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Baby names

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

Original poster

English pronounciation of a welsh name

34 replies

Littlemiss41andfabulous · 10/09/2021 23:32

Hi,

My husband is Welsh and I'm English, and we currently live in Wales. We're choosing Welsh names but I am aware we may move to England one day so want our daughter's name to not have any problems in either country.

I'd appreciate your thoughts on the Welsh name 'Efa' (pronounced Ava). Do you think that could be problematic in England, as most people/children won't know how to pronounce it in Welsh when they see how it is written down?

Thanks x

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Sboncen · 12/09/2021 14:01

The confusion on these threads about how to say names arises IMO because you have Welsh speakers and people who are welsh but don't speak the language, and then you have regional accents in both English and Welsh.

Welsh is phonetic and the E in Efa is like the E in Bethan, bed, red etc
F is always said as a V. Ff is a separate letter and is always a PH sound. The A is the same as the a in Cat.

WhenZoomWasJustAnIceLolly · 12/09/2021 11:00

I know an Ava Gwen!
But I really love Gwen. There are very few little Gwens around.

Ritasueandbobtoo9 · 12/09/2021 07:19

Gwen is lovely.

4ammusings · 11/09/2021 21:16

I'm Welsh and have never heard it pronounced 'Ava.' Like the poster said above, it's a hard E sound (E-lephant) then va.

KirstenBlest · 11/09/2021 21:12

I'd use a name you both like as a first name and use a welsh middle name. Nerys or Anwen would be fine as first names if you like them.

Ninkanink · 11/09/2021 21:07

You could always use it as a middle name if you both love it.

But I’d agree that it’s likely to be quite problematic as first name.

CaffiSaliMali · 11/09/2021 20:53

Fortunately there's lots of lovely Welsh names.

Mali
Mari
Seren
Nia
Nansi
Eira
Alys
Eleri
Nerys
Teleri
Meleri
Tesni
Ffion
Eiry
Anwen
Eirlys
Enfys

LubaLuca · 11/09/2021 14:30

Siân, Nia, Rhian, Erin, Megan, Ffion, Catrin, Morgana - they're all well recognised in other parts of the UK I think, and much less open to interpretation on pronunciation.

I'm guessing your husband doesn't speak Welsh either, so a nice nod to his heritage without making it tricky for yourselves and others to say correctly is perhaps a good compromise.

Original poster
Littlemiss41andfabulous · 11/09/2021 12:32

Thanks everyone for your comments.

I'm English although have lived in Wales a long time, and I did have my own reservations about choosing this name even though my Welsh husband loves it (as do I but even in my own head do keep mixing it up between pronouncing it Eva and Ava) so your comments have confirmed what I was thinking.

I think we'll need to find another Welsh name we both agree on.

OP posts:
GogLais · 11/09/2021 12:30

Speaking of popular names, why not call your DD Gwen. Shouldn't cause any problems in either country, and is a nice change from overused names like Eva and Ava .

GogLais · 11/09/2021 12:19

Efa is quite popular in Wales now, and it's pronounced Ev-ah, not Eevuh or Ayvuh.

CaffiSaliMali · 11/09/2021 10:56

Efa is pronounced like the english word ever, not Ava.

I'd go for something like Alys, Nia or Mari. You will get a degree of accent variation with most Welsh names - e.g. Meg-un instead of Meg-Anne, Ni-uh instead of Ni-ah and Serrun instead of Serr-en.

I'm half english/half welsh, born and raised in England with a Welsh name only close friends and immediate family members get right. My list is Alys, Mari, Tesni and Eira. Eira probably doesn't work but I love it and can't quite give it up!

romdowa · 11/09/2021 08:43

When I first read it , I thought it was basically the Welsh version of aoife. However it's not difficult to pronounce once corrected. So if you love it then go for it

Suzi888 · 11/09/2021 08:31

I live in Wales and I’ve never heard of it and wouldn’t know how to pronounce it. (Sorry).

WhenZoomWasJustAnIceLolly · 11/09/2021 08:27

So the bottom line is that if you name her Efa, nobody is going to pronounce it the way you want.

WhenZoomWasJustAnIceLolly · 11/09/2021 08:26

It’s not a regional accent thing. There’s nowhere in Wales that Efa is pronounced Ava. It’s a fairly common name where I live and always evva.

user1493494961 · 11/09/2021 08:24

She will be correcting people for the rest of her life.

SmurfetteBlue · 11/09/2021 08:12

@LubaLuca

I'd pronounce it almost as 'ever'. It's a short 'e' sound, so I don't think the Welsh side of your family would get it right anyway.
I'm Welsh and I would think it's pronounced this way too. For a simple spelt name, I think you'll have trouble getting Welsh and English to pronounce correctly
NowEvenBetter · 11/09/2021 08:10

I saw that name here a while ago and was honestly laughing out loud at someone spelling Aoife phonetically. Didn’t know it was welsh. I’m not english or Welsh, I’d say that as EE FA

OrangeTortoise · 11/09/2021 07:58

I don't think this is the ideal choice if you want a name that works in both England and Wales. I'm not saying don't choose it if you love it, but do expect to be explaining how to spell/pronounce it.

MindyStClaire · 11/09/2021 07:56

I'm Irish and would guess Aoife, but Ava would be easy to remember once you told me.

I think it's a shame when people don't choose Irish names they like just because English people won't be able to pronounce them, and the same goes for Welsh. There's so many names worldwide, it would be a shame if everyone gravitated towards the one culture.

Ritasueandbobtoo9 · 11/09/2021 07:55

I’ve never heard that name pronounced in Wales. I have only seen it on Mumsnet. I’m not keen on it. There are distinct regional accents in Wales so people will pronounce differently depending on the way that they speak.

LubaLuca · 11/09/2021 07:46

I'd pronounce it almost as 'ever'. It's a short 'e' sound, so I don't think the Welsh side of your family would get it right anyway.

inappropriateraspberry · 11/09/2021 07:43

I'm English and would pronounce it Ee-fa! For such a simple name, I think it's very tricky with lots of possible pronunciations!

Morred · 11/09/2021 07:42

I’d assume Efa was an attempt at a simpler/Anglicised spelling of Aoife and pronounce it the same way.