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Baby names

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Original poster

Help with Welsh baby names

82 replies

Issy42 · 23/07/2009 22:03

I'm Welsh and would like to give my baby a Welsh name, but don't want to choose something that sounds too old or too odd for a child living in England. Always thought I would use Rhian/Rhiannon/Rhianedd for a girl but since the Rihanna umbrella song, I think it's a bit of a teenage mum name now. I'm not religious so trying to avoid names with meanings relating to God. Also can't begin with T, C or M.

Currently have:

Girls
Arwen (means fair/fine)- love the 'rw' sound but too Lord of the Rings?
Anwen (fair and beautiful)
Branwen (beautiful raven)
Eira (snow) - good for a winter baby, but too old?
Aneira (snow)

Boys
Vaughan (little)
Rhys (enthusiasm)
Gethin (dark-skinned - I'm very pale)

Also like Leon for a boy, though not Welsh. Would it be better for a boy to use a more popular first name with a Welsh middle name?

Any thoughts/other suggestions?

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Original poster
Issy42 · 09/08/2009 20:38

Sorry for not replying sooner, don't get on very often.

Thanks for all the lovely suggestions, but I've narrowed my list to the Eira names (Eirlys, Eira, Aneira or Eirawen) for a girl. I also still like Arwen and my old favourite Rhian which may become middle names or just alternatives in case she doesn't look like an Eira. I'm not going to narrow it further until she's born. If the researcher who scanned me on Wednesday has it wrong and she's a boy then he will definitely be Aneirin. To think I started out thinking girls were easier to name!

MaElsie - I'm not worried about the pronunciation in terms of being unable to pronounce Welsh names just that, apart from an Eirawen (who prounced her name EYE-rah-wen) at my school, these were names I really like but had not come across before. I have made plans to hear the names spoken by a native Welsh speaker (one of the researchers) at my next scan and have a couple of friends in Wales this month tasked with hearing a Welsh person saying the names . My headmaster was called Idwal and many a dragon mascot when I was in the Welsh archery team were called Idris. Strange how Welsh names died out a bit in the South East though. My nan's friends are Gwilyms, Olwens, Dilyses but from my parents' generation most people have English names or more common Welsh ones like David, Rhys, Gareth, Sian. I think there's a resurgence now though. I'd love to be able to bring my child up in Wales and send her to a Welsh-speaking school, but I'm pretty tied to where I live now.

Pontynan - are you a nan from Ponty? If so, Pontypool or Pontypridd? My nan and dad were Pontypool born and bred, then she moved to Cwmbran in the 50s.

Mummytowillow - Thank-you for your lovely post. I'm not surprised you chose Cerys after going through IVF to get her - very fitting. I love the name too but was avoiding C's.

Ilove - Congratulations on the pregnancy . I'll let the girls know on the chilled out ttc thread - they'll be so pleased for you. I'm just about keeping up with it - I created a monster, but I had to stick with it as they named the second part after me.

Thanks everyone for the help. Now just have to stick to my guns for 23 weeks and not change my mind.

OP posts:
victoriascrumptious · 09/08/2009 12:58

Eleri? (el-AYR-ee)
Gwen
Siwan (SHOO-ahn)
Brynn (Brin)

(girls names)

pontynan · 09/08/2009 12:54

I love all those girls' names which are short and end in an 'i'. My daughter is Sali, my grandaughter is Gweno. (Could also be Gweni)

Mali is lovely, so is Medi, Mari, Meri, (but all 'm's

Lili, Didi, Cari, Ceri ?

Boy's names.... I have a Wyn, Dafydd, Dewi and Owen.

Also love Llyr, Osian, Taliesin and Mabon

victoriascrumptious · 09/08/2009 12:49

Bryn
Gwyn
Selwyn

victoriascrumptious · 09/08/2009 12:41

Meirion is a lovely Welsh boys name. You say it May-ree-on

pontynan · 09/08/2009 12:11

i love the name Osian and alongside Iago and Ianto, there is also Iestyn

mummytowillow · 02/08/2009 22:16

Cerys, but only because my daughter is a Cerys!!

Seren for a little girl
Evan for a boy

Well done on the successful IVF though, my little Cerys is an IVF baby and was so worth the wait and the tears!

Enjoy!

Andanotherthing · 02/08/2009 21:36

How about Enfys (rainbow), Nia or Elin? Not sure about boys names, although there was a Tegid at our school (Lake Tegid/Bala?)

dizzydixies · 01/08/2009 19:36

I have a DD called Dylan unusual I know but suits her

DD1 was almost Arwyn but pipped to the post at the last second

ilovemy2babies · 01/08/2009 19:25

Girls

Elin
Seren
Anwen
Bronwen
Ffion
Imogen
Megan

Boys

Rhys
Ieuan
Iestyn
Dylan
Rh ydian
Llyr
Osian

HappyTangerine · 31/07/2009 22:58

I'm Welsh and we have a Seren, Ceri, Ffion and Nia in the family along with Dafydd, Meirion, Rhodri and Bryn.

