River Gryfe - Name

Name

The spellings Gryffe and Gryfe are both used officially to refer to the river and places associated with it. Both spellings have been used by local government, such as by Renfrewshire Council and Inverclyde Council.

The churches of "Stragrif" (Strathgryffe are mentioned in the 1169 charter of Paisley Abbey. The name 'Gryff' is recorded in the Military Survey of Scotland 1747-1755, compiled by William Roy, a predecessor to the Ordnance Survey maps of Great Britain. Current Ordnance Survey maps use Gryfe. The Gazetteer for Scotland refers to both spellings in its entry, with a preference given to Gryfe. In 1968, Independent Labour Party politician Thomas Taylor was given a life peerage as Baron Taylor of Gryfe, of Bridge of Weir in the County of Renfrew.

There are a number of places named after the river including Gryffe Road in Kilmacolm, Gryffe Avenue in Bridge of Weir and Gryffe Crescent in Paisley, Gryffe High School - a state secondary school in Houston. There are organisations which refer to the river and its environs, such as the Gryffe Valley Rotary Club. The BBC also favours the Gryffe spelling.