Arianell?

So my partner and I have recently decided that our favourite girl’s name is [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] with the nickname [name_f]Winnie[/name_f]. We both have Welsh heritage (along with Irish, Scottish and [name_f]English[/name_f] but the Welsh is particularly strong on his side and his mother has a very Welsh name). We live in Australia, and I’m from NZ.

Since committing to [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] I’ve been lamenting the loss of [name_f]Nell[/name_f], which would be a nickname for [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]/Elinor, which is obviously too close to [name_f]Elowen[/name_f]. Then today I came across [name_f]Arianell[/name_f] and it seemed like all my prayers were answered! [name_u]Ari[/name_u] has been a favourite diminutive of mine for the longest time but I’ve never liked any of her long forms. [name_f]Arianell[/name_f] to me is the perfect name but I’m having some doubts:

Does anyone know how to actually pronounce this in Welsh? I’ve been to [name_m]Wales[/name_m] once and I know the pronunciation of LL is not that straightforward.

Is it an issue that it contains the word [name_m]Arian[/name_m]?

[name_f]Do[/name_f] you like it in general? Nameberry suggests that it’s a gem waiting to be discovered and I tend to agree, but I worry about appropriating a name like this without enough understanding of its roots or pronunciation.

Would love to hear your thoughts berries!

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[name_f]Arianell[/name_f] is my favourite long form for [name_f]Nell[/name_f]! I think it’s so pretty.

I’m not Welsh, I’m [name_f]English[/name_f], but I would pronounce it like [name_f]Aria[/name_f]-[name_f]Nell[/name_f]. I don’t know if that’s correct but I like it! I found this website which seems to list my pronunciation as correct: Welsh Names (I can’t vouch for its reliability but it’s all I found). If anyone Welsh could weigh in that would be great!

I don’t think it matters that it contains [name_m]Arian[/name_m] as it isn’t spelt like [name_m]Aryan[/name_m] & (as far as I know) is pronounced differently too.

I really like it!!

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So in welsh it wouldn’t actually sound like “[name_f]Nell[/name_f]”. It is [name_u]Ari[/name_u]- [name_f]Ann[/name_f]- nech (Insert welsh LL sound that’s impossible to write out phonetically :joy:) Arianell pronunciation: How to pronounce Arianell in Welsh you can listen to it here.

It think it is pretty and sounds nice pronounced [name_f]Arianell[/name_f] but might drive your partners mum mad if it is always mispronounced !

I personally think [name_f]Nell[/name_f] is a really cute nn for [name_f]Elowen[/name_f]. [name_f]Helena[/name_f] uses the nn [name_f]Nell[/name_f] and I don’t think it’s any closer to [name_f]Nell[/name_f] than [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] so I don’t see why you couldn’t use it :slight_smile:

Edit- just noticed that on today’s article about using familiar nns to make unusual names more accessible, Nell is listed as a nickname for Elowen

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I love [name_f]Arianell[/name_f]! I suggest it to almost everyone on here bc it’s so gorgeous! [name_f]Nell[/name_f] is so, so sweet!

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It seems perfect for you! I wouldn’t worry about pronouncing it the Welsh way. There are plenty of names we Anglicize to make them easier or more appealing for us, so there’s no reason why you couldn’t pronounce [name_f]Arianell[/name_f] with a “[name_f]Nell[/name_f]” ending – especially since that’s how most people will assume it’s pronounced anyway. That said, I am not Welsh myself, so I can’t say for certain whether it’s an offensive misappropriation or not.

And I do agree with @sarahjane1. If [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] and [name_f]Helen[/name_f] can be nicknamed “[name_f]Nell[/name_f]”, [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] seems viable, too. :slight_smile:

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Arianell is stunning! [name_f]My[/name_f] thought is that it would be best to pronounce [name_f]Arianell[/name_f] the Welsh way, though I’m not Welsh so I don’t know whether another pronunciation would be offensive.

I also agree with previous posters that [name_f]Nell[/name_f] absolutely works as a nickname for [name_f]Elowen[/name_f]!

