Welsh names that are easy to say

[SaliMaliydwi]

We live and work in Wales but DS/DD wouldn't be going to a Welsh speaking school and we don't live in a primarily welsh speaking area.

We like the idea of using a welsh name but would like one that is easily understood if they were to grow up and want to work elsewhere. I know people will learn to say a name but I can't bear it when I hear Sky sports talk about Geraint Thomas 😂

So we are looking for names that would be suitable really. We like Anwen and Macsen but need some more suggestions please?

Alys

Delyth

Carys

Bethan

Elis

Hari

Jac

Rhys

Dai.

Evan is a pretty common name amongst vet old men in Wales. I have known a lot of Evan Evans! You could also have Ifan.

Have a good think about how any name may be mispronounced in advance - my Mam was convinced my Welsh name was foolproof. It wasn't and it bothers her. I do love it though.

For example the en in Macsen is pronounced like the en in hen. It may be mispronounced as Macs-un. Lowri will be mispronounced to rhyme with dowry.

I say this so you can decide in advance what you can live with. For example I can live with Ey-ruh for Eira but not Mire for Mair. That's mainly because my (English) accent naturally goes to the 'uh' sound when a word ends in an a

Some names may need a little explanation.

Megan
Alys
Ffion
Cadi
Mali
Sali
Nansi
Catrin
Elin
Mari
Tesni
Morwenna (also a Cornish name but St. Morwenna was born in Wales)
Nerys
Carys
Cerys

(My girls list is Alys, Eira, Mari, Morwenna and Tesni)

Elis
Idris (hopefully foolproof due to Mr Elba although his full name is Idrissa)
Aled (bit old fashioned but well known thanks to Mr Jones)
Osian
Macsen
Tomos
Gwion
Ioan (may be well known thanks to Mr Gruffudd)
Harri
Alun (also old fashioned but I like it and I like Alan which is how it will be mispronounced)

(My boys list is Tomos, Osian and Macsen)

Manon is my favourite name ever.

Huw

[quote SeanCailleach]@MikeUniformMike if I say Angharad I always schwa the last a. I know that does your head in, but if I say it as a then it sounds like I am being silly.
If someone asked me to say Dylan the Welsh way in an English sentence I'd feel equally silly.
I have Welsh-speaking family who have Welsh names. When we are talking in English we all use the usual English pronunciations. I asked the children when they were little how to say their names and they said they wanted the different forms used.[/quote]
I feel like this too. I love Welsh names sale I love the Welsh accent (and am pretty good at it, having grown up with a Welsh parent in England) but I feel as though people will think I'm making fun if I pronounce Welsh names properly.

Ffion
Nia
Anest
Betsan
Nansi
Mabli
Elin
Eleri
Carys
Mair

Owain
Ianto
Iolo
Emrys

• if I say Angharad I always schwa the last a. I know that does your head in, but if I say it as a then it sounds like I am being silly. If someone asked me to say Dylan the Welsh way in an English sentence I'd feel equally silly.* So if you mentioned called Iona you would call her Eye-own-uh because you were speaking to someone not welsh. That is so shit.

I feel like this too. I love Welsh names sale I love the Welsh accent (and am pretty good at it, having grown up with a Welsh parent in England) but I feel as though people will think I'm making fun if I pronounce Welsh names properly.
It's not about accent. If I was talking about the composer Richard Wagner, say, I wouldn't say Richard Wagner the english way.

If I was talking about Stéphanie, I wouldn't call her Stephanie, but I wouldn't put on a fake Belgian accent when I did so.
*

@MikeUniformMike I wouldn't say "Iona" like that. An Iona said the Welsh way I would say Yon-ə, but not Yon-a.
To me, articulating unstressed syllables pretty much defines a Welsh accent.

Btw ot I've changed the spelling of my username as I got some feedback that it made me seem male. It literally means "old woman".

If you were talking about Rhian or Rhys would you start calling them Reeun and Rees just because you were speaking to someone who wasn't a Welsh speaker?

If so, would you not be giving them the impression that the names were actually said like that?

Do you speak Welsh?

Mae typin bach Cymraeg gyda fi.

I can say rh apparently. The kids are in despair of my ll though. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

If you were a speaker, you'd understand why saying anglicising them sounds strange.

I can sort of understand if the name is something like Martin or Edward, as the names are English anyway, but where would you draw the line? It comes across as if the welsh version isn't good enough if you anglicise a Welsh name like say Lowri to her face, but use the Lowry pronunciation () when referring to her to a non-speaker.

What about a name like Mari - would she be Marry, Mahry or Marie depending on who you're speaking to. Surely, given that the name is Mari you would call her that.

Carys is beautiful

I know a Garan. Not the easiest to say (in my opinion) but very masculine.

How can pp say that Morwenna is easy for a non Welsh speaker?!

Morwenna gets said as More Wenna but in 'welsh' is Morr Wenna (Morr like is Morris)

That's a good example. If I was speaking Welsh, I would have a good go at Mari. In English that's exactly the sort of name that would sound like I was poking fun. I'd go for "Marry" as closest.
Now, I know you don't like that. But, and this is the crucial point, lots of people - including my own relatives- would be more irritated by me putting the Welsh rhythm in the middle of my English sentence. And the native-speaking Welsh kids in our family have specifically told us when we've asked.

So it's something where some people feel one way and others another.
The "where you draw the line" is the subject of another thread.
Sorry OP for going way off topic on your thread.

ShanCalla, but the name is their name.
Are you saying that you use some strange intonation when you use the name in one language but not the other?

That is so weird.

The only thing I can think of it would be if I worked with Stéphanie, Sébastien et Fréderic but referred to them as Steffuny, Sebastian and Frederick when talking to british colleagues, and I don't think I would.

I had a colleague called Marie-Paule and I called her Mari-Pol, like she said it.

We have these same conversations about Irish.
And you know what? Both our languages are dying. Ten years ago we used to say we were one flu pandemic away from tost in Ireland. Oh.
But you know, let's argue about Mari and Marie, Máire and Maura.

ShanCalla, I really don't get your point, but if you are saying that you would anglicise a welsh name because you were speaking to someone who doesn't speak welsh, appreciate that it comes across as offensive.

If you were talking about Huw don't call him 'Hugh'- it's not his name.

@ShanCalla "Both our languages are dying." What?! Are you saying that the Welsh language is dying?!

I don't think that referring to Dylan as Dillun, Alun as Alan or Rhian as Reeun when not speaking to someone with a welsh accent is going to keep the language alive. Far from it.

When I worked with a Rhian people remarked how lovely the name was the way I said it.

When I worked with a Rhian people remarked how lovely the name was the way I said it.

I went to school with a Rhian of non-Welsh speaking Welsh origin who used to like the way my Mam said her name with the correct Rh sound.

Although I think she was more impressed by Mam's ability to pronounce LlanfairPG in full