Nearly there…Seren

@grosgirl , I didn't say I hated it. I don't hate it - it's rather nice as a French name. I can see the appeal in using a relative's name as a middle name as it has a special meaning, and IMO it's better than using a filler middle name.

It's definitely not Ay-uh-ra, @MolkosTeenageAngst .

@OverTheHillAndDownTotherSide , I didn't say I hated any of the names!

My DD has one of the names you hate and Seren as a middle name (DD and I are Welsh). She loves her name!

Perhaps we should have gone with Cassiopeia after all.

Thanks @Scottishgirl85 and @MolkosTeenageAngst.

I've now seen the post by @DacwMamYnDwad saying the difference between aye and eye - also identical to me!

(Accents are great things! My English partner pronounces pull and pool differently - whereas to me they are identical. Whereas poor and pour are the same to him, totally different for me!)

Seren is a beautiful name. Lots of Welsh people use it to their daughters. See also Enfys which is word for Rainbow 🌈. I know lots of little Ones called Enfys because I work in a specialist birth unit for women who have had recurrent miscarriages and we have a lot of Welsh ladies. So their rainbow baby is called Enfys or Rainbow 🌈 it's not any less special because it's popular or is the actual name for a rainbow in Welsh

@pitterypattery00 yes I'm Scottish too and my daughter is Eira, pronounced Ay-ra. Hey and hay are exactly the same word for me! You're saying the name correctly with a Scottish accent!

I would sort of pronounce it Ay-uh-ra, but the middle uh sound is really short. The r is also a bit different in a Welsh accent. The best YouTube video I can find with the pronunciation I would use is here: (need to scroll about 35 secs in)

That said I imagine like lots of words it will be different by accent, maybe someone else from another part of Wales will come along and say they completely disagree!

@QuietYou , imagine calling out Hey you! or something. It's sort of like the difference between Eye and Aye. I'd say Isla is Eye-la but not Aye-la.

Well guessed @Johnnysgirl.My 2 DC are called Siardonê and Safanna. Needed to welshify the names. Everyone tells us how lovely and unusual the names are.

Seren is lovely.

I think Eira and Seren are both lovely names.

I've always liked Eira - but this thread now has me confused over the pronunciation! I can't work out the difference in pronunciation between hey and hay 🤷‍♀️. Both identical in my (Scottish) accent. I assumed Eira was pronounced Ay-ra with the ay pronounced as in hay. Same as the start of the Scottish name Eilidh.

I think i'd be a bit confused to hear of a Julian and a Seren. Seren is super popular and Welsh, whereas Julian is quite unusual and has a very posh English vibe. I know that names don't need to 'go', but I think Julian and Seren don't 'go' at all, to the point where it might seem a bit noticeable that they're totally different styles.

I think you're husband's names, and Edith and Annabel from your list, also 'go' well with Julian. (I feel Eira is the same as Seren when it comes to really not going with Julian). Catherine (nn Kitty), Constance (nn Connie) go particularly well, I think.

If you like Erin then Elin may also appeal as another Welsh option?

Sounds like half a word to me.

I have an Eira so that would be my vote! But I'm not sure any Welsh names would go with Julian, they're just not in the same bracket. That might not bother you, but I'm funny about siblings names not going together!

I love Seren - I live in Wales and know a few little girls with this name. It's by far my favourite of your options. Another possibility if you want the Welsh connection would be to use Catrin, which is the Welsh variant of Catherine, or stick with Catherine but with the Welsh nickname Cadi.

Seren is a lovely name, I also love Serena. I don’t think anyone would think the name is naff because it means star? I have a pretty low threshold for naffness and don’t think it’s naff.

I love Seren, it's not remotely naff. Anyone claiming it is has probably gone the Chardonnay or Savannah route 😁

Me, obviously.
Star has been used as a name.
sad news article

I like Seren. It doesn’t matter if it is Welsh for star. I am in Wales and know a few Serens (most people say Ser-unn) and it’s still lovely when it’s not pronounced by a Welsh speaker.

Love Seren it's beautiful.
Who cares that you wouldn't name a baby star in England?!
Its how it sounds and looks & what it means to me. Also lovely to give a nod to her heritage.
I'd definitely go for Seren op!

Hey and haysound the same when I say them too.

I also don’t think the ‘ei’ sound at the beginning of Eira really has an English equivalent, I would say it as two short syllables for a start. Ei sounds a little bit like the word ear but not quite, I’m not really sure how to explain it using English words but definitely can’t see how hey would be right even if said not to sound like hay.

This is why I struggle I think Hay and Hey sound the same when I say them!