A name given to a noted man, whose qualities or disposition, in some respects, resembled this fabulous creature. Griffwn, in Welsh, is applied to a man having a crooked nose, like a hawk's bill. Gryffyn, in the Cornish British, signifies "to give." It may be the same as Griffith.

Arthur, William (1857) An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. New York: Sheldon, Blakeman. Public Domain.

GRIFFIN. A common baptismal name in Wales. Domesday shews us a Grifin in Cornwall, and in Chesliire a Grifin lice, first a fiivom-ite of Edw. the Confessor, and afterwards a rebel against him. He was probably a Welsli border prince. The same old record presents us with a " Grifin puer" and a " Grifin filiusMariadoc," most likely identical, as a tenant in chief in co. Hereford.

Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.