Welsh speakers advice please

There is a little Elain in my Swn a Sbri class, and an Elsi... both of which I love.

Love the name Celyn and only know 1 who is about 13

To the person who said names like Carys etc were dated... I'm a Ceri and have friends called Carys, Cerys, Cari and Catrin (confuses our uni lecturers!) so definitely not dated at all!

And whoever asked it Efa was a real Welsh name... it's in the Welsh Bible (Adam and Eve are Adda ac Efa) so yes, definitely a real Welsh name!

It always saddens me on these threads when people suggest you shouldn't use Welsh names in case they want to venture into England. A name doesn't have to be a traditional English, easy pronounceable name in the English language in order to be classed as a proper name! In a world that is getting more and more multicultural, it seems a bit backwards to me to put people off Welsh names because they're not easily pronounceable in English!

The rh sound is pretty difficult if you're not Welsh tbh.
A bit like a rolling r with a bit more force.
Also the o in Rhiannon is pronounced like the o in orange or even just on.

Typo - that should have been an h-sound.

The Rh is pronounced with ah h-sound before the r. The last syllable has a definite o, not an e (shwer) sound.

Sorry to poke my nose in but I've seen a couple of posts about Rhiannon not being pronounced Ree-Annen; how is it most properly pronounced? I'm in the US so properly Welsh pronunciation is thin on the ground.

I have a Cadi which is easy for my English family to say and got a lot of compliments in England now that we are in Wales I've met a few more but still not loads.

MUM what nonsense you speak, I have a Cerys....and she has many friends of a similar she called Cerys, Carys, Eirys etc...they are all under 15.

Nope

All the males in my family have the middle name Wyn in his honour, my DD is the first female to have it. People assume we are hyphenated but hyphenation is a bit too pretentious for me.

"Did you think I didn't know that it was his bardic name?? My great uncle was named after him and it was uncle Wyn not uncle Ellis"

I wasn't sure because you seemed to suggest it was passed on in the family as if it was a real name.

Ok, thanks for that, my phonetic spelling wasn't quite spot on but hey ho).

Gwynhwyfar

Did you think I didn't know that it was his bardic name?? My great uncle was named after him and it was uncle Wyn not uncle Ellis

We thought the same about our 2013 Celyn. There have only been between 20 -30 each year.

I've never ever encountered a Mair pronounced "My-ah". It's more "Mire" with a rolling r.

It's still more popular than it used to be.

I haven't looked at the popularity of it before 2014 but I can imagine. It's just odd, I thought we were dooming her to life in a class full of Celyns (popularity was the reason we decided against Seren) but it doesn't seem to have properly caught on yet.

I suggest Nia, Anwen or Catrin, all of which will translate better in England (im English but lived in wales over a decade)

Yes but it should be pronounced like lerry with a rolling r.

"Eleri is pronounced El-erry usually said as Lerry not Lairy."

I know a couple socially and non-Welsh speakers often pronounce it like the surname Ellory with the emphasis on the first syllable rather than the second and an 'uh' sound rather than 'e' for the second syllable, until they learn it properly.

Which noun names do you mean Mike? Things that are words in common usage like Hedd (Peace)?

" according to my mum we are related to Hedd Wyn. Although given the very smalll gene pool(more a damp patch) where my family comes from then I'd be surprised if we weren't related."

Hedd Wyn was his bardic name anyway, his real name was Ellis Evans.

Eleri is pronounced El-erry usually said as Lerry not Lairy.

The welsh noun names strike me as being a bit naff.

Efa is pronounced Evva not Aiva.

Oh and Carys isn't dated at all round here, very contemporary in fact. I know a few kids with that name. Same as Dylan. Both were possibly brought back into popularity when Catherine zeta Jones called her kids by those names.

A very Welsh Mair pronouncing it My-ah?! I'd be questioning her 'very Welsh' credentials, I have literally never heard anyone very Welsh or even slightly Welsh pronounce it like that.

My great-grandmother was Blodwyn... still referred to as Blodders!

My middle name is Wyn, never use the circumflex and according to my mum we are related to Hedd Wyn. Although given the very smalll gene pool(more a damp patch) where my family comes from then I'd be surprised if we weren't related.

I like Eleri (pronounced El-airy) but I'm biased as I have one.😆😆😆😆

Sorry Girl, but if you give a completely wrong pronunciation, I wouldn't be able to not correct it. Very strange that this Mair says her name My-ah, does she do that to make it easier for non-Welsh speakers to say? No way, would anyone pronounce it like that in the middle of a sentence in Welsh.

The thing about a circumflex wasn't really a pop, it was just info for anyone else reading. I didn't put one either, if you notice.