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Baby names

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Original poster

Welsh name experts help!!

89 replies

RWeatherwax · 01/10/2020 20:59

Hi all!

Help me settle a debate here. We both really like the name Celyn. However, we are stuck whether it is a girls name or a boys name! To me it’s a boys name and I’m from West Wales. DH is from the North and says it’s a girls name! What’s your opinion?

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MikeUniformMike · 03/10/2020 18:43

@yellowmaoampinball, Iona seems a bit dated, but a boy could be Ionawr, or even Ion. You could use the month name as a middle name.
A boy born around the new year could be Calan.

A september baby could be Medwyn (boy) or Medwen (girl) but as I've pp, -wyn/-wen names are dated, or you could used Medi as a mn.

A summer baby could be Hefin or Haf.

welshweasel · 03/10/2020 18:29

My stepdaughter is Celyn - she has been called ceiling so many times. Also gets Cecil, Coleen, Cerys...not sure why it gets mispronounced so much.

We had Ianto and Iago on our list but ended up with a Iolo (and a Taliesin).

A girl would have been Isolde.

Original poster
RWeatherwax · 03/10/2020 12:46

Ianto and Iago are on our lists - so is Siôn as a variation of John that will probably be used as a middle name (seems like every male in both of our families has John as a middle name!). I do love Celyn still but I think I’m going to have to let it stew for a bit longer in my head... thank god we have a little while to go until January!

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yellowmaoampinball · 03/10/2020 12:37

Ah, great minds! Have to say Celyn is my favourite out of the 3 just for the way it sounds but I like the fact you have some history behind the other 2 names.

I guess if you like the sound of Iona you could play around with that for boy versions I. E. Ioan or Ianto.

Original poster
RWeatherwax · 03/10/2020 12:32

Eira is on our girl list yellow, that one is also a family name too which is helpful Smile similarly Iona is on our girl name for its similarity to Ionawr (and DH spent a lot of time on the Scottish island of the same name!)

OP posts:
yellowmaoampinball · 03/10/2020 12:30

Or Iona? I know someone named that as she was born in January so it was Iona for Ionawr. I can't think of any boys winter names...

Original poster
RWeatherwax · 03/10/2020 12:29

I like it because it has a nice sound, works well with our surname and it’s quite appropriate for a January born child I think. The only downside is that there doesn’t really seem to be a consensus as to whether it’s a girl or boy name - I wouldn’t use Ceri for the same reason as I know boy and girl Ceris. I’m not a fan of unisex names.
Not keen on Malen.

OP posts:
yellowmaoampinball · 03/10/2020 12:29

I only know one person with that name and they're a girl. If you like the seasonal aspect of it could you go for Eira for a girl?

MikeUniformMike · 03/10/2020 12:17

I was trying to think of why you like it, and what might be similar (e.g. Ceri, Hefin)
How about Malen as a girl's name? MAL-enn.

Original poster
RWeatherwax · 03/10/2020 11:46

Neither of those reasons Mike. I like it as a name on its own. Didn’t even associate it with Kelly/Kevin - both of which I hate.

OP posts:
MikeUniformMike · 03/10/2020 08:06

Do you like it because it sounds like Kelly/Kevin or because of Holly being popular?

Original poster
RWeatherwax · 02/10/2020 23:58

Oh no griffin, ceiling is awful! We are living in the mid west so hopefully wouldn’t have worry so much about terrible pronunciation (i hope).

The regional variations in whether it’s a boys name or a girls name have confused me so much I’m thinking of removing it from the list despite the fact I really love it and it would suit a January born baby... think it might be back to the drawing board. D’oh!

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JustCallMeGriffin · 02/10/2020 20:26

The only Celyn's we know are girls. To be honest as someone that has to deal with SE Wales pronunciations of Welsh names I'd be less concerned about whether people think it's a feminine/masculine name and more about the pronunciation.

My daughter's friend Celyn has been called "ceiling" more than once.

Less of a problem in areas where Welsh is used more naturally but the further east you go, the less likely people will say it properly although maybe the Russians would if you just kept going east!

Elephantscantfly · 02/10/2020 20:07

North Wales school worker, definitely a girls name here!

noideaatallreally · 02/10/2020 20:04

North West Wales - boy. But it can be used for both.

McGriffo · 02/10/2020 19:58

Traditionally more of a boy's name, I think. I knew of one in the 70s, when I was a child in N West Wales. Maybe now, because of the influence of the name Holly in English, it's become more of a girl's name?

aureliacecilia · 02/10/2020 19:14

Only know girls with the name.

Ginqueen456 · 02/10/2020 19:12

I'm in pembrokeshire and its definitely a girls name, never came across a boy with that name before

MikeUniformMike · 02/10/2020 19:08

Even if I liked it, it is too similar to the word for enemy.

Oneandabean · 02/10/2020 19:03

Boys name to me. I’m north. I spent ages scrolling through welsh name lists, it always came up on the boys list, never on the girls. I really love it but it clashes with surname a bit

Original poster
RWeatherwax · 02/10/2020 14:43

salimali no, we haven’t found out if they are a boy or a girl yet. It’s just the differing opinions on the feel of the name if you see what I mean. I don’t particularly want to name a child and then have them picked on with ‘you have a girls/boys name’ all through school! You know how kids can be!

OP posts:
Firebird83 · 02/10/2020 14:34

I know one who is male.

CaffiSaliMali · 02/10/2020 14:06

I know of a female one but would see it as unisex. My family are North Walian if that helps (Anglesey).

Do you know whether you're having a boy or a girl?

Muchtoomuchtodo · 02/10/2020 14:06

South Wales here and I only know female Celyns

Cbeebiesrehab · 02/10/2020 14:01

I know both.