The
parish of Gyland was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see
formannskapsdistrikt law), but it was almost immediately merged into neighboring
Bakke municipality in the fall of 1839. The Gyland area (population: 1,085) was separated (again) from Bakke municipality on 31 December 1893 to once again form its own municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the
Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the municipalities of Gyland, Bakke,
Hidra, and
Nes were merged with the town of
Flekkefjord to form a new, larger municipality of
Flekkefjord. Prior to the merger, Gyland had a population of 691.
Name The municipality (originally the
parish) is named after the old
Gyland farm () since the first
Gyland Church was built there. The meaning of the first element is uncertain. One possibility is that it comes from the word
Gýja which is likely the old name for the local Gylandselva river. The old river name may have been derived from the
Old High German word which means "gape" or "gaping", in this sense referring to the
gorges in the area. The other possibility is that it comes from the word which means "female
troll" or "
giantess". The last element is which means "land" or "district". ==Government==