Welsh boy names

[Lenny86]

We are expecting a boy and would like a Welsh name, but we live in England, so it needs to be easy to spell and say. We both like Idris, but people were very negative when we suggested it for our first child (comments about the actor). I really like Osian, but OH isn’t keen. Any suggestions on a 1-2 syllable name that works in English too?

@CaffiSaliMali

I find reactions to Welsh names vary a lot in England. I was born and raised in England, with a Welsh name.

The vast majority of people either don't react, ask me the provenance of the name or compliment it and most people make an effort to pronounce it. I do get some rude comments though, from 'what on earth is that?' to 'can I call you X instead?' to 'oh I'll never manage that, I'll call you Y instead'. It gets misspelled a lot. My peers at school almost all learned how to say it, a sizeable minority of my teachers didn't.

Now I'm in London hardly anyone bats an eyelid at my name and I work with people with names like Geraint, Angharad and Hefin. I notice more positive reactions here. I would happily use a Welsh name for my own DC. Especially something like Alys, Mari, Mali, Tomos, Osian or Owen.

I would be cautious of some of the Welsh letters which don't exist in English though, like Ll. It's why I won't use Esyllt, my favourite Welsh name because I don't think I can live with 'Ess-ilt'

This is really good to know as we’re in London. It’s so multicultural here that I don’t worry too much about using a more unusual name and pronunciation, but am keen to avoid difficult spellings.

With regards to Idris our other concern is that it’s also a Muslim name and when I suggested it previously somebody accused us of cultural appropriation until I pointed out it’s also a Welsh name. Over the past 10 years I’ve met 3 kids called Idris in london - two were Muslim and one had welsh heritage.

Hard enough to name a baby without insisting that other suppress their own accent to pronounce it.
@ZoyaTheDestroyer, it's not a matter of accent, it's mispronunciation. There's a big difference.

With regards to Idris our other concern is that it’s also a Muslim name and when I suggested it previously somebody accused us of cultural appropriation until I pointed out it’s also a Welsh name. Over the past 10 years I’ve met 3 kids called Idris in london - two were Muslim and one had welsh heritage.

Yes, that's my misgiving with the name too - I think being accused of cultural appropriation would be annoying.

I'm fully aware a certain number of people would see names like Alys, Mari, Harri and Tomos and think we were trying to be 'younique' or that we couldn't spell Alice, Mary, Harry and Thomas but I think I'd rather people thought I couldn't spell than that I was appropriating someone else's culture.

At least 'actually it's also Welsh' is a quick way to shut someone who thinks they're being clever up, though.

My aunt does that with my cousin's name, which is Welsh and ends in 'I'. So many people were like 'shouldn't that be 'ie' or 'y' on the end that she just gave them a mini lecture in Welsh phonetics. They never asked again

I wouldn't have any worries about the Muslim connection with Idris since it is also a Welsh name. I'd just say so.

I wish DH didn't think it was too out there!

Iolo and Trystan are my favourites but I'm biased

I love Emrys

Omg op I was just about to start a thread identical to this! Husband is English and we live in England so don't want anything too welsh but I do want a welsh name! I haven't read the thread yet but my favourite welsh boys name is Aled which was vetoed 😤

Love Griff but I don't like the welsh spelling and he'll be forever spelling/pronouncing it correctly

Llion is NOT pronounced Theeon. I can't believe a pp would say such a thing. Utterly ignorant. It rhymes, we can say that much, but the Welsh 'll' makes a soft and unique sound.

It's a shame everyone is so quick to say English people won't try with a "foreign" name or will pronounce it wrong. I never minded when my Welsh speaking grandparents and family pronounced my very common English name in their own special way and I don't mind when the non -English people I work with pronounce my name slightly differently either. Why would I?
It's nothing to do with being English.
As far as Welsh boys names go, it has to be Taliesin, Tali for short.

Well said @Chunkymenrock.

@Leytonladee, Why suggest a name you can't say?

Love Iolo and Geraint.
Friend is Dafydd but uses Dai as not in Wales and people struggle with it

We have two boys. Llio (it's pronounced Theo) and Rhos (it's pronounced Ross). We wanted them to have names that reflect their heritage. DH's grandfather was a miner in the Valleys, and my DM was born in Swansea.

I’m starting to think that there are people deliberately baiting the more prolific and opinionated posters.

@DacwMamYnDwad

I rest my case.

X-D I'm with you, @DacwMamYnDwad. I wanted Welsh names for my girls but avoided it because I couldn't bear it if they were constantly pronounced incorrectly. It's not about keeping Welsh names Welsh - it's just that I have heard too many butchered Welsh names and I would hate it.. My sisters both have issues with their names and they're both easy names to pronounce. Yes, plenty of people get them right, but there are jsut as many who consistently get them wrong - inserting extra letters, or changing emphasis, or changing/elongating vowels - to make them sound like a more familiar name. It's as though they hear one thing and assume my sister made a mistake! But for some, that's something they can handle - we know a family living in SW London who have a son called Llyr - there's no way people get that right first time, and possibly never get right, the 'Ll' sound being a difficult one, and then the rolled 'r' at the end. It would drive me nuts, but if you love a name and can handle all the incorrect pronunciations, great!

