Welsh speakers advice please

[wineapotamus]

Hi all,
How would you pronounce the name Efa? I'm 3rd generation Welsh and can say things like nos da, mochyn and cariad that my main called me when I was small. My son has a Welsh name that I love and I'd like my little one (due in March) to have a Welsh name too, but I'm getting lots of variation on how this would be pronounced. Like eefah or ever or effer?
Diolch and all that xxx

I'd maybe go into google for popular Welsh names for babies 2016 or something.
I LOVE Buddug mind, means warrior. But English hubby used his veto.
There's an Efa in my son's class - we're in Cardiff. But you will spend years telling people how to pronounce it.
I snuck the Welsh Welsh names in as middle ones.

Fluent welshy here
Eh-va
Nice name but I wouldn't call a child in England Efa. I have a welsh name, live in England and have long given up trying to get people to pronounce it properly

Having dealt with the whole welsh baby names thing (i had boys) I concluded that there are very few names that work in both english and welsh. Of the possibilities mentioned Anwen is poss the best one.

Can't stand the English pron of anything ending in -an eg Bethan, Megan.

"Of the possibilities mentioned Anwen is poss the best one."

I think you'd still get Anwin rather than Anwen. Gwen works (not my real name) because it's quite well know. Also I think anything ending in -ys like Nerys, Cerys and Dilys (not that these are little baby names).

Re. the website for popular Welsh names, here's a link to what's popular for babies born recently: www.bbc.co.uk/darganfod/22609203

You can really see the mix of modern and old.

You can look up what the names mean at www.behindthename.com/ (though not all Welsh names are on it).

This is from 2016 and is based on Welsh-origin names from the ONS (so not necessarily from Welsh speaking parents as would be the case for the Radio Cymru one)

www.bbc.co.uk/cymrufyw/37255940

Agree with Gwen for Anwen you'd get Anwin. But that doesn't grate as much as Beth-un for Beth-an.

"Agree with Gwen for Anwen you'd get Anwin. But that doesn't grate as much as Beth-un for Beth-an."

It's about what you can deal with I suppose. Someone who doesn't speak the language at all isn't going to get any name 100% correct.
Even Sian is pronounced differently by non-Welsh speakers as the ah sound is slightly different in English.

I think it's influence from the English Holly that's making people use it for girls.

For us it seemed to fit more as a girl's "noun" name (like Seren, Enfys, Gwawr etc) than as a boy's name, despite the "yn" ending :)

When we named her we thought it would be a hugely popular name, but there were only about 30 others born in the UK that year

Can I ask, I am English but did live in Wales for a short time so I know the -an names should be 'an' not 'un', but because I'm English and have an English acsent I worry that I might look try hard or like I was putting on a Welsh accent if I said them the Welsh way and might cause offence.

Would this offend people? Am I being stupid?!

It wouldn't offend me Themirrorcracked. It doesn't offend me when people mispronounce names in general, it's just a bit annoying, unless it's someone who's been taught to say a name correctly and just refuses.

Another thing you have to bear in mind is that some people say their own names 'incorrectly' (and yes I'm familiar with the idea that you're always correct about your own name, just don't agree with it). I know an Alun who calls himself Alan for example, though he'd answer to both.

"When we named her we thought it would be a hugely popular name, but there were only about 30 others born in the UK that year shock"

It's still more popular than it used to be.

Does it? I would not recommend anyone who doesn't speak Welsh or lives in Wales to use a welsh name unless they don't mind it being mangled.

Angharad might work but I have heard Ann Harrod nd Ann Garrod. (Its Ang-HAR-ad. (In Welsh 'ng' doesn't have a 'g' sound in it apart from a few words like Bangor).

I like Lleucu, Llio, Llyr and Elliw but would not recommend them outside Wales.

Buddug, if anyone is wondering is pronounced Bithig (with 'th' as in the, not thing) and is a strong feminine name.

Arianwen ? I know of one.

Yes. I like it. I don't like Anwen as it seems very dated but Arianwen is silvery.

Gosh - thanks for having a pop Gwen, I live in Wales and know a very Welsh Mair who pronounces her name My-ah, and I couldn't put a circumflex over the a in Sian as my iPad doesn't seem to have one!

Sorry Girl, but if you give a completely wrong pronunciation, I wouldn't be able to not correct it. Very strange that this Mair says her name My-ah, does she do that to make it easier for non-Welsh speakers to say? No way, would anyone pronounce it like that in the middle of a sentence in Welsh.

The thing about a circumflex wasn't really a pop, it was just info for anyone else reading. I didn't put one either, if you notice.

I like Eleri (pronounced El-airy) but I'm biased as I have one.😆😆😆😆

My middle name is Wyn, never use the circumflex and according to my mum we are related to Hedd Wyn. Although given the very smalll gene pool(more a damp patch) where my family comes from then I'd be surprised if we weren't related.

My great-grandmother was Blodwyn... still referred to as Blodders!

A very Welsh Mair pronouncing it My-ah?! I'd be questioning her 'very Welsh' credentials, I have literally never heard anyone very Welsh or even slightly Welsh pronounce it like that.

Oh and Carys isn't dated at all round here, very contemporary in fact. I know a few kids with that name. Same as Dylan. Both were possibly brought back into popularity when Catherine zeta Jones called her kids by those names.

Eleri is pronounced El-erry usually said as Lerry not Lairy.

The welsh noun names strike me as being a bit naff.

Efa is pronounced Evva not Aiva.

" according to my mum we are related to Hedd Wyn. Although given the very smalll gene pool(more a damp patch) where my family comes from then I'd be surprised if we weren't related."

Hedd Wyn was his bardic name anyway, his real name was Ellis Evans.

"Eleri is pronounced El-erry usually said as Lerry not Lairy."

I know a couple socially and non-Welsh speakers often pronounce it like the surname Ellory with the emphasis on the first syllable rather than the second and an 'uh' sound rather than 'e' for the second syllable, until they learn it properly.

Which noun names do you mean Mike? Things that are words in common usage like Hedd (Peace)?

Yes but it should be pronounced like lerry with a rolling r.

I suggest Nia, Anwen or Catrin, all of which will translate better in England (im English but lived in wales over a decade)