(In the Nijdamstra book, part 4, p.330-332, the author, W.Tsj. Vleer, quotes from "Friesche Naamkunde" a book by the well-known Frisian expert in names Johan Winkler, which gives various spellings of the family-name WYNIA and possible sources of it. In translation:

"WINIA, WIJNIA, WYNYA (colloquially WYNJE), WYNYE, WYNIYE, WYNGIA, WYNGIE, misspelt WIENIA, WYNJA, WYNJE, WIENJA, WIENEJA; they are all contracted forms of the original, full form WININGA - WINEMA - WYNINGA - WYNENGA, in the province of Groningen WIENINGA, in East Friesland (Germany) WYNEN, WYNNE, WIENIEKE, WINIEKE.

WYNSTRA, formed directly from the place-name WYNS;

WIJNS, WINZA, in 1242 WYNENZA, in 1318 WININGHE (in full and originally WININGA), a village in the municipality (township) of Tietjerksteradeel, with a (reclaimed) lake, called WYNSERMAR; the hamlet IT WYNSER TICHELWURK near Stiens;

WYNS, a hamlet near Oosterend; WINIA-HOARNE, in 1456 WINGAHURNA, in 1583 WYNNINGHEHORN, WYNGIAHORNE, corrupted to WYNHORN, a hamlet near Leeuwarden on the border with Huizum, with the WINIAHOARNSTERREED (lane), dissappeared with the construction of the railway, and with a canal called WINIAHOARNSTER SYLSLEAT;

the ESTATE WYNIA near Roordahuizum; the same near Nes in the municipality of West-Dongeradeel; the same near Jouswier in Oost-Dongeradeel; a piece of land near Broek in the municpality of Doniawerstal, called IT WINIA-LAN;

WINIATERP of WIJNJETERP (colloquially WENJETERP or WEINTERP); WANGETERP, WANGEDORP,WENGEDORP in Opsterland;

the WINIA-TYNJE or WYNJE TYNJE,a hamlet near Terwispel; with roads like WINIA-WEI, WYNJEWEG, lake WYNIA-LEYEN and the WINIA-acres;

the WYNJES-PETTEN, a piece of dug off peat-bog with fens near Suawoude."

Thus Johan Winkler. It appears from the above that there was ample choice to adopt Wynia as a family name. It also shows how many different spellings of the name Wynia were in use. It is even difficult to choose the correct form. In Tietjerksteradeel people pronounce Wiens, but on the map it says Wijns. In Opsterland they say Weinterp and on the map it is Wynjeterp. As early as in the Middle Ages 'ij' en 'ie' were used indifferently. The fact that civil servants at the beginning of the 19th century wrote Winia en Wienia, indicates that the Wynia's pronounced their names like that.We have an instance of phonetic spelling here. In general Dutch spelling was used instead of Frisian: the name Siebe was written Sijbe, Wiebe became Wijbe and Sietske was written as Sijtske.

Thus, the pronunciation was Winia and not Wijnia, Wienja and not Wijnja. Wienja is undoubtedly more correct than Wienia, because for the 'i' we should read 'j'. Still, today Wienia is heard more often than Wienja. This is not very important. Only, the ij-sound is wrong in all spellings!

Until this time there are Wijnja's en Wijnia's (in The Netherlands, in North-America it's Wynja and Wynia) who write their name sometimes with dots and other time without dots on the 'y'. But we should not argue about the dots because the name Wynia stands for friendship. The well known Frisian expert in names dr. P. Sipma tells us on page 15 of "Fryske Nammekunde 1" that 'WIN' stands for 'friend'. The 'IA' is a contraction from 'INGA', which stands for 'people from' The familyname Wininga means 'people of 'win''. One stap further and we find the name Winia means 'people of friends'. Can we do better?

Willem Tsj. Vleer ends his comment on the name WYnia in the Nijdamstrabook, part 4 with the question: Can we do better? My answer is: yes. I found out that Wynja [win-yah] is a Nordic Rune sign. The shape of this sign looks like a "p". The word Wynja means "the glory of perfection" - the culmination of perfect love, because it is an unconditional love that makes no demands and gives entirely of itself without expectation of return. Wynja implies all that is loveable and beautiful, and an attitude of childlike innocence. It indicates the ideal towards which we should strive. Wynja arouses an awareness of self-worth and a recognition of the divinity within all creatures, and as such might be regarded also as the Rune of self-esteem. It is, therefore, the power that builds self-confidence - not the vanity of egotism and puffed-up self-importance, but the humility of self-worth in the totality of things.(text from "Rune Power" by Kenneth Meadows, pp. 56,57. Element books, 1996)

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