Opinions on Bronwyn?

[Bearfrills]

Be kind, I'm hormonal

DH and I are trying and failing to think of a name for DC4, it looks like we've already used all of the names we like. We tried some naming websites and drawing up a shortlist but out of a list of 500 girls names and 500 boys names there wasn't a single one that we both ticked.

DH has suggested Bronwyn or River for a girl.

We've got nothing for a boy.

I prefer it spelt Bronwen rather than Bronwyn. Nice name

My DD (7) has a Bronwen in her class who is adorable. I really like it.

I only know one Bronwen, with only distant/tenuous Welsh connections and anyway, I don't think it's essential. She gets Bron occasionally but is usually just Bronwen. It's lovely, and so is she.

My (non Welsh) sister is Bronwyn. She didn't much like her name growing up because it was unusual but she really likes it now. She is a very fabulous person so I am of course a big fan of the name.

I like both. Really like River and actually prefer it for a girl more than i do a boy.

have aaaaalways LOVED this name, and Adore Bron for short. Gorgeous
Also really like Olwyn :)

There was a character in Neighbours in the 80s called Bronwen.

I also know of a Jonty (English).

I had a friend called Branwen growing up, in North Wales. She's the only Branwen I know. Haven't heard of Bronwen before!

Olwyn is wheel. Olwen is a Welsh name though

My sister is called Bronwen but everyone calls her Bron.

The meaning is horrible: white breast / white breasted.

I don't really look at meanings, haven't a clue of the meanings of my other DCs names. Or my own name for that matter.

It's not my favourite name. I usually love Welsh names but Bronwen sounds too hard to me.

I live in Wales and it's considered very old-fashioned here. Old-fashioned as in Gladys rather than Emily. Don't do it !

not sure I would want my dd to be called 'white breast'...

Branwen means 'white crow' btw

I'm not keen on it, an old lady name but not in a good way, sounds very clunky and harsh to me, and not keen on Bron or Winnie as nn.
The spelling is usually Bronwen.

I know some lovely people with this name, but have always disliked it. I think it sounds very heavy and plodding.

I just don't like any of the sounds in it, to be honest.

Oh! I just realised that the two I was particularly thinking of are both South African, too!

Bronwen was apparently the Eva/Ava/Ivy of 1990s Johannesburg.

Jonty is the traditional nickname for Jonathan (as Jack for John, Ned for Edward, Bill for William and so on).

The -wen ending to female Welsh names started as an adjectival ending meaning 'blessed', tacked on to female saints' names. So Cain (meaning 'beautiful') became Ceinwen.

BTW, Branwen is 'blessed crow' (or any corvid, really) - the name of her brother Bendigeidfran in the Mabinogi means exactly the same.

Eventually -wen was just regarded as a feminine ending and used to feminize male names ending in -wyn, or tacked on to short names like Ann to give Anwen, or used to make up names like Blodwen and Tanwen and Bronwen.

And yes, to a speaker of modern Welsh the words 'bron' and 'wen' put together mean 'white breast' - or for some, a name for the weasel. Having said that, pale complexions used to be fashionable and many a woman is praised for her white breast in old Welsh poetry.

I know a female bronwyn, spelled that way too. I didn't know it was the male equivalent.