnarsson Haal (d. 1680 or 1681), ennobled in 1652 with a change of surname to Gyllenhaal. Some notable members of this family are:
- Johan Abraham Gyllenhaal (1750–1788), geologist and mineralogist.
- Leonard GyllenhaalLeonard GyllenhaalLeonard Gyllenhaal was a Swedish military officer and entomologist.Born on the Ribbingsberg manor in Västergötland in west Sweden, Leonard Gyllenhaal was son of an army officer and belonged to a family of the lower nobility...
(1752–1840), military officer and gentleman farmer, known as an entomologistEntomologyEntomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
and a leading SwedenborgianSwedenborgianA Swedenborgian is the doctrines, beliefs, and practices of the Church of the New Jerusalem, and is an adjective describing a person or an organization that understands the Bible through the theological writings of Emanuel Swedenborg....
. - Carl Henrik Gyllenhaal (1788–1857), a military officer who participated in the Finnish warFinnish WarThe Finnish War was fought between Sweden and the Russian Empire from February 1808 to September 1809. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire...
of 1808–1809, was later Governor of Blekinge CountyBlekinge CountyBlekinge County is a county or län in the south of Sweden. It borders the Counties of Skåne, Kronoberg, Kalmar and the Baltic Sea. The capital is Karlskrona...
and Skaraborg CountySkaraborg CountySkaraborg County, or Skaraborgs län, was a county of Sweden until December 31, 1998 when it was merged with the counties of Gothenburg and Bohus and Älvsborg to form Västra Götaland County....
, Privy CouncilorPrivy Council of SwedenThe High Council of Sweden or Council of the Realm consisted originally of those men of noble, common and clergical background, that the king saw fit for advisory service...
, and finally Director General of the Swedish customs. Created a baronBaronBaron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
in 1837. - Lars Herman GyllenhaalLars Herman GyllenhaalBaron Lars Herman Gyllenhaal was a Swedish civil servant and politician.Gyllenhaal was "president," in the Göta Court of Appeals 1836-1855, Prime Minister for Justice 1243-1844. Again chief justice in the Göta court of appeal December 28, 1844 - April 3, 1855. Speaker in the Estate of the...
(1790–1858), Swedish Prime Minister for Justice 1843–1844. Created a baronBaronBaron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
in 1843. - Mathilda Gyllenhaal (1796–1863), née de Orozco, singer, composer and socialite (married in her third marriage to cavalry lieutenant baron Carl Alexander Fredrik Gyllenhaal, son of Carl Henrik G.).
- Anders Leonard Gyllenhaal (1842–1905; grandson of Leonard G.), Editor-in-chief of the Swedish-American newspaper Svenska Tribunen in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Ancestor of the American branch. - Stephen GyllenhaalStephen Gyllenhaal-Personal life:Gyllenhaal was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Virginia Lowrie and Hugh Anders Gyllenhaal. The Gyllenhaal family is a descendant of the cavalry officer Nils Gunnesson Haal, who was ennobled in 1652 when Queen Christina of Sweden conferred upon him the crest and family name,...
(b. 1949), film director (great grandson of Anders Leonard G.), was married to producer and screenwriter Naomi Foner GyllenhaalNaomi Foner GyllenhaalNaomi Gyllenhaal is an American screenwriter. She has written the screenplays for several feature films, including Running on Empty , Losing Isaiah, and most recently Bee Season. She is...
. - Anders Gyllenhaal, Washington Editor and Vice President of News, The McClatchy Company, former executive editor of the Miami Herald
- Lars GyllenhaalLars GyllenhaalLars Herman Folke Gyllenhaal is a Swedish author, mainly writing on military history and especially on Swedes in 20th century wars. He is the only child of former press counselor to the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Herman Gyllenhaal and nurse Monica Gyllenhaal, née Wennerholm. He is...
(b. 1968, great great-great grandson of Lars Herman Gyllenhaal), Swedish writer, member of the Swedish Military History Commission. - Maggie GyllenhaalMaggie GyllenhaalMargaret Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal born November 16, 1977) is an American actress. She is the daughter of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. She made her screen debut when she began to appear in her father's films...
(b. 1977), Academy Award-nominated American actress (daughter of Stephen G.) - Jake GyllenhaalJake GyllenhaalJacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal is an American actor. The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting at age ten...
(b. 1980), Academy Award-nominated American actor (son of Stephen G.) - Sam Gyllenhaal, musician (son of Anders G.)
Family history
Nils Gunnarsson Gyllenhaal's descendants today stem from two of his sons; Lars Gyllenhaal b. 1645 d. 1710, Lieutenant of the Vestgotha cavalry regiment, and his younger brother Hans Gyllenhaal b. 1655 d. 1710. Hans was killed in action at the battle of HelsingborgBattle of Helsingborg (1710)
The Battle of Helsingborg was Denmark's failed and final attempt to regain the Scanian lands, lost to Sweden in 1658.On the Ringstorp heights northwest of Helsingborg, 14,000 Danish invaders under Jørgen Rantzau were decisively defeated by an equally large Swedish army under Magnus...
as a cavalry captain.
