Gwen

[negligeh]

How do people think about this?

We are planning names, not sure of the sex yet.

I am Welsh and dh is English. We live in London.

If we have a girl, I really want to call her Gwenllian, and will call her Gwen. This was my grt grandmas name and I think Gwen for a girl is lovely

Dh really isn’t keen. He doesn’t really like welsh names and prefers more mainstream/english/popular names like Olivia and Lily. But these are not my cup of tea for my kids.

I vote for Gwen, it is a lovely name.

Unfortunately you might have to compromise. I love Gwen, nothing wrong with Olivia and Lily but they are just so much less interesting!

Could you sneak Gwen in by making it Gwyneth...lile Gwyneth Paltrow. I know it's not your grans name it if she will be known as Gwen/Gwyn all the time anyway.....

I like Gwen but it’s undeniably Welsh. I think you are going to have to rethink.
Other versions?

Guinevere?
Ginevra?
Janferie?

I love it - it's a beautiful name. The pronunciation of the full name might be difficult for some non-Welsh people? But if you're planning on shortening to Gwen anyway that's not a problem.

But my opinion doesn't matter. I hope you manage to find a compromise

It doesn't make any difference what MN think of Gwen - there are two people in the world whose opinion matters on the name, and one of them (your DH) doesn't like it, it's a shame if you love it, but it's a no go.

I like Guinevere and Genevieve, but don't like Gwen, so maybe thats a compromise that works? But neither are especially Welsh.

Gwen is lovely on its own or as a shortened version of Gwenllian. Not keen on Gwyneth, and the shortened version is usually Gwyn, which is confusing since that's a boy's name.

I like its simplicity. But if your DH dislikes it I suppose it's a no go.

I know a little Gwen and now I’m used to it, it’s just who she is. Wouldn’t choose it myself though.

If your DH doesn’t like though you’ll have to think of something else. I think there are nicer welsh names, mind.

Gwen in by making it Gwyneth...lile Gwyneth Paltrow

Hardly any Gwyneths younger than 65 in Wales. It would shorten to Gwyn anyway and Gwyn is a boy's name.

I really want to call her Gwenllian, and will call her Gwen
The short formof Gwenllian is Llio, not Gwen.

If you are in London, you will have pronunciation and spelling issues. You will find that even Gwen will be misspelt

Gwen and Gwenllîan are both fashionable in Welsh-speaking Wales, but I'd stick to just Gwen if you are not in Wales.

Olivia and Lily are so popular that they are dull.

You could use Gwenllîan as a middle name as a compromise

I think Gwen is a pretty name. I think if your DH doesn’t like it though you might need to compromise and use it as a middle name instead and find something you both love instead as a first name.

I think Gwen is a really ugly name. Not that it matters what I or anyone else, apart from your DS and yourself think, and as your husband doesn’t like it you’re just going to have to think again. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I love Gwen! How about Gwennan or Gwenna?

Gwenna isn't a name and is a bit unfortunate.

Gwenan is usually with 1 n

@DacwMamYnDwad

Gwen in by making it Gwyneth...lile Gwyneth Paltrow

Hardly any Gwyneths younger than 65 in Wales. It would shorten to Gwyn anyway and Gwyn is a boy's name.

I really want to call her Gwenllian, and will call her Gwen
The short formof Gwenllian is Llio, not Gwen.

If you are in London, you will have pronunciation and spelling issues. You will find that even Gwen will be misspelt

Gwen and Gwenllîan are both fashionable in Welsh-speaking Wales, but I'd stick to just Gwen if you are not in Wales.

Olivia and Lily are so popular that they are dull.

You could use Gwenllîan as a middle name as a compromise

The short form of Gwenllian is Llio, not Gwen.

Is there some kind of rule book that says you can't shorten a name to whatever you like?
I like Gwen, I think it is a great name for a girl and a woman. If your dh doesn't like it though I'm not sure what you can do to change that.

@SmithofSilver, Just pointing out that there is a short form of the name .Is there some rule that posters aren't allowed to do that?

@KirstenBlest

I was in school with a Gwenna. Why is it unfortunate?

I had a great aunt called Gwenllian, it is lovely. Gwenno is another option perhaps ? Your dd will face nobody being able to pronounce her name, that is the only drawback to using Gwenllian although if you generally use Gwen then it would be fine.

I have heard Llio as the the pet name normally. I love Llio, so beautiful, but again as you are in England it would be problematic, she would end up being called Leo or misread as Lilo or Lil or Lola.

If your husband doesn’t like Gwen then you can’t use it. It doesn’t matter that I don’t like it (or any name starting with the Gw- sound for the at matter). I’d suggest moving Gwen to the middle name spot and finding a first name you can both agree on. There are name apps like Kinder, that work like Tinder but for baby names, or you could independently go through a baby name book or the top 500 names and see if there’s any matches there. It’s not a straight choice between Gwen and Lily.

My dd has Gwendolyn as a middle name. My dms name. I like it but I can tell by people's faces and long pauses that most arent keen!

Alys? That's Welsh and mainstream English if you spell it Alice.

I love the name Gwen
Where I am is usually short for Gwendolyn

A good friend has a Gwellian who has always been Gwen. It's a lovely name.

I quite like Gwen. It reminds me of Gwen Stacy from Spiderman. She's Ghost Spider in the new(ish) Spiderverse films and some other bits so it will probably be a relatively cool name as a child.