Fleur or Fflur?

[Zanzan1]

So we like the name Fleur and it has family meaning but DH has Welsh roots and would like something that links with that so we are considering Fflur (fl-eer). Our surname also begins with F and is a two syllable name.

Just wondered what people thought and if outside of Wales where we are it might just be regarded as a weird way of spelling Fleur if we went for Fflur

The problem with Fflur isn’t the Ff - it’s reasonably intuitive to most Europeans that Ff = f and a lot of people have contact with a Daffydd or a Ffion.

But the u = EE (ish) is not a pronunciation that any anglophone would naturally guess - either sound to spelling or spelling to sound. And I can’t think of any well known name or word that would be a good example of how it works except Cymru am byth .

It’s not just a “how are you spelling that? OK, got it.” It’s a “How are you spelling that? Um, sorry? Can you repeat that?” Which is not the end of the world for a name you really love but it’s a pain.

a lot of people have contact with a Daffydd

Dafydd only has one F. It’s a V sound.

I have a name which I think is only used in the English language and is uncommon. Nobody can spell it and many people can't pronounce it where I live now. I get called totally different names and always have to be open minded when looking for my name on a list, and get certificates with only 20% of the letters correct. Luckily I don't like my name and am not attached to it, I have to get certificates redone which is a pain but I answer to all sorts of names.

It's like having a bit of gravel in your shoe, having a name nobody in the country you live in can spell or pronounce and I certainly avoided inflicting that on my children.

Daffydd is also a name, albeit less common.

Daffydd is not a name - it's not less common - it's wrong! The name is Dafydd, commonly mispronounced as Daffyd.

OP, Fflur is a lovely name. We live very close to Ystrad Fflur (Strata Florida) and considered it for DD2's middle name but went with another local connection - Elan in the end! Some of the responses here are but sadly I'm not surprised.

As she gets older people will call her flower or even worse flour

I think I'd sound like a Scouser trying to say Fleur if I tried to pronounce Fflur correctly.

What if she goes up to the north of England? People will call her 'fluuuuuuu' sounds like a cat with a hair ball caught in its throat.

I don't like the name Fflur but it is a genuine Welsh name and I am shocked at how disrespectful some posters have been about it. It is very hard to pronounce for even a good Welsh learner. The u sound doesn't have an exact English equivalent. Much trickier than Ll and Ch. It isn't pronounced like Fleur. I would avoid it if you are not Welsh speaking. There are Welsh names that are much easier for English people to say and are prettier.