Help with Welsh baby names

[Issy42]

I'm Welsh and would like to give my baby a Welsh name, but don't want to choose something that sounds too old or too odd for a child living in England. Always thought I would use Rhian/Rhiannon/Rhianedd for a girl but since the Rihanna umbrella song, I think it's a bit of a teenage mum name now. I'm not religious so trying to avoid names with meanings relating to God. Also can't begin with T, C or M.

Currently have:

Girls
Arwen (means fair/fine)- love the 'rw' sound but too Lord of the Rings?
Anwen (fair and beautiful)
Branwen (beautiful raven)
Eira (snow) - good for a winter baby, but too old?
Aneira (snow)

Boys
Vaughan (little)
Rhys (enthusiasm)
Gethin (dark-skinned - I'm very pale)

Also like Leon for a boy, though not Welsh. Would it be better for a boy to use a more popular first name with a Welsh middle name?

Any thoughts/other suggestions?

Lowrib that is such a good point. Maybe I'll go with Caswallon or something for a boy

Issy42 I'm not sure what Irda means or where it's from and I can't find out for you as it's my mums friends name and mum is away at the mo, so sorry about that!

Bethan, Angharad (shortened to Harri) & Gethin are all superb names IMO and caused us no problems living in England. Although it does throw people who see Harri running around in a pink skirt and being called a boys name...

Thanks for all your help MrsM, Mama, Iwish, Ilove, TAFKA, Lion, Sidge, GwarchodwrPlant, lowrib, rokersmum, Frizbe, bronze, Flame, Jas, migola, Dysgu, skybright, Ninjacat, llareggub, Rachie, doesmybumlook, boodleboot, seaturtle, foreverchanges, Dee, Joycey, salvadory, BlueChampagne and Tummum.

Feeling much happier about using a Welsh name in England now. Lowrib - I loved your rant post, so true - it wasn't so much the spelling/pronunciation that I was worried about but more potential teasing for a boy. I agree that if you read the naming advice on baby name sites everyone would be called Tom and Emma.

Am definitely tending towards Aneirin/Neirin for a boy now (thanks Ilove) and seems to be well received by people. Also like that it probably means either honourable or golden. I like the Aneurin spelling because of Bevan but don't like the closeness to the word aneurysm (now I am worrying about pronunciation ).

Still unsure for a girl, tending towards the snow-related meanings esp for January baby. Like the way Eirlys looks and love the snowdrop meaning but confused about pronunciation - drawback of growing up in Gwent and only doing one year of Welsh at school. I find the r before the l difficult. Any Welsh speakers who can tell me how it should be pronounced?

I love the name Aneurin and DS2 was nearly called that. He would have been Nye for short.

Love Eirlys. I also like Eira too.

Eirlys would be pronounced Eh (as in eh, what?) so Eh-r-liss rather than Eye-r-liss if that's of any help.

I quite like Eira and Eiry but what about Celyn (pr. Kellin) which is Welsh for Holly (and quite wintery-festive). The snowdrop is also called a 'lili wen fach' (small white lilly) so what about Lili?

• wrote a reply earlier but it's disappeared.

llareggub - I like Nye for short too. You could always have a ds3 . I work with one woman who's just had and another who's expecting a surprise number 3! Have decided that Eirlys gives the option of Eira for short so get the best of both.

mejon - thanks for the pronunciation help - some of the baby name websites have the pronunciation completely wrong so I was getting confused between OY/EYE/AYR/IRE sounds. Celyn and Lili are both lovely but I can't use name beginning with C and unfortunately Lily Allen has put me off similar names and also made Lily very popular.

Feels great to have decided on some names now. Still have middle names to think about but that can wait. Thanks everyone.

How about Eiriol (snowdrop)?

Here are some more snow names

Thanks lowrib. That's the website that gives percentage of people bullied because of their name etc. and has strange pronunciations on it. They got the meaning of Aneira wrong on that thread though, giving a rather unpleasant image. As I understand, it either comes from Eira and means snow - the 'an' used to give more emphasis (often means truely/very) - or it's the feminine form of Aneurin which is where the gold meaning comes from, but not both at the same time .

