Welsh girls names that work in England

[sallysparrow157]

My partner and I are both (North) Welsh but living in England, I’m pregnant with twin girls and so far have been pretty useless in thinking of names...

We’re looking for names that are easy to pronounce by non Welsh speakers and also don’t look like we’ve spelt it wrong just to be ‘interesting’!

I’m not a fan of names like Seren or Enfys.

I don’t really mind names that are seen as a bit dated (but on the other hand lots of names that were common in my generation are names of people I was in school with and didn’t get on with!)

Help!!

bridgetreilly - Sian may well be a very well-known name to very many, however, I have winced when hearing it pronounced as 'Sy-ann' more often than I'd have expected! You only have to look up this thread to see some bonkers suggestions of 'Welsh' girls names - Torri? Alwyn? Emyr?

Pob lwc OP.

Emyr is a Welsh boy's name.

Sorry, thought it was suggested Emyr wasn't Welsh but it was whether it was a girl's name

Torri? You'd have to have Gwynt as a middle name.
Alwyn isn't a welsh name - it's an english name but used in wales when the -wyn and -wen names became popular. Arwen is from LOTR.

Emyr is definitely welsh but not a girl's name. Really like it. It's pronounce EM-irr.

For non-welsh speakers Torri Gwynt is Breaking Wind.

Torri? You'd have to have Gwynt as a middle name.

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

As my change of user name suggests, I am a Ceri. It doesn't travel well as no-one can pronounce it and it sounds awful!

I have an Emyr. He's never had it pronounced correctly

How do they say it?

Em-ee-er mostly. Similar to the Arabic Ameer. Or the 'yr' is misheard as 'it' or even 'ith' resulting in Em-ith or Em-it. I do regret it a little bit only because of the mispronunciations but I do love his name nonetheless.

So Olwyn and Torri Gwynt it is then!! 😂😂😂

Those aren't too bad. It is a nice name and you shouldn't regret it. I know an Ynyr and he gets Un-ee-uh or Inn-ee-uh. Eifion gets Avion. There is no teaching people how to say it because they will not hear it right.

If you don't speak a language some of the sounds can be so difficult.

Mali Awyr and Torri Gwyn? Mali Bw?

Noun names are a bit naff aren't they. Names like Seren, Enfys and Cariad make me cringe.
Mali Awyr is Molly Sky.

I'm inclined to suggest Olwyn and Tecwyn - wheel and a misspelt boy's name.

How about Gwen Wyn and Dan Dean?

I'm in the same boat (except for the twins part). I've been through a Welsh baby names book and the pronounceable ones I came across that I'd not considered were Cali, Cari and Ania. Not sure how legit they are tbh as I've never heard of any of them in Wales.

My favourites are Bethan, Megan and Erin.
All reasonably common/popular and pronounceable in England which is probably why I like them.

I wasn't suggesting Torri, Emyr and Alwyn as names for a girl! I was bemoaning the fact that someone further up the thread had done so.

Mali
Carys
Ffion
Megan
Rhiannon
Anwen
Bethan

Are you pronouncing Alys like Alice or like ay-liss with the first syllable rhyming with hay? I’m in South Wales and known girls with both versions.

Alys is pronounced Alice. Older generations sometimes spelt it Alis.

I know a Cari. It's ok but I'd guess people will say Kah-ree or spell it Carrie.
Ania is Polish. Cali is a new one to me and although I like Cally it's a bit too much like California.
Cadi is nicer and it's just welsh Katie.

Cally is usually a shortened form of Calista: not welsh.

Bethan will be Bethun

How true, as not Welsh parents but with Welsh family, to the non-Welsh she is Bethun but to the Welsh relatives and the parents she is Beth-an. Odd the little differences

Cally could be short for Caroline.
I find the Beth-un, Ree-un, Ser-un, Ree-Annun, etc really ugly, as are the El-airy and Ann Harrud pronunciations.
If you point out that an ending is -an to rhyme with can your Bethan will get called Beth Ann.
I worked (in England) with a Rhian and she was either Ree-un or Ree Ann, depending on who was saying her name.
What you say and what people hear you say are not the same.

One of my dd's is called Rhian ( pronounce Rheun) my husbands old colleague was also called rhian and he was south African. I love the name personally, it's just so annoying when people call her Rhianne...But where we live I've not heard another rhian.

Can I derail to ask the Welsh speakers about Cariad? I heard the comedian Cariad Lloyd saying that it isn’t a name in Welsh, just an endearment and Welsh people think it’s a bit strange. She said she was directed by someone once who refused to call her it because it was what he called his wife.....

Cariad means sweetheart or dear. So no, not a name.