Thoughts on Bleddyn?

[Bellatrixandstrange]

Dh and I love Bleddyn for our son but we live in England and are worried that he'll spend his life explaining how it's pronounced/ spelt. Is it an OK name for a boy living in England?

I like it - but don't anglicize the spelling, people will get used to it!

I have a very welsh name and live in England. I've had to invent a NN for myself as no one can say it and have spent a life time spelling it out on the phone!
That being said, I don't think I'd change it. I like that it's different.

Oh god no. Will spend his School years being called Bleeding.

I love Llewellyn and it has the advantage of being better 'known' in England so I think people will cope with it better. However I'm put off by the US pronunciation of Lou-Ellen.

I also like Ianto, Bryn and Gareth

I love Taliesin but it was a no from dh and Gethin was a no from me because there was a bully on my school called Gethin. He's tiny and snuggled up on my chest and when I look at him I'm just paralysed by indecision!

I think Llewellyn is ok too ( if the proper pronunciation is like Laurence Llewellyn Bowen).

I know a lovely girl called Heulwen who now lives in England and has trouble with her name, but she deals with it so well. She tells people her name, explains how to pronounce it, but always says 'or call me Sunshine (the English translation) if you're more comfortable with that' and lots of people do.

You'll never find a name that everybody can pronounce. My Welsh BIL moved to England and people have trouble with his name, and it's Rhys! Which I don't consider to be very uncommon at all.

Your DS may even end up being called by his surname/nickname by peers anyway. Spelling your name out over the phone isn't that big a deal really, is it.

I quite like it, and totally get why you want to tie in to your Welsh heritage. I think the trouble will be, living in England, that not many people will be familiar with the pronounciation of "dd". As others have said, the English pronounciation isn't very nice at all. . Could you compromise and spell it Blethin? This might work better in England.

(I know a French/English Matthew who was born in, and has grown up in, France. His English parent insisted on the English spelling, which has caused no end of mispronouciation and misunderstanding.)

Aneurin? Nn nye.

I prefer it to Llewellyn which I think is a bit cumbersome and clunky. How is the other name pronounced? In my head it's close to Mervin but with a 'th' which I'm certain is wrong!

I wouldn't spell it blethin, you may as well give him a traditionally English name.

What about Cennydd or Cyffin? Gwynfor or Brychan?

Bleddyn is lovely - just go for it! Yes, you may have to explain the pronounciation initially but no doubt he will be at school (and later work) with people with all kinds of names from every part of the world. People barely bat an eyelid at unusual names these days (not that Bleddyn is unusual - I am in Wales and know several). It is a lovely nod to his Welsh heritage too!

Well, i read it as Bleddin But if someone told me to pronounce it Blethyn I would and there woulld be no problem and Blethyn sounds much nicer too!

If you love it I say go for it. My children have simple names but still need to spell them every time.

DS has very Welsh name and once we are out of Wales is it constantly mispronounced . He just corrects people.

Now i know how it is pronounced i like how it sounds, but i don’t really like how it looks written down.

I wouldn't anglicise a Welsh name. Love Bleddyn, Ioan, Iolo, Dafydd, Gryff.

So many great suggestions. Thank you all for your feedback.

Llewellyn is very nice.
As above, bleddy is a profanity, where I live.

But the "dd" in Bleddyn isn't pronounced with a "d" sound.

If you're Welsh OP and you like it, go for it.

It's not as if you were planning to call him Cynfael!

Llewelyn is really widely known in England , although we're probably not saying it right! I say it as "Lou-ell-in"?

Llewellyn will be almost universally mispronounced 'louellin' in England.

I taught a Llewellyn in London and pronounced his name correctly the first time I met him. He corrected me to 'louellin'

I understand that Titty, (first time Ive ever addressed anyone with that name 😂😂☺️).
If OP lived in Wales, it wouldn't matter a jot ! I don't dislike the name, but children can be so unwittingly cruel, hence my post, regarding the spelling.

I like Llewellyn.

Congratulations :)

Thank you, I really don't want him to get bullied in school. But he looks so much like a Bleddyn we will have to try out other names and see if they can suit him