Vinyarion's name seems to combine the elements vinya 'new' and ion, 'son', possibly bridged by -ar-, 'royal' or 'king'. The whole name therefore seems to be either 'new son' or 'new royal son'. This is perhaps a reference to his father Aldamir, who only became King due to the death of his elder brother Ornendil in the Gondorian Kin-strife. Vinyarion would, therefore, have been the 'son of the new King'.
Though this interpretation describes Vinyarion's royal descent rather neatly, it does not quite fit the dating. Vinyarion was born in III 1391, but his uncle Ornendil was alive and well at that time, and would survive for another forty-six years. If Vinyarion's name was indeed intended to reflect the fact that his father founded a new line, then it must have been adopted later in his life to reflect the historic changes in Gondor caused by the Kin-strife.
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