Nearly there…Seren

[grosgirl]

I’ve posted before and got some amazing advice. DH and I have a DS called Julian and are due a girl in a couple of months: initially, the one and only name I really liked was Grace but DH was very resistant.

I also quite like Edith, Annabel and Eira.
DH has suggested Elizabeth, Catherine and Constance (nn Connie)

We have a 3 syllable surname.

DH is Welsh, although we live in London and won’t be moving to Wales at any time in the future, and when I was pregnant with Julian, Seren was on our list. We’ve since discounted it because we wouldn’t name a DD ‘Star’ in English…but if we’re never going to live in Wales, it’s not really the same is it? I love the way it sounds and prefer names that don’t end in ‘a’ sounds because they can sound quite ‘common’ in my rather unpleasant Thames Estuary accent.

What do you think? Any and all suggestions welcome!

All good things to think about. Has anyone got any additional suggestions? I’ll post what was my long list below:

Grace
Sylvie
Sienna
Seren
Niamh
Hayley
Edith
Annabel
Rose
Leila
Eira
Charlotte

I wasn’t 100% sold on most of these, hence them not making my short list. Gives you an idea of what I’m thinking though!

@blitzen that looks nice to me but I’m not a fan of any of the Catherine diminutives: Cathy, Cat etc

@DacwMamYnDwad I'm not sure what the distinction you're making is? Besides, there are plenty of names with a literal meaning in other languages or even in English (e.g. Roman, Daisy, even Grace!) and no one thinks it naff or weird.

Fair enough, OP, and I agree re Cat, Cath and Cathy but Kate, Katy, Kitty are fab, as is the full Catherine.

(I'm clearly biased!)

I like Seren. Some Welsh girls names I like that would be pretty understood how to say in the rest of the UK are Eleri, Nia, Nesta and Lowri and Bethan. I particularly like Lowri. Also Gwen is nice. Of your other choices I like Connie.

Seren is a popular modern Welsh name and one that is used in Wales, nobody will think it strange just because it means star. I think you’re overthinking and it doesn’t matter that you wouldn’t call a child Star in English, the meaning doesn’t make the name naff. You wouldn’t call a child Foxglove in English but Ffion is a popular Welsh name and Eira is on your list but I’m assuming you wouldn’t call a child Snow in English either? Gwyn is a popular Welsh name that means white and Bryn means hill but I’ve never met an English boy called White or Hill.

Names that have a common meaning are fairly common in English; Rose, Lily, April, Summer, Faith, Willow etc. They won’t necessarily all translate into a usual name in another language but I don’t think that really matters, if you pick a Welsh name and its meaning in Welsh isn’t a name in English that’s honestly fine. Go with the name you love and don’t overthink whether it can be directly translated from Welsh into English and still be a name.

One of the things I really like about Welsh names is how many are nature based. Like Eira, Ffion, Enfys, Haf etc.

What about Ffion? DH and I both love it but can't use it for family reasons.

Tesni (TESS-nee) is nice too, means the warmth from the sun.

Nia, Cadi, Alys, Mari, Mali are other Welsh names I like.

Of your list, Eira is my favourite. Pronounced EY-ra (ra for rabbit). Although in my accent hey and hay are pronounced the same. People will mispronounce as ruh instead of ra. My Welsh name gets mispronounced constantly so most Welsh names will have the same issue.

Seren is nice too. You're in England so most people won't realise that Seren is literally the word for star in Wales. As a PP mentioned, we use Rose, Ivy, Daisy etc.

@3ormorecharacters , it's because it's a word that is used quite a lot. Like you're a star, five-star, pop star, film star, shooting star, or gold star.
I only use a word like rose or daisy when referring to the flower, snow when referring to snow, and roman when I'm referring to Rome or something like a road or architecture.

Foxgloves have lots of different names, and which name is used probably varies by region. I call them bysedd y cŵn. Ffion is a pretty name.

If OP likes Seren, there's no reason for her to name her child it, but like a pp, I don't think it particularly goes with the sibling's name.

The word white is used a lot but doesn’t stop Gwyn being a popular Welsh name, I would say I use the word white more often than I use the word star.

English people can’t pronounce Seren or Eira, won’t that bother your DH ? If you want a Welsh name I would choose one that can be pronounced easily in English. If you have an estuary accent then you will find it hard to sound either of those names as the sounds will be so unfamiliar to you.
If you wouldn’t call your dd Star then why Seren ? As it is literally star.
I really like Edith from your list, and think it is more elegant with Julian than Seren.
I also like Constance. The meaning is so beautiful.

@MolkosTeenageAngst , the word for white changes depending on context, so although I'd say white quite a lot, I'd say gwyn less frequently.

Seren is lovely.

How about Anwen or Cerys

Other suggestions

Erin
Marin
Zelie
Sadie
Madeleine
Frieda
Celine

Stella is popular in Italy now - that's literally just the word for "star" there too. Plenty of word names are used in lots of languages. New ones sometimes sound a bit weird to older speakers, but it's not a reason to avoid Seren, I don't think.

This is why I struggle I think Hay and Hey sound the same when I say them!

Hey and haysound the same when I say them too.

I also don’t think the ‘ei’ sound at the beginning of Eira really has an English equivalent, I would say it as two short syllables for a start. Ei sounds a little bit like the word ear but not quite, I’m not really sure how to explain it using English words but definitely can’t see how hey would be right even if said not to sound like hay.

Love Seren it's beautiful.
Who cares that you wouldn't name a baby star in England?!
Its how it sounds and looks & what it means to me. Also lovely to give a nod to her heritage.
I'd definitely go for Seren op!

I like Seren. It doesn’t matter if it is Welsh for star. I am in Wales and know a few Serens (most people say Ser-unn) and it’s still lovely when it’s not pronounced by a Welsh speaker.

Me, obviously.
Star has been used as a name.
sad news article

I love Seren, it's not remotely naff. Anyone claiming it is has probably gone the Chardonnay or Savannah route 😁

Seren is a lovely name, I also love Serena. I don’t think anyone would think the name is naff because it means star? I have a pretty low threshold for naffness and don’t think it’s naff.

I love Seren - I live in Wales and know a few little girls with this name. It's by far my favourite of your options. Another possibility if you want the Welsh connection would be to use Catrin, which is the Welsh variant of Catherine, or stick with Catherine but with the Welsh nickname Cadi.

I have an Eira so that would be my vote! But I'm not sure any Welsh names would go with Julian, they're just not in the same bracket. That might not bother you, but I'm funny about siblings names not going together!

Sounds like half a word to me.

Thanks so much everyone! Loved the comment about Chardonnay Johnnysgirl: had me giggling into my coffee.

Seren is now a firm favourite choice anyway. I like how it looks, sounds and the fact that it’s a nice nod to DH’s upbringing, despite the fact he didn’t settle there.

As with anything, it would be good to have a choice so hoping to come up with maybe one more name before she’s here. Might need to be a compromise name between DH and I!

I like Erin ReadtheReviews! Going to suggest it to DH.