The name Gwinnett derives from 'Gwynnedd" and originated in the Carnarvon, which was formerly part of the principality (or kingdom) of Gwynedd, in North Wales. The final "dd" in Welsh can be pronounced as English "th" and the name exists also in the form Kenneth and Gwinnett. Over time the spelling varied to Gwinnett, Gwinnutt and even Winnett, the neutral, final vowel being variously rendered as 'e' or 'u'. The name first appeared in Gloucestershire in the latter part of the 16thC., in the person of George Gwynnedd of Shurdington (d. 1604), who fled from Wales due to religious persecution of Protestants under Queen Mary. I have Gwinnett ancestry.