What Welsh girls names are fashionable?

It's not fashionable.

Nia 💕 meaning ‘bright’ or ‘radiant’

@Thedogscollar , I can't see the appeal at all. I know lots of them and they're all age 55+.

It's probably regional but it was so popular in the 1960s that it seems like someone saying Karen is a beautiful name.

It is used for babies but in 2026 the same number of girls were registered as Eileen. (I quite like Eileen in terms of how it sounds but it's not AFAIK fashionable and the song would put me off. I think it's Eibhlín in Gaeilge, which might be not as closely associated with that song.)

Carys is a lovely name.

I’m Welsh and live in South Wales - not Welsh speaking.

The most common names I would say that we’ve come across in kids under 5 are Alys, Cadi, Efa, Mali, Seren

For boys Dylan, Harri, Jac, Macsen & Osian.

My husband is Welsh, my kids have Welsh names but we now live in England! I love my kids names but it’s utterly surprising how many people can not read or say them, my kids find it really difficult at school especially my eldest at high school, people take the mick all the time. Unless she lives in Wales I really would pick one of the more common names people recognise.

delilabell · 31/01/2024 07:01
Emphys Welsh for rainbow

The poster was swiftly corrected.

I wonder if little Emphys's middle name was Ema.

Interestingly most of my Welsh speaking friends from Welsh speaking areas have children called names like Magi, Nansi, Harri, Macs.
Lili and Elsi are popular but quite a few 'very Welsh' names too.

EN-viss

How do you pronounce Enfys?

This is a misspelling of the Cornish Elowen. It doesn’t have any origins in Welsh :)

I live in South Wales
I know a Ffion and Manon who are sisters in their teens.i know Cadi and Mali who are 4 and have a sister called Anwen
I know at least 3 Angharads under 30
Not many Rhiannons but a few
Under 25:
Cerith (m) , Ceinwen (f) Sioned (f) Llewellyn (m) Taliesin (m) and Siriol (f) Sian (f)

Mabli, Eiri, Cadi, Tali, Eila, Hali

Interestingly most of my Welsh speaking friends from Welsh speaking areas have children called names like Magi, Nansi, Harri, Macs.
I live in a predominantly English speaking area but very close to a Welsh medium school so most neighbours speak Welsh. Their children have names like Osian, Ieuan, Angharad, Llinos.

No idea as I moved to Europe after university, but as a Welsh person I have always loved Angharad (pronounced ang-HAH-rad)

I adore the name Mabli too. Both, I would have liked to use for my own dd's but went for names more internationally known, and for them to have names that wouldn't forever need explaining, correcting spelling and pronunciation etc.

@HairyToity 's post nails it.
If she was looking for a name, something like Idris, Gethin or Osian would fit the bill.
The couple from Blaenau Ffestiniog might be considering names like Lleu, Ynyr or Iori and I don't think they'd be on Hairy's radar.

I'm now wondering if M ap D was an ace goalie in his youth and if NS keeps himself busy writing cynghaneddion.

@woodenblox , Jack and Becky born and bred in Deeside are Welsh. They don't speak Welsh but had lessons when they were in high school. They support Wales in rugby and football. They might watch Sgorio (S4C sports programme) but other than that, they don't hear much Welsh at all.

Osian and Elliw were born in Llanberis. They speak Welsh at home and at work. Their education was Welsh medium. They socialise more or less entirely in Welsh.

Both couples are Welsh but the culture is markedly different.

If you compared Myrddin ap Dafydd and Neville Southall, two Welsh men roughly the same age and born within a few miles of each other, would you say that their cultural heritage is the same?

I think it is a good point on choosing names depending on how Welsh you are. I've lived in an English speaking area of NE Wales for 20 plus years. I'm originally from Oswestry and my husband is from Wrexham. We wanted a welsh name, but one that everyone knows how to pronounce, and isn't too difficult to spell! If we lived in Blaenau Ffestiniog, and were Welsh speakers then we'd consider Welsh names that don't work in English.

