Idris?

[hungrycat101]

Looking for some opinions on the name Idris.

My Mum is Welsh.
My Dad is English.
My boyfriend's family are English.

We live in London. This is our first child.

We both really like the name Idris.

My worry is, will we constantly be explaining that we have a Welsh connection and needing to justify the name choice?

Or am I hormonal and panicking unnecessarily!

Thanks in advance for opinions!

I really don’t like it sorry I thought it was a girls name until I read previous posters

Idris Elba............... gorgeous

@VladmirsPoutine , The only downside is that others will not immediately get the pronunciation right.

It's a name that was known but hardly used until recently, apart from in North-West Africa, where it's a grandad name, but gaining popularity in the muslim community.

Oh, hark at me, I should have typed:

Idris is a name that was known but hardly used until recently, apart from in North-West Africa, where it's a grandad name, but gaining popularity in the muslim community.

The coolest name ever. Totally love it.

Awesome name.

Idris Davies was a working class Welsh poet, a great namesake.

Fabulous name, I actually didn't know it was Welsh - I thought it was an Arabic name.

I love it

And more people would associate it with the actor than Wales (sorry Wales)

@jjeoreo You're not wrong - it's one of those coincidences where two names of different origins end up with the exact same spelling/sound.

Idris (Welsh) - ardent lord
Idris (Arabic) means prophet, I think.

I love it. I had a childhood crush on Idris the dragon and have always thought it the coolest of Welsh boys'names.

Thank you everyone for your comments. Very interesting to hear everyone's opinions!

Great name. Sadly I couldn't persuade Welsh DH, who had a strange resistance to any name he considered 'too Welsh'.

I think you'll probably find it is quite popular in London.

Great name.

Maybe people will have heard of it as an Arabic name /Idris Elba rather than as a Welsh name but if they ask isn't that a lovely conversation to have? Certainly wouldn't put me off using it (I'm not Welsh but my partner is)

Didn’t know it was Welsh

Sounds Ancient Egyptian to me 🤪

Personally I think unusual names work well on girls but are a pain for boys. My brother was given an unusual Irish name and he absolutely hates it as was mocked a lot at school.

Name-related bullying is really not a thing in London schools (although bullying for lots of other reasons is). I taught a kid called Phuc in one SE London comp and no-one turned a hair.

Idris is not that unusual a name in London.

Without wishing to be too revealing, I have several family members called Idris. It is typically passed down the male line of the family (Welsh).

I'm half Welsh half English too, Mam's family are all native Welsh speakers and all have Welsh names.

Idris is on my list, it's a great name. London is very diverse, lots of people have names from all over the world so Idris wouldn't stand out here. I got comments on my Welsh name growing up in a very non-diverse area of England but have never had comments in London.

Is Idris Welsh? The only Idris I know is a friend of mine who is an Indian Muslim who has never been to go UK and has no connection to it (except for me!) either. I thought it was a Muslim name.

I don't like it much. It sounds oddly greasy.

I really like Idris, you should go for it. I don’t think you’ll have any issues with it living in London. I also like the pp suggestion of Emrys. Good luck.

www.britishbabynames.com/blog/2014/07/idris.html

Link explains how Idris is a Welsh name plus an Arabic name.

I like it. Also Emrys, which has been suggested on here before.

It sounds oddly greasy

What a strange thing to say.

Baby name sites are often unreliable when it comes to Welsh names.
Welsh names often get misspelt with letters transposed.
The Idris Gwar in the link isn't Idris the (Back of the) Neck. It should read Idris Gawr - Idris the Giant.