I have one more Eirlys pronunciation question relating to the R, this is overemphasised but hard to explain any other way, is it eh-ruh-liss or eh-er-lis?

I would pronounce the eir in Eirlys in the same way as I would eira personally?!

Whoever suggested Llyr for a girl, I would say that its more common for a boy in Wales

Sorry about that! I only looked at the link quickly. Golden snow? Euew!!!

Just goes to show you can't trust everything you read on the interweb.

I am English, living in England. BabyDragon is called Seren and it is not a problem whatsoever (she's 1/4 Welsh in the very corner of her soul. Mainly Welsh Dragon oddly enough )

[snort]
Never eat golden snow.

Made me smile lowrib .

BuwchBywiog - are you saying you would pronounce it as though it were eira-lys or that you wouldn't pronounce the ei as the eh sound? I've seen so many different pronunciations for Eira (AY-rah/OY-rah/EYE-rah).

SoupDragon - Seren is a lovely name. I am Welsh but come from a part where almost everyone had an English name.

Oh dear I don't know if I explained myself properly. The 'Eh' sound for Eirlys I meant was like when you've missheard something and go 'eh, what was that?' However I've just realised that not everyone will pronounce that sound the same way. It should rhyme with 'pay' or 'say' then add a rolling 'r' and then the 'liss'. Clear as mud? Sorry!

As for Eira - this is my BF's name. Her parents who are non-Welsh speakers (but are Welsh) call her 'Eye'-rah but Welsh speakers would pronounce it so that the 'Ei' bit again rhymes with 'pay' or 'say'.

When we were looking for names for DD (or could have been DS) I found this book really useful.

Cadi is a lovely welsh girls name I think (cad-E)

How about Steffan or Deian for a boy? (Day-ann)

I like Ioan too and Elin.

Thanks mejon - that was as I thought - they seem to use the AY in the pronunciation guides for that sound. I hadn't found that book in my searches so thanks for highlighting it. I think what I need is one which comes with an accompanying cd with someone saying all the names .

Hi Ilove - how are you doing? All lovely names but am pretty sold on Aneirin/Neirin and Eirlys/Eira. Plenty of time to decide which variation.

OK thanks Issy (8+1 and it seems to be sticky )
Allowing myself to think names now

Manon is another lovely welsh girls name.

i think the easiest way to describe the pronounciations is this - Eirlys + Ire-liss

• Eira - I-raa

With short rolling r's if poss!

Think Neirin is unusual and lovely.... If only we hadn't gone and given our older 2 very non-welsh names already!

Ieuan or Dylan

Eirlys is as mejon says: eh - rolled r - liss. But if you can't pronounce it, I don't hold out much hope for friends / relatives. I think Eira is much easier for English people to say.

You said you like the 'wen' sound - how about Morwenna (cornish / welsh meaning maiden), or Dwynwen (white wave). Branwen actually means "white raven" which I think is lovely. There's also a boys version, Bran (pause on the 'a'), but this may be too fibre-based for English people.

How about Welsh forms of common English boys names, eg. Dafydd, Gwilym.

Idwal and Idris could both form nice, unusual middle names. Both solid boys names in Wales.

I'm Welsh and we have a Seren, Ceri, Ffion and Nia in the family along with Dafydd, Meirion, Rhodri and Bryn.

Love Eleri and Lowri for girls, also heard Gwenda recently and its growing on me.

Girls

Elin
Seren
Anwen
Bronwen
Ffion
Imogen
Megan

Boys

Rhys
Ieuan
Iestyn
Dylan
Rh ydian
Llyr
Osian

I have a DD called Dylan unusual I know but suits her

DD1 was almost Arwyn but pipped to the post at the last second

How about Enfys (rainbow), Nia or Elin? Not sure about boys names, although there was a Tegid at our school (Lake Tegid/Bala?)