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Original poster

Is it daft to use Gwilym if we're not Welsh?

77 replies

Laquila · 03/07/2015 16:33

This is pretty much the only boys' name I like. My husband's worried that it's "a bit Welsh" (well...duh), although he loves Wales and has a lot of good memories from there. What do you think? Would you automatically assume a Gwilym was Welsh?

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DulcetMoans · 05/07/2015 07:02

I just posted something similar about welsh names, didn't see this!

I knew a Gwilym but he was older. Would you shorten at all for baby/child?

It is a very welsh name and think you will be questioned but that's not necessarily an awful thing. Just be prepared!

reuset · 05/07/2015 08:59

Yep. There are tons of Aoifes and Niamhs and Conors and Aidans all over the UK these days. Lots of them without any family link to Ireland

sigh No established English version and alternative to those names, though. Read whole thread, this is not about using 'foreign' names

Rivercam · 05/07/2015 09:09

Love it!

In my eldest son's class, there were three Megans, only one had a Welsh connection.

If you love it use it.

Y0la · 05/07/2015 10:25

sirvixofvixhall wow, I kind of get your point but your reaction is more extreme than is usual I think. What I hate is when I read on these boards that Conor is chav or Niamh is chav. Names that have been part of Irish folklore for literally thousands of years! The names of the old high kings of Ireland, declared ''chav'' by those who don't recognise their own xenophobia. But I don't mind if people use say Maeve because it's pretty! or spell it in a way that makes sense to them.

Lolimax · 05/07/2015 10:41

Valleys Welsh here. I think it's a fairly old fashioned name. I also think although you have the right to call your child what you like, please consider other, less obviously Welsh names, especially when neither of you are. Not trying to be too parochial but we do fight to protect what was a dying (at one point) language, and to a lesser extent, culture.

Y0la · 05/07/2015 11:10

Can I ask the Welsh posters, has the use of welsh language and welsh names for babies, and welsh language schools (do you have them) become fashionable?

Over here (in Ireland) the same mums who are openly breastfeeding in vegan cafés giving their paisti cearroids agus hummous are the ones who promote the Irish language the most.

Does this sound like a comparable social trend?

AbbeyRoadCrossing · 05/07/2015 11:17

I think it depends where you are in England. I'm in the south east and there seems to be loads of Niamh, Orlaith etc that aren't Irish at all and no one bats an eyelid.
My son has a very Welsh name but we do have that ancestry.
I would assume your DS is an old man though but I guess old man chic is in at the moment!

Lolimax · 05/07/2015 11:22

Hi Y0la. I think it's a different picture across wales but in South Wales (where the majority of people do not have Welsh as a first language) there has been a definite increase in demand for Welsh medium school places, and anecdotally I've noticed more children being called Welsh names. However I'm incredibly proud of being Welsh, learnt it as an adult but chose not to send my own to Welsh schools as my DS appeared to present with learning difficulties as a baby (later proved right) and I felt it would be an added pressure. In the past the Welsh schools in my area have had a reputation as being better disciplined etc... Though I think the gap has narrowed. I don't think it's a fashionable thing but more it was the only choice on offer if that makes sense? I'm sad though as I'm writing this from my late mums house in Pembrokeshire. I have to sell. It's in an area where due to its beauty and proximity to the beaches most locals can't afford to buy. The house will probably be sold as a second home. That really makes me feel ugh.

DeidreChambersWhatACoincidence · 05/07/2015 11:23

My son has a Welsh name. It's not hard to say although it can be spelled a couple of ways so occasionally there is just that to clarify.

I can't say it's been a problem though and no-one has ever asked about any connections to Wales. We just loved the name for him. He likes it too because it's a bit more unusual where we live.

Y0la · 05/07/2015 11:38

Thanks for your reply. I have gone down the route of traditional english speaking schools with gaelteacht courses and summer camps. And they learn it at school obviously. But not through Irish. It is sad to see a culture just diluted by richer visitors who can afford a holiday house.

