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Baby names

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

Original poster

Cornish Girls Names

82 replies

lizzielu · 02/06/2008 17:03

We are looking to give our DD2 a Cornish
name (DH's roots) but do not live England anymore, so I've no idea of what's popular in Cornwall. I currently like Tamara or Tamsin, but I've also heard Zena is Cornish but I can't find any info on the internet. Can anyone from Cornwall confirm this?

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Original poster
lizzielu · 02/07/2008 18:40

We are still deciding between Tamara, Tamsin or Tegen.
What do all you all think of Tegen? (Pronounced Teg - un).

OP posts:
HuwEdwards · 02/07/2008 12:03

Pasty

Remotew · 02/07/2008 12:00

Some lovely names on these lists. Love Kayna.

Inquisitive · 02/07/2008 11:52

I think Zillah is Cornish?

Kara is the Cornish word for love.

cheesesarnie · 02/07/2008 11:43

sorry i put boys and girls.whoops

cheesesarnie · 02/07/2008 11:20

emjking-where in cornwall are you?were north cornwall.

cheesesarnie · 02/07/2008 11:19

piran is very popular here atm.theres a few morwenas,kerensa,lowennas.also demelza,denzil,gorran,hendra,jago,jory(cornish versio of george),jowan,and tigger(means pretty or beutiful)

Squirdle · 02/07/2008 11:14

They pronounce it El-o-wen

Squirdle · 02/07/2008 11:13

Our friends have a baby called Elowenn. Her mum is very cornish and wanted a cornish name for her daughter.

terrier141 · 02/07/2008 11:07

Tamsin is really pretty, and I only know one, so thats even better!

emjking · 02/07/2008 09:55

we now live in cornwall and have decided to call our baby girl ( due october) Elowen Talwyn Poppy, the first 2 are cornish and my other daughter likes Poppy, we have had 3 different pronounciations of Elowen. we struggled with a girls name so had a book called 300 names for the cornish from the library and read through them as soon as i said Elowen we both decided staraight away.

Dragonbutter · 12/06/2008 17:31

The river is Tay-mar.
I once knew a little girl caller Tamar pronounced that way. We are in Devon but very close to the cornish border.
We also have friends in israel who called their daughter Tamar but with a different meaning, probably hebrew. I think the origin of their meaning was a type of fruit.

Original poster
lizzielu · 12/06/2008 17:02

Thanks Dragonbutter - my husband bought that book back from England last time he visited, it was very usefull but strangely it does not have Tamara listed.

Filplus4 - I have already been trying this with my 3 1/2 year old - I've been calling her Tamara or Tamsin for fun and she prefers to be called Tamsin!

I saw an American actress on some Showbiz Entertainment channel with the name Tamara last night but it was pronounced very differently (Tam - er- ra) to how I've been pronouncing it(Ta - mahr - ra.I assume most English people would pronounce it in the same way as I would.But it got me thinking on how you pronounce the river Tamar and maybe I'm pronouncing the name wrong and it should be Tay - mahr - ra.

What is the Cornish pronounciation of the name Tamara?

OP posts:
Dragonbutter · 12/06/2008 11:13

This book might be useful. I used it when looking for scottish names but it has a lot of cornish names in it too.

fiplus4 · 12/06/2008 11:06

I like Tamara. I think most people have only come across it in conjunction with Beckwith. It's pretty straightforward to spell but the best name test of all is to imagine yourself yelling it up the stairs in two or three years time followed by '...hurry up and get your shoes on'

serin · 10/06/2008 23:13

St Agnes
St Just
St Ives
St Buryan
St Keverne
Sennen
Nanjizal
Marazion
Polzeath
Perranporth
Piran
Mevagissey
Tintagel

Quite like Sennen (!)

Or What about "Tivy", pronounced Tiv-ee
originally from South Wales I think but I used to work with a Tivy who was cornish.

ShowOfHands · 10/06/2008 19:52

Oh Merryn is beautiful. I've never come across it but I like it a lot.

Original poster
lizzielu · 10/06/2008 19:42

fiplus4 - do you know if Tamara is quite popular in Cornwall?
I haven't really had a good response from my side of the family - some say it sounds too posh, some say it sounds like tommorrow (said with cockney accent!)
What do you think of Tamara?

OP posts:
fiplus4 · 10/06/2008 19:13

We have a Jennifer Ellen and a Tamsin Morwenna (and a George Petroc and a Nicholas Samuel), all of which - and whom - have Cornish heritage!

BigGitDad · 04/06/2008 18:57

Do I get a prize for this?
I will watch this thread to see what you name your daughter!

Original poster
lizzielu · 04/06/2008 10:50

Just found out that Tamara is a cornish legend as a celtic goddess of the river Tamar. Apparently she dissolved into tears which became a crystal stream flowing out to the ocean (R. Tamar) after a love triangle with Tavy and Tawrage (sons of Dartmoor giants) who also ended up as rivers - one (R.Tavy) that seeks his lost love by flowing and minglng alongside her out to sea and the other, ever sorrowing flowing away from her forever (R.Taw). Tamara was also one of the greatest queens of Georgia which explains why most baby sites give the origin as Russian. Maybe she had celtic roots?
I think we are going to go for Tamara Lily - (middle name Grt. grandmother's from Devon) - well that's the name of the week - only six weeks to go so it could change again!

OP posts:
TwoFirTreesToday · 03/06/2008 17:25

We have an ancestor called Sabina from the West, I bet were related

dinny · 03/06/2008 16:42

my gran's middle name is Loveday

AbbeyA · 03/06/2008 16:37

My great grandmother was called Tamar but it wasn't after the river. Tamar is a biblical name that isn't popular now but was at the time she was born. I think it is quite nice and could have the Cornish connection.
I like Morwenna.
Jennifer is the Cornish form of Gwenevere, it is quite interesting if you look at the 1881 census because every Jennifer (or the various spellings)lived in or was born in Cornwall.It only spread later on.

joash · 03/06/2008 16:16

The Tamar is on the border betwen Cornwall and Devon.
I love Loveday, and only met one since we've been here.