It would drive me nuts, but if you love a name and can handle all the incorrect pronunciations, great!

This is what people have to consider. My Mam thought my name was obvious to people who don't speak Welsh. She was wrong - even my (English) father's family mispronounce it and spell it wrong sometimes.

My Mam gets grumpy when people get it wrong, even the first time, before they are told.

My Dad and I are much more zen about it. It's an unusual name (in England) and most people will need to be told how to spell and say it. That's ok, I just explain and most people manage it once explained. I love my name so don't mind doing it and it's a good conversation starter.

I only get grumpy when people are rude about it, like when people are like 'eurgh, I'll never learn that I will call you Sarah instead' or 'this is England so I'll call you Jane instead'. Fortunately most people aren't that rude!

I live in a diverse area where lots of people have names from a variety of cultures so no-one bats an eyelid at my name here and I have had to ask a few people how to pronounce their names too.

So, I know I can handle using a Welsh name which people won't necessarily get right straight away.

Thanks Midge75, you have pretty much summed up what I think.

It's not about keeping Welsh names Welsh - it's just that I have heard too many butchered Welsh names and I would hate it.

there are jsut as many who consistently get them wrong - inserting extra letters, or changing emphasis, or changing/elongating vowels - to make them sound like a more familiar name. It's as though they hear one thing and assume my sister made a mistake!

I would add 'I'm not even going to try and say that' (and much worse), 'I can't call you that, I'll call you ...', 'Why do you say your name is Einir when it is Eimear', 'I know how to spell it' (No, you obviously don't), transposed vowels (e.g. Gywn for Gwyn).

Let's say my name is Einir (it isn't) and ever single time I meet someone new I get called Eye-near or En-ear, or get asked 'How do you say it?' then they try and fail miserably, it gets tiresome.

**Used Einir as it's a pretty and not overused name, but is likely to be a PITA

Llewelyn? Everyone in England knows how to say that.

Do they, @Bumpsadaisie. Wouldn't they say it as Lou-ellin, andwrite it as Llewellyn?

@Saes

We have two boys. Llio (it's pronounced Theo) and Rhos (it's pronounced Ross). We wanted them to have names that reflect their heritage. DH's grandfather was a miner in the Valleys, and my DM was born in Swansea.

Why on earth is Llio pronounced Theo??

I'm Welsh and in South Wales, we went with an easy to pronounce Welsh middle name. In South Wales names like Rhys, Dylan and Alun are pronounced as they would be in English anyway. In the north they would be considered to be pronounced wrong but in the south that's just how they're said.

@ImAllOut, my South Walian friend would be very cross.

By In South Wales names like Rhys, Dylan and Alun are pronounced as they would be in English anyway.
Are you saying that's how a non-Welsh speaker from South Wales would say them, because I doubt it is true.

[quote DacwMamYnDwad]@ImAllOut, my South Walian friend would be very cross.

By In South Wales names like Rhys, Dylan and Alun are pronounced as they would be in English anyway.
Are you saying that's how a non-Welsh speaker from South Wales would say them, because I doubt it is true.[/quote]
I guess it depends where in South Wales, but I know that in South East Wales, a lot of non-Welsh speakers would pronounce them "Rees", "Dilan" and "Alan"/"Alyn". Other names would be "Ree-un" (Rhian), "Angharud", Bethun"... When we moved there from Swansea (where my world was 90% Welsh-speaking), I came home to tell my mum there was a "Maia" in the school. Turns out it was Mair!

[quote DacwMamYnDwad]@ImAllOut, my South Walian friend would be very cross.

By In South Wales names like Rhys, Dylan and Alun are pronounced as they would be in English anyway.
Are you saying that's how a non-Welsh speaker from South Wales would say them, because I doubt it is true.[/quote]
Yes I'm in the south east in a non Welsh speaking area. I had four Rhys' in my class at school, all of whom pronounced it rees. I also know many Dylans who pronounce it dill-un. Also know numerous Ieuans as yi-yun, Eiras as i-ra etc.

They are all anglicised versions.

What happens is that the anglicised versions become mainstream, and if a Welsh-speaking parent wants to use names like Alun, Angharad, Dylan, Rhian or Rhys, the anglicised form will be dominant.

As a Welsh-speaker, I find the anglicised forms quite unpleasant-sounding, but the Welsh versions are really nice. I wouldn't use any of those names as they were popular in the 1960s so seem middle-aged. I'd probably make an exception for Rhys as I really like the way it is said in Welsh (not Rees), but I know far too many.