Bronwen or Bronwyn?

[panpandemic]

Which one is the correct spelling? I have been under the impression that Bronwen is the right one but someone today told me it's not. Bronwyn is.

Apparently Bronwyn is the original spelling and this person mentioned knowing so as they are Welsh themselves. However I have never met any Welsh Bronwyn, all have been -wen and it's the first time I ever hear this.

So which one is correct?

@KirstenBlest it's not a fictional name it's a old Welsh name. Google the origin of it and you'll see it's been around longer than LOTR.

I've just realised all the times I've seen my cousin defending her name has rubbed off on me 😂 seriously though I've seen her explain and google it so many times to die hard fans.

I'm also confused how we got from Bronwen to this 😂

@HeadlessGummyBears

Well maybe but although I have heard of Arwyn for boys I have never met or heard of an Arwen from before Tolkien used the name for the daughter of Celebrian and Elrond in Lord of the Rings.

@lunalucie

Sorry do you mean there were women named Arwen born before the 1950s? Because I know of men named Arwyn from before then but no Arwens. I have seen claims on some American baby name sites that it an ancient welsh name but there are never any sources.

@lunalucie, it's not an old welsh name. 'Welsh names' sites tend to have nonsense on them.

Arwen is perfectly ok to use as a welsh name, but it's not an old name, just the feminine form of Arwyn. Similarly, the name Alwyn isn't welsh, but Alwen is.

Bronwyn on the other hand is not a boy's name, just a misspelling of Bronwen. Olwyn as a spelling of Olwen is unfortunate, and it is not used as a boy's name.

You could add -wen to a boy's name to make up a girl's name (e.g. Clwydwen or Aledwen), but the names don't generally take off.