The members of the older branch descending from Lars are still living in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. The most notable member of that branch is the above mentioned Prime Minister for Justice Lars Herman Gyllenhaal
Lars Herman Gyllenhaal
Baron Lars Herman Gyllenhaal was a Swedish civil servant and politician.Gyllenhaal was "president," in the Göta Court of Appeals 1836-1855, Prime Minister for Justice 1243-1844. Again chief justice in the Göta court of appeal December 28, 1844 - April 3, 1855. Speaker in the Estate of the...
. In 1851 he was created Knight and Commander of the Royal Order of the Seraphim. His great-great grandson Herman Gyllenhaal till Haerlingstorp b. 1934, is now the baron of the family and his son, the above-mentioned Lars Gyllenhaal
Lars Gyllenhaal
Lars Herman Folke Gyllenhaal is a Swedish author, mainly writing on military history and especially on Swedes in 20th century wars. He is the only child of former press counselor to the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Herman Gyllenhaal and nurse Monica Gyllenhaal, née Wennerholm. He is...
, is now the head of both branches of the noble family Gyllenhaal.
All the members of the family in the USA are descending from Hans Gyllenhaal and come from his great great-great grandson Anders Leonard b.1842 d. 1905, who in 1866 immigrated to the USA, and his wife Amanda b. Nelson b.1859 d.1948. The hitherto most memorable member of this younger branch was the above-mentioned *Leonard Gyllenhaal
Leonard Gyllenhaal
Leonard Gyllenhaal was a Swedish military officer and entomologist.Born on the Ribbingsberg manor in Västergötland in west Sweden, Leonard Gyllenhaal was son of an army officer and belonged to a family of the lower nobility...
(1752-1840). He was in 1807 created a Knight of the Royal Order of Vasa
Order of Vasa
The Royal Order of Vasa was a Swedish Royal order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III of Sweden...
for his scientific works as an entomologist and his scientific work about Swedish insects, Insecta Suecia descripta.
Family name
The spelling of the name Gyllenhaal caused problems right from the beginning. Its origin is clear: Nils Gunnarsson Gyllenhaal's father was Gunne Olofsson Haal from Hahlegården, a crown homestead in South Härene Parish in the county of Västergötland in West Sweden. Here you see both the explanation and the problem; "Haal" comes from the name of the farm "Hahlegården", "only" the spelling is different. This confusion was mirrored in Nils' ennoblement: In the Knighthood Letter, signed by Queen Christina, the family name was written in two different ways- first "Gyllenhahl" and then "Gyllenhaal". On the copperplate with his coat of arms now hanging in the House of Nobles (Riddarhuset) in Stockholm it is spelled "Gyllenhahl". See www.gyllenhaal.org. The prefix "Gyllen", i.e. "Golden", was the one most used when ennobling someone since the 16th century (cf. the former head of the car manufacturer Volvo Pehr Gustaf Gyllenhammar and SofiaSofia Johansdotter Gyllenhielm
Sofia Johansdotter Gyllenhielm in Reval, Estonia, was a Swedish noble. She was the illegitimate daughter of King John III of Sweden and Karin Hansdotter....
De la Gardie
De la Gardie
De la Gardie, occasionally de la Gardie , is a Swedish noble family of French origin. The family's social status in France before the migration to Sweden is uncertain, they were possibly of lower gentry or bourgeoisie...
).
Jake Gyllenhaal, great-great grandson of the above-mentioned Anders Leonard Gyllenhaal, joked to an interviewer, in connection with the British première of the movie Prince of Persia in May 2010, that his last name was pronounced "Yil-en-hoo-luh-hay", poking fun at Swedish pronunciation.
Difficulties with the pronunciation of "Gyllenhaal" are, however, not new. In the Scandinavian languages a double "aa" as in Gyllenhaal, has for centuries normally been pronounced with an "o" sound as in English "for". In this case, however, in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
it is pronounced with a long "a" as in the English word "far"; the double "aa", as with the "ah" in the alternative "Gyllenhahl" (see above) only indicates a long vowel "a".
The second problem for English-speakers is how to pronounce the prefix "Gyllen", i.e. Golden. The family branch in USA has solved it with pronouncing it "Jill-EN-hall", but in Sweden the letter "y" is pronounced as a close front rounded vowel
Close front rounded vowel
The close front rounded vowel, or high front rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is y...
, similarly to the German vowel "ü".
External links
- The Gyllenhaal family project
- Articles on members of the Gyllenhaal family in the Nordisk familjebokNordisk familjebokNordisk familjebok is a Swedish encyclopedia, published between 1876 and 1957.- History :The first edition was published in 20 volumes between 1876 and 1899. The first edition is known as the "Iðunn edition" because of the picture of Iðunn on the cover...
, 2nd ed., Vol. 10 (1909) (on Projekt Runeberg) - Articles on members of the Gyllenhaal family in Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon, vol. 1 (1906).