Love Eleri and Lowri for girls, also heard Gwenda recently and its growing on me.

MaElsie · 31/07/2009 17:03

Eirlys is as mejon says: eh - rolled r - liss. But if you can't pronounce it, I don't hold out much hope for friends / relatives. I think Eira is much easier for English people to say.

You said you like the 'wen' sound - how about Morwenna (cornish / welsh meaning maiden), or Dwynwen (white wave). Branwen actually means "white raven" which I think is lovely. There's also a boys version, Bran (pause on the 'a'), but this may be too fibre-based for English people.

How about Welsh forms of common English boys names, eg. Dafydd, Gwilym.

Idwal and Idris could both form nice, unusual middle names. Both solid boys names in Wales.

rizlated · 27/07/2009 16:12

Ieuan or Dylan

Ilovebeingamummy · 27/07/2009 14:48

OK thanks Issy (8+1 and it seems to be sticky )
Allowing myself to think names now

Manon is another lovely welsh girls name.

i think the easiest way to describe the pronounciations is this - Eirlys + Ire-liss

  • Eira - I-raa

With short rolling r's if poss!

Think Neirin is unusual and lovely.... If only we hadn't gone and given our older 2 very non-welsh names already!

Original poster
Issy42 · 26/07/2009 21:13

Thanks mejon - that was as I thought - they seem to use the AY in the pronunciation guides for that sound. I hadn't found that book in my searches so thanks for highlighting it. I think what I need is one which comes with an accompanying cd with someone saying all the names .

Hi Ilove - how are you doing? All lovely names but am pretty sold on Aneirin/Neirin and Eirlys/Eira. Plenty of time to decide which variation.

OP posts:
Ilovebeingamummy · 26/07/2009 21:00

I like Ioan too and Elin.

Ilovebeingamummy · 26/07/2009 20:59

Cadi is a lovely welsh girls name I think (cad-E)

How about Steffan or Deian for a boy? (Day-ann)

mejon · 26/07/2009 20:57

Oh dear I don't know if I explained myself properly. The 'Eh' sound for Eirlys I meant was like when you've missheard something and go 'eh, what was that?' However I've just realised that not everyone will pronounce that sound the same way. It should rhyme with 'pay' or 'say' then add a rolling 'r' and then the 'liss'. Clear as mud? Sorry!

As for Eira - this is my BF's name. Her parents who are non-Welsh speakers (but are Welsh) call her 'Eye'-rah but Welsh speakers would pronounce it so that the 'Ei' bit again rhymes with 'pay' or 'say'.

When we were looking for names for DD (or could have been DS) I found this book really useful.

Original poster
Issy42 · 26/07/2009 19:21

Made me smile lowrib .

BuwchBywiog - are you saying you would pronounce it as though it were eira-lys or that you wouldn't pronounce the ei as the eh sound? I've seen so many different pronunciations for Eira (AY-rah/OY-rah/EYE-rah).

SoupDragon - Seren is a lovely name. I am Welsh but come from a part where almost everyone had an English name.

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 26/07/2009 18:28

[snort]
Never eat golden snow.

SoupDragon · 26/07/2009 18:27

I am English, living in England. BabyDragon is called Seren and it is not a problem whatsoever (she's 1/4 Welsh in the very corner of her soul. Mainly Welsh Dragon oddly enough )

lowrib · 26/07/2009 18:24

Sorry about that! I only looked at the link quickly. Golden snow? Euew!!!

Just goes to show you can't trust everything you read on the interweb.

BuwchBywiog · 26/07/2009 18:20

I would pronounce the eir in Eirlys in the same way as I would eira personally?!

Whoever suggested Llyr for a girl, I would say that its more common for a boy in Wales

Original poster
Issy42 · 26/07/2009 18:07

Thanks lowrib. That's the website that gives percentage of people bullied because of their name etc. and has strange pronunciations on it. They got the meaning of Aneira wrong on that thread though, giving a rather unpleasant image. As I understand, it either comes from Eira and means snow - the 'an' used to give more emphasis (often means truely/very) - or it's the feminine form of Aneurin which is where the gold meaning comes from, but not both at the same time .

I have one more Eirlys pronunciation question relating to the R, this is overemphasised but hard to explain any other way, is it eh-ruh-liss or eh-er-lis?

OP posts:
lowrib · 26/07/2009 14:19

How about Eiriol (snowdrop)?

Here are some more snow names

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