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Baby names

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

Original poster

Alaw

39 replies

PopadomPointer · 24/12/2017 09:47

Welsh girls name,means melody....what are our thoughts?
Smile

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MikeUniformMike · 26/12/2017 16:48

I think it is pretty. I know of a few.

GreatDuckCookery6211 · 26/12/2017 12:20

I think it's what it looks like written down that puts me off. The sound is quite pretty.

Dixiestampsagain · 26/12/2017 11:01

I know how to pronounce it, but I’m sure lots of people would get it wrong, which might be annoying. My dd has a perfectly ‘normal’ and fairly simple name but people still get that wrong and it annoys her.
I like it but wouldn’t necessarily use it, but if you like it I would go for it

froshiechipandbrickie · 25/12/2017 23:02

"Ah low like now" is really pretty!

XmasTreeOhXmasTree · 25/12/2017 20:15

It's awful. It's not clear how to pronounce the a- 'aye', 'a h' or 'or'.

DanielSpaniel · 25/12/2017 19:17

I'm a Welsh speaker and know a few Alaw's. It's not unusual at all where I live. If you like it, go for it. Awel could be another option too? It means breeze.

Iusedtobeafreeelf · 25/12/2017 19:13

beautiful. I love it.

Sophronia · 25/12/2017 19:11

I love it! AH low sounds really pretty.

Laqueue · 24/12/2017 19:54

It's unusual, and I know of one child given the name, and she was the daughter of my music teacher so I thought it was a lovely connection.
If you are raising her in a Welsh speaking community/ Wales then I'd say go for it.

Trampire · 24/12/2017 19:51

Not keen.

It's the name of one of the cancer wards at Bangor Hospital in North Wales. My dad spent 2 years coming and going from there.

buggerthebotox · 24/12/2017 19:38

Pretty name, but people are bound to pronounce it "Aloe".

Viviennemary · 24/12/2017 19:17

Not keen at all but haven't heard of it before.

LadyMonicaBaddingham · 24/12/2017 19:01

Beautiful name, I know a baby Alaw and she's fab

chocolateorangeowls · 24/12/2017 18:53

It makes me think of coleslaw, not sure why 🤨

mrsBeverleyGoldberg · 24/12/2017 18:51

I thought it was a mis print of Alan.

Apileofballyhoo · 24/12/2017 17:37

That's actually what I meant Frazzled!

Frazzled2207 · 24/12/2017 17:22

It is a bit like english "allow" but the stress is on the first syllable rather than second

BackforGood · 24/12/2017 17:12

If being brought up in a Welsh speaking community although that might not continue as an adult. I would have guessed "Al -or" without the explanation. Depends if that bother you or you think it will bother them.

Apileofballyhoo · 24/12/2017 17:04

Is it pronounced liked the English word 'allow' as in give permission? But with the emphasis more on the second syllable?

Frazzled2207 · 24/12/2017 16:55

I'm a welsh speaker and love it. I wouldn't inflict it on a child unless she was being brought up in a welsh speaking community though.

Jedbartletforpresident · 24/12/2017 16:53

I'm not sure - it would confuse me as to how to pronounce it.

I'm generally of the opinion that you choose a name you like and other people like it or lump it. I'm from
NI and love a lot of Irish names and would have had no problem at all using them with proper spelling and just expecting people to get used to it.

I think vowels are a tricky one though. My initial thoughts on pronunciation were Ah-law but then I thought that with an English accent it would probably be A-law (as in the letter A). I would never have come up with Ah-low to rhyme with now. (And that's a whole other issue for people from NI as we pronounce the "ow"/"ou" sound totally differently to the rest of the UK!)

NotCornflakes · 24/12/2017 16:49

I've never heard of it before, but I really like it.

AuntLydia · 24/12/2017 16:46

Plus there's none of the trickier Welsh phonetics like Ll that would make it really hard to pronounce.

RavenWings · 24/12/2017 16:45

As an Irish person I think I would have pronounced it as A Law. But I would have been very aware of the fact that I was probably doing it wrong as Welsh isn't a language I'm familiar with. Very easy to pick up once you've heard the proper pronunciation though.

AuntLydia · 24/12/2017 16:45

I love it! And it's becoming more popular now, I've heard it a couple of times recently. I have a far more unusual Welsh name. Nobody knows how to pronounce it at first, but like Alaw, it's 4 letters and 2 syllables so it's not exactly difficult to pick up.