Sorry if I’ve misinterpreted but what is a “culturally Welsh” couple, these days? Not from Cardiff? This is what I mean about the “not Welsh enough” attitude, this kind of talk just smacks of the self-appointed Welshness police who have always loved popping up to be welsher-than-thou because tadcu ran the Eisteddfod or whatever, even though the language is thriving in more areas and more schools in urban areas are using Welsh day to day. In Cardiff, these Welsh names are fashionable. Welsh speaking families in Cardiff are just as culturally Welsh as anyone else

@woodenblox , you've misinterpreted me. I'd be surprised if a culturally Welsh couple living in a Welsh-speaking area chose a name like the ones in the list.

will always either never be Welsh enough, I think something like Alfie spelt Alffi or Ottilie spelt Otili might fit that description.

or be somehow too Welsh Impossible , but naming your son Pwyll is probably not a good idea if you live in an area where nobody else speaks Welsh.

If you were living somewhere like Deeside and not Welsh-speaking, names like Dylan and Carys will seem quite fresh and appealing. If you live somewhere like Llanberis you will know loads of middle-aged ones.

For comparison, the most popular English names where I live include David and Julia. Would you say they were fashionable English names?

Yes, and those lists include the names I mentioned but you said you’d be very surprised to meet a baby with those names… so I’m not sure what you’re trying to say.

OP I think this thread is a good example of how some names will always either never be Welsh enough, or be somehow too Welsh, for some people, so parents should just name their children whatever they want! 😂

Boys:
1 Noah
4 Arthur
6 Theo
7 Leo
8 Oscar
9 Arlo
15 Reuben
17 Osian
18 Rowan
20 Roman
21 Elis
25 Macsen
26 Henry
27 Jacob
30 Dylan
35 Isaac
37 Harri
41 Jac
46 Caleb
49 Edward
53 Sebastian
57 Ethan
62 Owen
72 Benjamin
72 Cai
72 Tomos
76 Elias
76 Ioan
80 Eli
80 Emrys
88 Idris
2 Hari
92 Ifan
97 Noa
100 Gabriel
100 Milo
100 Tobias

I've left the Biblical names in.

I'm going by the ONS data. The top 100 names for girls for 2024 has the following Welsh (and phonetic not Welsh in strikethrough) names registered in Wales in 2024:

13 Mali
19 Mia
31 Mila
34 Matilda
39 Erin
42 Mabli
43 Seren
46 Cadi
46 Nora
48 Sophia
53 Alys
55 Eira
55 Lili
55 Nansi
60 Thea
62 Elsi
64 Ffion
64 Harriet
70 Eleri
70 Emilia
73 Lola
75 Eden
80 Robyn
84 Efa
84 Lowri
97 Anwen

I’m talking about Cardiff and environs in 2026. Mix of Welsh medium and English medium schools and families. Our family speak Welsh at home and friends are a mix. The names I mentioned are definitely in fashion, loads of young girls in 2026 have them. Meanwhile all the boys seem to be called Gruff and Macsen!

I am a Brownies leader and have had multiple Ffions in the last couple of years, so aged 7-10. Ffion Mai is quite popular. Other Welsh names I have are Alys, Seren, Eira, Nia, Elin. I do know a couple of teenage Carys but not younger. South Wales.

... the majority of people, even in wales aren't Welsh speakers so the more anglicised/"easy" ones are probably always going to be more popular.
The styles that the Welsh speakers choose tend to be different to the ones where one or both the parents aren't regular speakers. If your community and culture is Welsh language, you might not be too concerned about how a non-speaker will say the name.
Some of my family chose names based on them living in England or abroad. Others have chosen very Welsh names. Others welshified non-Welsh names or picked name like Mia.

you wouldn't criticise a Danish family for naming their DD Lærke or Dagmar because French people wouldn't know how to pronounce it, etc.
I wouldn't criticise anyone for using a name from their own culture. I would if asked mention that the æ would cause problems and that it would be mispronounced and misspelt. Dagmar would probably be pronounced phonetically not the Danish way.