Definitely want a welsh name, any thoughts on shortlist?

[nightandthelight]

Girls:

Aneira
Arianwen
Ceridwen
Enfys (too much like envy?)
Nesta
Tagwen

Boys:

Aneirin
Bleddyn
Emrys (has this been ruined by BBCs Merlin?)
Heddwyn
Maredudd
Seth

I love Anwen. I'm also a big fan of Sioned but it's a bit old fashioned I think. For boys, I like Llewellyn and Iolo. I appreciate the latter is a bit of a bold choice. Is welsh your first language?

I like Owen for a boy and Iona for a girl. (I'm English but Dh is Welsh.) Or how about David but known as Dewi?

I'm in England so my shortlist is a bit more English friendly than you might need, but here it is:
Huw
Osian
Owain
Rhys
Hywel
Iwan
Bethan
Gywn
Gwen
Eirlys

We also like Carys and Dylan but they are quite popular where I live so already taken

I've found these websites useful too, and they have the meanings on
www.welshboysnames.co.uk
www.welshgirlsnames.co.uk

I think Emrys is great from your list, and Anwen

Good luck!

I'm with tangled in that I'm not massively keen on the ones you've chosen, apart from Aneirin. They're all a bit long and fussy sounding to my ears and I'm not a fan of 'wen' and 'wyn' endings. Welsh names I love are: Elin, Cerys/Carys, Seren, Celyn, Eleri, Iola, Fflur, Cadi, Manon. Boys: Iago, Steffan, Llewelyn, Ioan, Ianto, Osian, Iolo

Gethin is lovely for a boy. I also like Nia and Seren for a girl.
I do think some of the nicest names are Welsh. You have loads to choose from.

My husband is Welsh but we live in England. His name is Gethin and not many people seem to have heard of it, its amazing how many people cannot pronounce it even though it is pronounced the way it is spelt. We named ds Dylan - nice and simple!

Lots of lovely names here. I think the only one I'm not keen on is Nesta. I love Aneira.

Ceinwen is pretty too.

There's one I heard recently that I loved, trying to remember it.

DD2 is Carys Bethan. Also love Seren and both DDs have a friend called Arianwen.

Love Gethin (my Dad's name and in the family for generations).

Eluned is nice

I've remembered - Esyllt, Welsh form of Isolde.

No it's not my first language toast although I went to a Welsh primary school so was temporarily pretty fluent.

I do really like Owen/Owain but it's DH's cousin's name and he is a terror!

Thanks for the links Abbey :)

Long I actually like the longer ones but need to rein it in I think to not saddle them with a difficult name outside of Wales!

That really surprises me honey! I always thought that Gethin was a name that would be really well known in England :)

So slightly revised lists are:

Girls:
Aneira
Arianwen
Ceridwen
Anwen
Eirlys
Gwen

Boys:
Aneirin
Emrys
Seth
Gruffydd
Osian

Esyllt looks lovely best but would non-Welsh people struggle with the ll?

I love Esyllt, and Glesni was always my #1 choice for a girl, vetoes by DH.
For a boy we were both agreed on Taliesin, neatly avoiding pronunciation hiccups by shortening to Tal.

I love Seren for a girl, and Cerys.

Not keen on any Welsh boys names.

I love lots of these names.
Tagwen is adorable and I like Arianwen. The others are all nice too.

longdiling s suggestions are brill, my favourites out of her suggestions are
Cerys/Carys, Seren, Celyn, Eleri, Iola, Fflur, Cadi, Manon. Boys:Steffan, Ioan, Ianto, Osian, Iolo. (Which is most of them)

Do you have a Welsh surname?

How about a Gwilym for a boy?

I like Arianwin.
Or how about
Angharrard
Nerys
Cerys
Rhiannon.

Not kean on your boys names. Just different opinions, though

I'm in England and DS's name is quite an easy one to pronounce (or so we thought) and is fairly popular in it's English version. But I do find people struggle with it which has surprised me. Although many of those that have difficulty are originally from outside the UK, which makes sense. I guess they learnt English as a second language but that doesn't cover the Welsh use of Y etc.

So I wouldn't let it put you off, they might be spelling it even if you pick one you think they won't be!

Taliesin is a fantastic name. I love Tal as a NN.

Gwynant is nice for a boy and easy for non Welsh speakers to say

My Great grandmother couldn't pronounce Gethin and Welsh was her first language. She called my dad Ceffyl until the day she died.

What about Idris?

Standout favourites for me from your revised list are Enfys (I know a very cute toddler Enfys), Arianwen and Eirlys. For boys: Emrys and Gruffydd. I absolutely love Gwilym and would like it for my own potential boy (only 7 weeks pregnant at the mo!) but was fairly universally told on a thread I started about it the other day that it would be ridiculous to use it as a non-Welsh person not living in Wales :(

I had a sister called Ceridwen, always shortened to Ceri. We didn't grow up in Wales, and have only ever met one other. I like Enfys too.