Welsh speakers advice please

Gosh - thanks for having a pop Gwen, I live in Wales and know a very Welsh Mair who pronounces her name My-ah, and I couldn't put a circumflex over the a in Sian as my iPad doesn't seem to have one!

Yes. I like it. I don't like Anwen as it seems very dated but Arianwen is silvery.

Arianwen ? I know of one.

Does it? I would not recommend anyone who doesn't speak Welsh or lives in Wales to use a welsh name unless they don't mind it being mangled.

Angharad might work but I have heard Ann Harrod nd Ann Garrod. (Its Ang-HAR-ad. (In Welsh 'ng' doesn't have a 'g' sound in it apart from a few words like Bangor).

I like Lleucu, Llio, Llyr and Elliw but would not recommend them outside Wales.

Buddug, if anyone is wondering is pronounced Bithig (with 'th' as in the, not thing) and is a strong feminine name.

"When we named her we thought it would be a hugely popular name, but there were only about 30 others born in the UK that year shock"

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

It wouldn't offend me Themirrorcracked. It doesn't offend me when people mispronounce names in general, it's just a bit annoying, unless it's someone who's been taught to say a name correctly and just refuses.

Another thing you have to bear in mind is that some people say their own names 'incorrectly' (and yes I'm familiar with the idea that you're always correct about your own name, just don't agree with it). I know an Alun who calls himself Alan for example, though he'd answer to both.

Can I ask, I am English but did live in Wales for a short time so I know the -an names should be 'an' not 'un', but because I'm English and have an English acsent I worry that I might look try hard or like I was putting on a Welsh accent if I said them the Welsh way and might cause offence.

Would this offend people? Am I being stupid?!

I think it's influence from the English Holly that's making people use it for girls.

For us it seemed to fit more as a girl's "noun" name (like Seren, Enfys, Gwawr etc) than as a boy's name, despite the "yn" ending :)

When we named her we thought it would be a hugely popular name, but there were only about 30 others born in the UK that year

"Agree with Gwen for Anwen you'd get Anwin. But that doesn't grate as much as Beth-un for Beth-an."

It's about what you can deal with I suppose. Someone who doesn't speak the language at all isn't going to get any name 100% correct.
Even Sian is pronounced differently by non-Welsh speakers as the ah sound is slightly different in English.

Agree with Gwen for Anwen you'd get Anwin. But that doesn't grate as much as Beth-un for Beth-an.

This is from 2016 and is based on Welsh-origin names from the ONS (so not necessarily from Welsh speaking parents as would be the case for the Radio Cymru one)

www.bbc.co.uk/cymrufyw/37255940

"Of the possibilities mentioned Anwen is poss the best one."

I think you'd still get Anwin rather than Anwen. Gwen works (not my real name) because it's quite well know. Also I think anything ending in -ys like Nerys, Cerys and Dilys (not that these are little baby names).

Re. the website for popular Welsh names, here's a link to what's popular for babies born recently: www.bbc.co.uk/darganfod/22609203

You can really see the mix of modern and old.

You can look up what the names mean at www.behindthename.com/ (though not all Welsh names are on it).

Fluent welshy here
Eh-va
Nice name but I wouldn't call a child in England Efa. I have a welsh name, live in England and have long given up trying to get people to pronounce it properly

Having dealt with the whole welsh baby names thing (i had boys) I concluded that there are very few names that work in both english and welsh. Of the possibilities mentioned Anwen is poss the best one.

Can't stand the English pron of anything ending in -an eg Bethan, Megan.

I'd maybe go into google for popular Welsh names for babies 2016 or something.
I LOVE Buddug mind, means warrior. But English hubby used his veto.
There's an Efa in my son's class - we're in Cardiff. But you will spend years telling people how to pronounce it.
I snuck the Welsh Welsh names in as middle ones.

I agree with Gwenhwyfar. Mair is one syllable. My with r on the end. Like Myra without the a.
I get peed off by mispronounced Welsh names. Angharad is not pronounced Ann Harrod or Ann Garrad. Rhiannon is not Ree Annan and Rhian is not Ree-anne.
Manon is a lovely name.

Carys is dated if you are a Welsh speaker. It is a name of someone in their late 40s or 50s, as is Dylan (not pronounced Dillon). Other hugely popular names of the 1960s are Bethan, Siân, Gareth, Dewi...

Celyn is traditionally a boy's name. I think it's influence from the English Holly that's making people use it for girls.

"Mair (pronounced my-ah)"

No, not pronounced like Myah at all! I can't stand that.
It's pronounced like the word 'my' and then a Welsh r. In phonetics it's [maɪr]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Welsh

Sian needs a circumflex accent on the a

That should read Nia

Not keen on efa, it would be constantly mispronounced. As alternatives to consider what about:

Seren (means star)
Carys (definitely not dated)
Sian
Ffion
Mair (pronounced my-ah)
Mia
Elan

Super Celyn is a beautiful name.

Totally biased as I have one too

Manon is gorgeous. I knew two at university and always thought how nice the name was.

I love Essyllt, shortened to Essie but not sure how easy it would be out of Wales.

"I would avoid Efa as it is an -a ending which is (more usually) a female name ending in English and I think it would lead to confusion with Eva, too. "

It is a girl's name. I presume OP's expecting a girl.

"Anyway, back to Efa. It's in the Bible - Adda ac Efa are Adam and Eve."

Exactly. Even though it wasn't fashionable as a name when I was growing up, everyone knows it because of Adda ac Efa (though Adda is almost never used as a person's name).

I'm quite insulted by all the people criticising their neighbours and acquaintances for giving their children (living in Wales!) Welsh names. I don't dismiss for a moment the problems of living with a 'difficult' Welsh name as I'm living through them myself, but if all Welsh names had to be ones that are easy to pronounce for English speakers we would lose so much.

Has anyone said Manon? I love Manon. Never heard Efa and I'm in South Wales