Eiriana?

Welsh is completely phonetic, so there is usually only one way of saying a name. Regional accent might modify it slightly, but that will be very subtle. The only name I can think of that has a NW version and a SW version is Siwan.(SI-wan and SHOO-an, Welsh for Joan)

Many of the letters and diphthongs have no non-welsh equivalents.
You just can't teach some people to get the sound right. You have almost no chance of teaching someone to say Lleucu. The spats I get into are about seemingly easy names like Ceri, Eleri and, as you might have seen upthread, Eirian. They are very popular names, especially in my age group, and the ones I know are from different parts of Wales. I even know a male Eirian and a male Ceri (both from South West Wales).

Some sounds aren't part of the welsh language, so when I see them used on welsh language threads I think 'What?' I'd find it hard to transcribe Paul into Welsh.

Some names completely lose their charm when they are mispronounced. Rhys, Dylan, Bethan and Rhian spring to mind. Some names have been 'anglicised' in S. Wales, where Welsh is not spoken as much. (Aneirin and Eira would generally be Uh-NYE-rin and EYE-ra among non-Welsh speakers and they sound much nicer in Welsh)

If it was a thread on Irish names and someone argued that Niamh isn't pronounced Neeve or Nee-um in Ireland you'd get it, or that Orla sounds different, or that Ciara isn't pronounced Kee-uh-ra or See-uh-ra. Some of the Irish names do get quibbled over - Caoimhe and Saoirse, for example.

This link has some lovely Irish names

Have a look at the www.mumsnet.com/Talk/baby_names/3892523-aoife?pg=7 thread if you think Irish names don't get argued over.

Beware of web pages listing Welsh names. Some of them have some peculiar suggestions.

I always see that Welsh names on here really provoke debate. More so than other non anglicised names.

OP, how about:

Eira
Eiry
Eirys
Eirlys
Alys
Mari
Nerys
Nia
Tesni
Nansi

thats a pretty name I love the Eri at the beginning, we normally hear Ariana but not Eri

I’m English and got the ‘sound’ correct!

It’s lovely, not too long and yes people can learn it. Plenty of Irish names about and people manage perfectly weep.

What about Alys?

Totally agree with foamrolling
Depending on where you come from ie South Wales, West Wales or the north pronouncing will be different.

I think most people can learn to pronounce a non English name

Ive never heard of it, but that personally makes it better for me, and i thought it was a lovely name anyway. Im scottish and thought it was pronounced how you have it. Anyway people can learn, its not bloody rocket science. I have a fairly regular name, 3 syllables and people mispronounce it all the time, and misspell it out of recognition. But usually only once, then they learn when corrected.

If you like Eira don't be put off it because your baby's due in May. There's no law that says all Hollys have to be born in December.

Manon

Medi

No! Awful - sounds completely made up and frilly.

Mabli works

I know an Aneira (she pronounces it An-EYE-ra) which sounds similar?

Like Mabli as well.

Eira is lovely.

Mabli has such a cumbersome, ugly sound.

I've never encountered Eiriana either.

Eira, Eiry, Eirys, Eirlys are all lovely. My family are from North Wales and so pronounce Ei as Ey (as in hey). In some parts of Wales Ei will sound more like Eye. I think Ey is prettier than eye.

If you like Eiriana, how about Eilonwy. It's the name of a princess in Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicle of Prydain books. I thought he had made the name up, but it seems to have been coined and used in the 19th century. www.britishbabynames.com/blog/2015/03/eilonwy.html

I'm not Welsh and have no idea about whether it's made up or not but I like it! It sounds ethereal and other-worldly.

middle name maybe

Non-Welsh (Irish) person here and my guess at the pronunciation was fairly close. I really wouldnt worry about whether or not people know how to pronounce it on sight - they can always learn another name, it's not hard. I hate seeing names dumbed down into Anglicisations.

Mind you I'm not a fan of Eiriana. Visually I think it's very vowel heavy and not the prettiest looking name. Mabli is a fantastic name, never heard of it before. Iola is ok.

@foamrolling, Welsh is phonetic.

If they choose to say it differently, that is up to them. I can think of people who say their name differently to the standard pronunciation.
(Mary, Eira, Rhiannon, Iola, Peter, David, George...).

Do you speak Welsh fluently?

I know you think your way of pronouncing welsh names is the one true way m-u-m but you're wrong. There is a massive difference in Welsh accents and pronunciations of Welsh words across Wales. I was in school with a fluent Welsh speaking girl in a very Welsh speaking area who pronounced her name Eye-ri-ann. As did many other fluent Welsh speaking people in that area. Different isn't necessarily 'mangled'. A North walian would pronounce something completely differently to a south walian. Which one would you accuse of 'mangling'?

Rhian has only one n.
It isn't Ree-Anne.

Eirian is pronounced EYR-yann. 2 syllables.

If it was pronounced Ey-Ree-Ann it would have a diaeresis on the i, which it doesn't.

So many Welsh names are mangled.

I completely agree that mn can be quick to judge unfamiliar names and suggest traditional ones they’re familiar with instead.

However, the Welsh language has certain sounds that English doesn’t have. So I think the issue here isn’t ignorance of the English. It’s considering whether you would be prepared for a lovely Welsh name to be frequently mispronounced by non-Welsh people should they live outside of Wales - not because English people can’t be bothered to learn it, but because the particular sounds made by letter formations are unfamiliar to them (e.g Ll and Rh)