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. "Haal" comes from the name of the farm "Hahlegården", with different spelling. 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". The prefix "Gyllen", i.e. "Golden", was the one most used when ennobling someone since the 16th century.
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 people's difficulties with Swedish pronunciation.
Read more about this topic: Gyllenhaal Family
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