FraggleHair · 05/07/2015 12:46

sigh No established English version and alternative to those names, though. Read whole thread, this is not about using 'foreign' names

I read the whole thread thank you. No established alternative to Aoife? Are you quite sure? Eva perhaps?

The manner in which you police these boards is very strange.

SurlyCue · 05/07/2015 13:17

I agree fraggle, reuset is coming across as extremely rude. There really is no need for it.

SirVixofVixHall · 05/07/2015 14:09

Y0la, no not really that sort of social trend, although that could be true in places like Cardiff, I'll ask my db! Where I live I hear Welsh spoken daily and all the schools are welsh language, the closest dual language school is too far for us as a daily commute for instance. So welsh names have never been unfashionable, They have always been the norm alongside biblical and classical names, and many children have names that would be considered unpronouncable in England ( Llyr, Mallt, etc). My bd has a welsh name and I have a classical family name that isn't welsh. My father and uncles have a similar mix as do my dcs. I sympathise with you Lolimax, I live in the very tip of pembs and luckily where i am there aren't many second homes, but just a bit farther away, in Llnagranog for instance, there are probably as many second homes as there are lived in ones, it is like a different place in the Winter. It does erode communities, but if you are selling there is nothing you can do about it.

Original poster
Laquila · 20/07/2017 19:51

Well, I've just come back to this thread after starting it two years ago and then bowing out fairly quickly in a fug of pregnancy hormones and disappointment at some of the comments! Consequently I hadn't read many of them - some very interesting points but I have to say I'm a bit confused by your attitude, Vix. A man wanting to wear dresses but not do the washing up?! I don't know where to start with that.

FWIW we used Gwilym and still love it. It very much suits our boy. I hope our use of the name isn't seen by anyone we meet as cultural appropriation (certainly none of the Welsh people we've met have said so, but who knows what they say behind closed doors).

I also agree with the posters who've commented on Reuset's odd tendency to try to tell people what they why're doing wrong in terms of their posts...this thread sort of is about foreign names, actually, so with all due respect, please wind your neck (retrospectively) in on that count :)

OP posts:
Purpletears · 20/07/2017 19:58

Good for you Laquila. A great name!

Bubbaboo2 · 20/07/2017 21:02

I am so glad you used your name! As a Welsh person it makes me proud when people acknowledge the beauty of our names and culture and find it baffling that people would be offended purely because you're English?!!😱

Original poster
Laquila · 20/07/2017 21:32

Bless you both, thank you :) I couldn't possibly imagine him as anyone else but Gwilym!

OP posts:
Efferlunt · 20/07/2017 21:34

im glad you choose it. It is such a beautiful name.

yakiudon · 21/07/2017 14:32

Our DS2 is also a Gwilym. It's my favourite boys name!

otterlieriver · 21/07/2017 14:33

My cousin was a Gwilym and changed it. He got a bit fed up of the teasing. He is now a Gareth.

thegreylady · 21/07/2017 17:56

My neighbour has a Gethin which has a Welsh origin but they aren't Welsh. It is a lovely name.

thegreylady · 21/07/2017 17:57

Oops! Just read whole thread. Gwilym is a lovely name and you were absolutely right to for it.

MikeUniformMike · 21/07/2017 20:21

Not rtft but this:
"Go for it.
There is no guarantee that little gwylim will live in England all his life.
There are lots of non-English ..."

It will frequently be misspelt. It is pronounced GWIL-im.
It will frequently be mispronounced as Gwil-um.

It's not hugely popular or unpopular popular in Wales.
It is quite popular as a second name in Wales, or used as a surname if the parents' surname is Williams.

Generally, I'd say unless you speak that language don't use a name from that language.

If you love it, then use it.

debijon11 · 23/07/2017 09:37

The pronunciation is GWIL (as in twill) - im

goose1964 · 23/07/2017 21:41

I'm Welsh and DH is by choice,, we have a Dafydd who lives in Manchester, brought up in south west England, funnily enough no one had problems with pronunciation except my son, who can't say his the sound. DD was Welsh born but has lived in England since she was 6 months old and she has an Emrys. Again no-one bats an eyelid over his name either