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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Indian / Welsh girls names - help please!

66 replies

Cathays · 19/12/2017 11:18

Baby girl due any time soon and we haven’t decided on a name!

She will be of mixed Welsh and Indian (Punjabi Sikh but we’re not religious) heritage and I would love a short name that reflects both if possible?! Any ideas?!

Currently considering:
Nia
Devi
Ani
Saffir
Arian
Asha
Eira
Vina

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spiderlight · 03/01/2018 20:39

My DS has a little Saffir in his class, known as Saffi.

Jedigirl29 · 02/01/2018 16:41

Sian is really nice as I know a couple girls who are Indian English and have that name.

Nia is very sweet

Ani is very nice aswell

But Sienna was a girl in my year and again she was mixed

Anyway at the end of the day go with what you two are comfortable with. Xx

ilovetea69 · 29/12/2017 11:23

Arwen is lovely! Such a shame you can't use it. It was on our list but too close to our surname.

Anya is also gorgeous - go for that Smile

I've heard of Shaan in the Indian culture as a boys name.

Original poster
Cathays · 29/12/2017 11:02

Some lovely names here!

Congratulations, @Pixiedust2017!

We won’t be going for anything with an Arabic/Muslim origin as, beautiful as some of these names are, it’s not the right fit for our culture and I think would lead to confusion there. Open to suggestions of Indian/Sanskrit derived/Sikh names though

I love names that end in -wen (Bronwen, Olsen etc, thanks Mike) but we already have a DS with a -wyn name so that’s out. I feel like it would be too matchy!

Interesting about Siân @embarrassed89, I myself have an English name that is awkward to pronounce in Punjabi which is kind of a pain. What word does it resemble?

OP posts:
Brandnewstart · 29/12/2017 10:06

Congratulations. Beautiful name.

Embarrassed89 · 29/12/2017 01:53

Funnily enough I happen to be Welsh/Indian Sikh. My name is Siân, I'm sure you're already aware it's a Welsh name but another reason my (religious Sikh) mother chose it was because there is a similar sounding Punjabi word so she knew it'd be easy for Indian relatives to pronounce

Pixiedust2017 · 29/12/2017 01:32

My little girl was born 10 days ago. We named her Eira and are pronouncing it Eye-ra as I am from South Wales. :-)

Zaya71 · 29/12/2017 01:12

You could then use Ani as a nickname and still have your Indian link.

Zaya71 · 29/12/2017 01:11

What about Anika? It includes the "Ani" from your list and I think spelt with only one 'n' (as opposed to Scandinavian Annika) has some Indian connection.

Rainbowmother · 28/12/2017 22:15

Seren ?

MikeUniformMike · 28/12/2017 22:03

Rosheen/Roisin is nice but Rhosyn is not pronounced Rosheen.

In Welsh, Rh is one letter not two. It's like saying R and h at the same time and difficult if you are not mother tongue welsh.
Welsh words almost invariably have the stress on the last but one syllable.

The nearest anglicised pronunciation is ROSSin.

marmitecrumpets · 28/12/2017 21:28

Nia
Saffir
Asha

user1497863568 · 28/12/2017 21:24

I'm a Miriam. I wouldn't recommend it. I'm black Irish (dark eyes, hair, olive skin) and people make a lot of erroneous and at times upsetting assumptions about my background.

user1497863568 · 28/12/2017 21:20

What about a variant of Rosheen? It's same pronunciation as the Welsh Rhosyn or Irish Roisin (all of these meaning Rose).

Brandnewstart · 28/12/2017 21:13

Bronwen is gorgeous name Smile.

MikeUniformMike · 28/12/2017 21:13

Bingo. How about Bronwen. Broni, Bronnie or Bonnie as a nn?
Dum dum dum dum dum ... I need a Hero!

MikeUniformMike · 28/12/2017 21:11

I did think of Rhoswen. It's pretty. It will get mispronounced outside Wales and probably be spelt as Roswyn (God I hate Bromwyn and Bronwyn for the beautiful name Bronwen).
Nice middle name though.
Sorry Brand.

Brandnewstart · 28/12/2017 20:05

Sorry mike. Seemed to have pissed you off there. I actually meant Rhoswen and misspelled it.
Leila was my grandmother's name. She wasn't of Arabic descent but she was Asian.
I was actually not suggesting those names, just giving an example.
Really interesting thread for me as my mum is Asian, my dad English and my children half Welsh.

BillywigSting · 28/12/2017 18:27

There is a girl in dss class called Varshaa who is the loveliest child.

I like Seren for a Welsh name

MikeUniformMike · 28/12/2017 18:17

Rhosen isn't a Welsh name. It's not even a Welsh word. The Welsh for Rose is Rhosyn. Rh is a welsh letter not the two letters R and H and has a distinct sound. Rhosyn is a bit naff as a girl's name.

Leila is a name of Arab not Asian origin.

RavenWings · 28/12/2017 17:55

Nia - not for me, it just brings Mia/Tia etc names to mind. Blends in.
Devi - I'm not keen
Ani - meh
Saffir - it's alright.
Arian - seconding that I know a few boys named this.
Asha - meh.
Eira - I've heard it before but still Iwouldn't be 100% confident on the pronunciation of this. Nice name though.
Vin - coq au vin was my first thought

I really liked the Jasmine, Sara and Arwen suggestions.

Suggestions: Anya, Carys, Eirlys, Elena.

Brandnewstart · 28/12/2017 16:25

Or you could go Asian first name, Welsh middle name such as Leila Rhosen.

Brandnewstart · 28/12/2017 16:24

Eira is beautiful and I know a little Nia which is so pretty too. My sister is Sarita which isn't Welsh but I love it!
If you ever have a boy it has to be Idris! I know both Asian and Welsh boys called this and love it so much!

Original poster
Cathays · 28/12/2017 16:18

@jazzybeats Eirwyn

OP posts:
Jazzybeats · 23/12/2017 19:53

I love Eira. Does anyone know if there is a masculine version?