Did you call your child Seren or Arianwen?

[anwenT]

Hi,

I'm looking for feedback from mums who have used these names - do you have any problems with pronunciation or spelling for example? Do you love them/have regrets?

I have read a few people say on here that Seren is now chavvy or faddy :( but I'm hoping that's the minority opinion! (We are Welsh but live in England). Love Arianwen as its a much older and more unusual name, but people I show it to try and pronounce it as Aryan!

Also any one syllable middle name suggestions to go with these names??

Thanks!

When we were on holiday a couple of years ago a family at the same hotel had children called Seren (girl) and Rowan (boy).

I know one Seren. It's a lovely name.

Love Arianwen! I live in Wales and know a few Serens but no Arianwens! Not sure how people are getting Aryan... Are they missing the n in the middle? I'm used to Welsh pronunciation but can't see major problems with either.

I know two Seren Arianwens! One is in her 30s and the other is 6!

Other thing I would say as a first language Welsh speaker is that Seren doesn't rhyme with Seven- the second syllable is very much an 'en' sound and not an 'un.' So like pen and not pun!

Ooh thank you all for your help! I'm feeling more positive about both names now, just need to choose!

soundsystem yay a mum of an Arianwen! I have found the odd thread on here where someone is considering it but you rarely find out if they actually chose it. DH loves it and prefers it to Seren. I like Ari as a nn but do worry that it will sound like cockney Harry? But if it's pn more like Ah-ri then I guess that's not such an issue

so ceri would you say that the 'serendipity' explanation is a better way to describe the pn? I try and say it the proper welsh way but I don't have a strong accent so it probably doesn't quite sound as right as when you say it!

I have a Seren, it's very uncommon in Northern Ireland but reactions have been very positive!
I do have to say "no, not Sarah," and "it's a Welsh name" fairly regularly though :-)

We have a little Arianwen (we're in Wales). No regrets here! There's been the odd interesting spelling, but the confused looks have been far outnumbered by the positive reactions! She tends to get called Ari.

i wanted Arianwen for my youngest, but we chose Celyn Sionedd instead.

I've always loved Eleri and Mali and Marnie.

We have a family member called Seren. They live in Wales. I think it is a very pretty name and there is no problem with spelling or pronounciation.

Seren is pretty

I love Arianwen. Regarding pronunciation, you'll need to say 'three syllables - arry-an-wen.' People will get it. My DH is Welsh and was gong to be named Bryn, but his English grandmother kept mispronouncing it. It's a perfectly straightforward name to pronounce but I suspect she didn't want him to have a Welsh name. It worked, and they went for something else...

A pp suggested Arwen but that is a made-up name from LOTR! Anwen is legitimate, though.

Seren is just too popular for me.

We were a bit worried about the Cockney 'Arry thing, as we live in East London - we thought maybe people would think she was called Harriet, when they heard us saying Ari. Honestly hasn't been a problem though.

I think because it's so unusual here, people don't mistake it for another name, in the way that a Seren might have to say "no, not Sarah, Seren", Arianwen usually just gets "Ar..what is it, sorry"? Depends which you think you'll find more annoying, I suppose!

As an aside, my DD was briefly called Alys (we didn't register her as that, but called her it amongst ourselves for a couple of weeks while we were deciding). She looked more like an Alys than an Arianwen, but I thought - being in England - she's spend her life saying "It's Alys A-L-Y-S" and I couldn't do that to her (I have the a similar problem in that my name is the less-usual spelling so I'm always name-with-an-E)

They are both lovely names. My favourite is Arianwen - so beautiful! I wanted it on the list for DD, but DH vetoed.

We called our daughter Arianwen and we are so happy we did. She was born with silver hair (Arian means silver, as I understand it).

Random people we meet need it repeating, but all friends, family and co-workers have no issues. They all think it is a really pretty name. Some thought that they would have trouble with it (sister-in-law) but now it is very natural - all babies grow in to their names.

Names are really tough, it's great to be able to give them something special. It won't be easy for her necessarily growing up, but it will set her apart.

Good luck! Seren is beautiful too!

I like Arianwen
Reminds me a bit of Marianne which I like.
I know an Anwen too.

I am Welsh, living in England, and LOVE the name Arianwen. I am concerned that it will get pronounced 'Aryan' or 'Orion' though. And if shortened to Ari do people think it's Harry? Still love the name. Reassured by @Soup Dragon's (correct) guess at pronounciation!

Arianwen is lovely. I have an Anwen, we live in England, and I get LOTR comments a lot. "No, that's Arwen, Anwen is a Welsh name" gets said a lot!