Welsh names for English speakers

@FunnyOrca , I read it properly. You gave the pronunciations someone not familiar with Welsh names might give them, which I think is great because it's what will happen in real life. The dentist receptionist or whoever won't be thinking Mali will be 'Mally', they'll just say it how it looks.

@Girliefriendlikespuppies , the -wyn names are masculine. Non-Welsh speakers tend to say -wen as -win. Bronwyn appears on here often and gets a chorus of 'It's Bronwen's. Bronnie is cute but Bronwen's a granny name.

Nye for a boy - short for Aneurin.

I thought spelling Bronwen as Bronwyn made it more masculine in Welsh? The wyn bit is male?

My friends have a baby Bronwen and it’s very cute on her, think they will use nn Bronnie though.

Megan is a good name but fairly common I think.

Then you didn’t read my post.

What part of, “offer my very uneducated guess at pronunciation” makes it sound like I was offering actual pronunciation?

@Queeniechip , it is impossible to get everyone to get a name right.
I only know one non-Welsh speaking person get the pronunciation of my name right after asking me how to say it, and he wasn't English.

People around the world survive and learn different names and their pronunciations all the time.
Possibly but if I can't replicate a sound, I won't say it properly.

Or maybe the English among you can learn how to pronounce a Welsh name 🙄 MN are so weird for insisting it has to be easy first time for the English to pronounce whatever name it is. People around the world survive and learn different names and their pronunciations all the time.

That's how I interpreted it, and your suggestions IMO are a guide to how others might say them. @FunnyOrca .

@Arlanymor has a good point about the sounding the same or not. I worked with a Rhian and some said Ree-un (like Ian) and others said Ree-anne (like Leanne) even though she said Rhian.

@Girliefriendlikespuppies , Bronwen is Welsh and Megan is accepted as Welsh. Bronwen would probably get said as Bronwyn and Megan as Meggun.
Neither seems like a baby's name.

I'd use a name you both like and use a Welsh middle name. A lot of the really nice names would be mispronounced/misspelt a lot as a first name.
Something like Cara isn't really Welsh but is acceptable.
Something like Anna Mererid seems very Welsh.
Something like Noah Goronwy would be fine.

As this thread has demonstrated - do you want a Welsh name that people who don't speak Welsh can pronounce and do you want it pronounced the Welsh way? That sounds like I am tying myself up in knots but I promise I'm not!

There are Welsh names that sound the same in English and Welsh - Jac.
There are Welsh names that have different English and Welsh pronunciations -
like mine, Rhian. I would never expect a non-Welsh speaker to be able to pronounce 'Rh' the Welsh way, but I would expect them not to call me Ree-Anne. It's the vowel sounds that make this a cross-border issue!

Bronwen and Megan are Welsh I think.

Lovely names.

I’m aware I’m wrong, I was giving what my attempt would be as someone who knows nothing about Welsh. Idiot testing the names, if you will. If I met a child with these names, I would make investigations before reading the name aloud, but not everyone would.

@PlatiPlus , I'm sorry, I @ed the wrong poster. It was @tinytemper66 .

Oh right.. think you may have the wrong person? Anyway good to know about the caterpillar 🐛

That's quite rude. It's my opinion..

@luckylavender , Elinor isn't really Welsh but is used. Lowri is tricky because you don't get the 'owr' sound in English - they'll say Lowry like in L S Lowry or Low-ry.
Angharad - I think it's ok but it was fairly unusual in my age group but is everywhere now. Ann-garrud/Ann-harrud is horrible.

Llinos is nice but will be Cleanose.

Dylan, Gareth, Aled and Tomos - is it the 1960s?

I'm Welsh, I love Ffion and Elinor. Lowri is also nice. Angharad beautiful but tricky and Llinos beautiful but non Welsh people cannot pronounce it.

For boys I like Dylan, Gareth, Aled and Tomos.

Manon is also French

Siani is the equivalent of Janie, and doesn't have a circumflex on the a. A siani flewog is a caterpillar.
Your colleagues might be calling you Siâni (approx. Sharney) not Siani.

Eh?

@PlatiPlus , Siân gets lengthened to Siani (Shanny) as in Siani Flewog.
If you have a short name, people will lengthen it.
Your colleagues may be calling you Siâni, you know them, I don't.

@Blushingm , it's a good indication of how people might say them. I wouldn't use some names because of the way they get said. (Ulairy and Ree-annun )

That’s not how you pronounce Mali - it’s a short sounding A rather than longer sounding

not the correct for Osian either is more Osh-An

Eleri doesn’t rhyme with celery either

I often get that from non-English speaking people- usually abroad. Saying that I spell out my name in Wales too- especially when I use my email address! Most of my work friends elongate it to Siâni though! My mother hates it! 😹

@powershowerforanhour , Exactly. It's a lot worse when it's your or your child's name.
Don't overthink it - the stress is always on the last but one syllable.
The vowels in unstressed syllables are said as the vowel not a schwa etc. (See pp)

@Gateappreciation , Gwendolen in Welsh and it's Gwen-DOL-enn not GWEN-duh-lin

Rhys /Reece
Gethin
Gareth
Aled
David
Owen

Ffion
Elin
Sian
Carys
Gwendolyn

Only if they want to be called Sean or Cy-an/have to spell their name every time (from a Siân who grew up in England!)

Tesni or Emrys