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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Original poster

Thoughts on Bleddyn?

116 replies

Bellatrixandstrange · 12/04/2017 06:25

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?

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AliceKlar · 12/04/2017 15:50

Congratulations Bellatrix. i like how you say Bleddyn but without an explanation I'd not know how to pronounce it. So you could find supply teachers or new teachers calling out Bleddyn on the register. On the other hand it's amazing how many easy names are also pronounced incorrectly. Mine is an exceptionally common name and some people manage to say it wrong!

Floggingmolly · 12/04/2017 15:52

It has a very unpleasant sound.

RueDeDay · 12/04/2017 15:57

I love Bleddyn, bit live in Wales so knoe how to pronounce it. As someone with an unpronounceable name, I don't think it's a massive problem. And once people are told, they'll remember it.

Otherwise maybe Osian? Slightly more popular so I think more people know the pronunciation?

stumblymonkeyremix · 12/04/2017 16:00

I think you should go with what you love. I wouldn't have known how to pronounce it but I'd only need to be told once (and will now be able to if I meet one in the future!).

I love that people keep the old Celtic names alive...I'm jealous as English names are a bit dull in comparison!

stumblymonkeyremix · 12/04/2017 16:01

Please can someone tell me how to pronounce Llewelyn properly?

n0ne · 12/04/2017 16:05

I really like it but would have pronounced it as Bleddin, not having seen it before. The proper pronunciation is lovely

anxious2017 · 12/04/2017 16:07

Just call him Bleddyn - who cares what other people think? The comments on this post are horrible - it's a Welsh name and it's not awful in the slightest. It's not pronounced anything like bloody, so until people know the pronunciation, why slate it?

Llewellyn is pronounced with two Welsh double Ls, which English people really struggle to say and usually pronounce as a single L or a cl which is very annoying as it's not hard at all.

TonySopranosVest · 12/04/2017 16:11

Do it, Do it!

Honestly. Bullies gonna Bully, let's be honest. I have a Welsh name and it gets mispronounced A LOT. I do not give a shit, because I'm Welsh so fuck that noise, I just correct people. With such cultural diversity in schools nowadays I doubt a Bleddyn will be the only unusual name in the class.

Love the idea of him saying later in his life "My name is Bleddyn, but you can call me wolf"!

DumbledoresApprentice · 12/04/2017 16:15

I think it's a lovely name. If he feels like a Bleddyn to you then I think that's his name. I teach plenty of secondary age kids with names that people on MN say are either awful or unpronounceable. It's fine. If you love the name go with it.

ArseyTussle · 12/04/2017 16:19

I like it! What else is on your list, OP? Although I'm generally a believer in going with 'the one', I didn't and ended up changing DD's name.

And congrats!

HonorBright · 12/04/2017 16:22

Llewellyn is pronounced with two Welsh double Ls, which English people really struggle to say and usually pronounce as a single L or a cl which is very annoying as it's not hard at all.

Not quite. The first 'll' is a separate sound to the second 'll'. It's sort of like 'chlew-ell-in', if 'ch' is the sound from 'loch'.

I'm not a Welsh speaker so I don't know why the second 'll' is pronounced differently but I'm sure someone will be along soon who can explain...!

eternalopt · 12/04/2017 16:30

I love the name Bleddyn, but I'm in Wales. I've given both my children very Welsh names, which the English would probably struggle with, but very English middle names, so if they cross the border when they fly the nest (sob!), they can choose to go by their middle names if it really annoys them.

anxious2017 · 12/04/2017 16:31

I am a Welsh speaker, but of course, I wouldn't know how to pronounce a Welsh name.

The second double L is quite often said as a Welsh double L, actually. Some people pronounce it as a single L as that's how the name was originally spelt. Llewelyn.

Also, the Welsh ll is nothing like the ch in Loch.

HonorBright · 12/04/2017 16:35

anxious I have never heard the pronunciation you describe but I stand corrected.

The 'ch' analogy is one I've heard many times from Welsh-speaking friends to try and help English speakers with the 'll' pronunciation. I appreciate that it is imperfect. I'm sure you have a much better way of explaining it.

JellyWitch · 12/04/2017 16:38

I like it and had no problem with how to say it. I have lived in Wales though.

NightWanderer · 12/04/2017 16:43

If you love it then go for it. People will get used to the pronunciation.

I knew a girl who was bullied about her name. She was called Sarah. People are strange!

anxious2017 · 12/04/2017 16:43

I do. Tongue to the roof of the mouth and blow out. Ch in Loch is similar to Welsh ch which is why they shouldn't be compared as they are very different.

Squidgling · 12/04/2017 16:48

I think it's nice when pronounced correctly so you won't have issues once people know how to say it. It just depends if it will bother you having people misspell it and new people mispronounce it a lot.

Congratulations on your baby

ArseyTussle · 12/04/2017 16:51

Very interesting, anxious. I've never heard a repeat of the Welsh double L in Llewellyn, although to be fair I don't live in Wales . I find that really tricky to do after the e, even though I can do it at the start of the word.

smashyourglasses · 12/04/2017 16:56

Not keen.

BertrandRussell · 12/04/2017 17:01

I don't think people are bullied for their names. I just think that having a name that you have to explain/spell/pronounce every single time can be tedious. And life can be tough enough as it is-why do anything that we can avoid doing that will make our children's lives even a tiny bit tougher? Lots of children may not be bothered-they may actively enjoy having a stand out name. But many would hate it-and you don't know what your child is going to be like-and it is the child who has to deal with it on a daily basis. Could you bear to Anglicise the spelling? Or go for a Welsh name that non Welsh people have a sporting chance of getting at least nearly right. Elis? Owain? Gethin? Rhodri? Llewelyn?

thatstoast · 12/04/2017 17:06

'll' sound - tongue to the roof of your mouth as if you're going to make an L sound. Keeping your tongue where it is, exhale so the air comes out the sides of your mouth.

I wouldn't pronounce the second ll in Llewellyn, personally.

Otherwise, i think Clue-well-in is the best anglicised version.

Anyway, Op should probably go for Bleddyn if that's what she liked.

MiladyThesaurus · 12/04/2017 17:08

Just call him Bleddyn. Most people will hear his name before seeing it written down and any teacher etc can easily learn that it's pronounced blethin. Don't anglicise it.

Twinkie1 · 12/04/2017 17:28

I think it'd be mispronounced bleeding.

TittyGolightly · 12/04/2017 17:29

I am a Welsh speaker, but of course, I wouldn't know how to pronounce a Welsh name..

Wtf?!

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