Welsh name experts help!!

[RWeatherwax]

Hi all!

Help me settle a debate here. We both really like the name Celyn. However, we are stuck whether it is a girls name or a boys name! To me it’s a boys name and I’m from West Wales. DH is from the North and says it’s a girls name! What’s your opinion?

I think we're all well used to Mike's direct-to-the-point-of-bluntness but correcting the OP's Welsh was a rather unpleasant power play.

For me, Celyn is a boys name - even though I know it’s used for both.

And for what it’s worth - it’s only a matter of time before mike appears on welsh name threads dragging the mood down. Almost come to expect it now.

OP I'm due in January too and our list (incase you are interested is...
Iona
Non
Dwynwen
Betsi
Betsan
Siwan
Nerys
Ffion
Wynne

Aneurin
Bleddyn
Ewan/Iwan
Geraint
Gethin
Gruffydd
Heddwyn
Llewelyn
Osian

West Wales here, fluent Welsh speaker... it does mean holly, which in English is very much a girl's name, but I have seen it used for either. It is traditionally a boys name though.

I know one man with the name but wouldn’t think anything bad about a girl being called Celyn.

Mind you, I am born and bred south east Wales so we do some damage to Welsh name usage and pronunciation .

But it’s our culture too even if we go a bit off piste.

My great grandmother was the last Welsh speaker in my family. She chose not to speak Welsh to her children as she feared it would affect their educational chances. Her children became teachers, nurses, miners and mining engineers and Welsh speaking stopped in that family.

For me, Celyn is a middle aged man's name as it enjoyed brief popularity amongst local Welsh nationalists as a way of honouring and remembering the drowning of Capel Celyn. I only know one young Celyn (a boy), whose family are activists associated with Llais.

My great grandmother was the last Welsh speaker in my family. She chose not to speak Welsh to her children as she feared it would affect their educational chances. Her children became teachers, nurses, miners and mining engineers and Welsh speaking stopped in that family

Oh Cankles that's really sad. It shows how important it is that we keep the Welsh language and Welsh names alive.

I'm learning as an adult having failed to learn Welsh as a child (I grew up in England with an English father so we spoke English at home). It would have been easier to learn as a child but we are where we are.

The one thing I've always been proud of is my Welsh name though. Even though people add rogue letters and mispronounce it I have liked having that connection to my heritage.

Hopefully DH will agree to Welsh names for our DC!

Oh my word, Celyn was going to be our name for DC1 back in 2016 but he came out a boy and we only know Celyn as a girls name (both of us Welsh speakers from Pembs & Carms), I didn't realise it is also used for boys, we could have used it!!

I'm in South Wales and know two Celyns, both teenagers - one girl and one boy. It's more of a female name to me, probably because we have a Holly in the family.

Aneurin to anyone unfamiliar with the name looks like An urine.

@DanDean

Aneurin to anyone unfamiliar with the name looks like An urine.

I can't worry about those folk tbh.

The direct translation of Celyn is Holly. If you’d name a boy Holly go ahead and call him Celyn. It’s exactly the same name.

I only know one Celyn. He is a male aged about 90. Always assumed it was a boys name - North Wales very Welsh speaking area

I know a Male Celyn (North Wales) and a female Celyn (South Wales).