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I am American and would therefore pronounce it [name_f]Aria[/name_f]-nell. I like the name a lot! It’s unexpected but has familiar sounds within it. I think the nicknames [name_u]Ari[/name_u] or [name_f]Nell[/name_f] are so sweet. I guess the question with the pronunciation is would it offend your family/husband’s family if it is pronounced in an Anglicized way? I also agree with above posters that I think [name_f]Nell[/name_f] could definitely work as a nickname for [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] anyways!

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I think it was seeing you mention it so many times that snuck it into my psyche :sweat_smile::pray:

Thank you everyone! Appreciate your thoughts so much. She’s definitely going on the list for now and I’m so happy I found her. It took me quite a while to fall in love with [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] so we’ll see how this one plays out :heavy_heart_exclamation: feel free to keep sending your thoughts!

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I’m Welsh and if you were pronouncing it in Welsh, I would say ari-an-ne-ll with the double l pronounced in the completely un-spell-able way, as @sarahjane1 described haha! But having said that, if no one said it was to be pronounced in the Welsh way I would say ari-an-nell (with the nell same as usual [name_f]Nell[/name_f]). However, I do agree with everyone that [name_f]Nell[/name_f] totally works as a nickname for [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] but if you liked nns [name_f]Winnie[/name_f] and [name_f]Nell[/name_f] equally and wanted to use both on two daughters then [name_f]Arianell[/name_f] is a gorgeous choice!! I also don’t think I would’ve made the connection with [name_m]Arian[/name_m] or [name_m]Aryan[/name_m] because I pronounce them differently to [name_f]Arianell[/name_f]. And I wouldn’t worry about not having a full understanding of its roots or pronunciation because Welsh names are pronounced differently in different parts of [name_m]Wales[/name_m] anyway so I don’t think it would matter if the pronunciation wasn’t ‘completely Welsh’. Essentially, it’s a stunning name meaning silver and the child would share its name with a saint!!

[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this all makes sense, this ended up being longer than I anticipated! :woman_facepalming:t3:

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Thank you so much @Ameliaanwen you have given me all the information and reassurance I was looking for! I’m falling more and more in love with this name. I would absolutely love to have both a [name_f]Winnie[/name_f] and a [name_f]Nell[/name_f] (so much so that I’ve considered simply using the nicknames without full names, but I love [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] and [name_f]Arianell[/name_f] as well).

Now I just have to work through how it would be received in Aus/NZ. In reality, she would probably be [name_u]Ari[/name_u]/Aria 90% of the time because names are always shortened over here. I would hate for people to think I had made it up but I guess that’s the risk that comes with using uncommon names. And even if we have a second daughter it will be a while away so the name might be more in use by then.

I have Welsh/British background and I live in NZ so for what it’s worth, IMO you won’t have any problems with a little [name_f]Arianell[/name_f] or [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] in Aus/Nz. If you were using the welsh ll then people would probably look twice but if you were just going to go with the [name_f]Nell[/name_f] pronunciation for general public with maybe just your welsh family pronouncing it the welsh way than I don’t think you will have any problems there either :slight_smile: I am a teacher in Nz and honestly there is such a variety of names these days that no one batts an eyelid

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That’s very reassuring, thank you. The more I see the name and say it out loud the more I connect it with a spunky, outgoing kid who totally fits her slightly out-there name haha.

It kind of reminds me of a story my partner told me about a kid called [name_m]Olivier[/name_m] at his primary school and everyone in their Tasmanian accents called him “oliv-ee-ay” like it was totally normal and no one shortened his name at all.

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I’ll be honest, pronouncing it without the ll sound (which is impossible to spell as others have said) sounds ridiculous to me, and you almost definitely won’t be able to say it. [name_f]Nell[/name_f] works better as a nickname for [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] to me anyway. The [name_m]Arian[/name_m] thing isn’t an issue though, it means either silver or money which I’d say is a good meaning.

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Thank you for this perspective! Is the same true for names like [name_m]Lloyd[/name_m] and [name_m]Llewellyn[/name_m]? I knew one of each growing up in NZ and they were just pronounced with regular L’s.

Llewellyn yes, [name_m]Lloyd[/name_m] no (it’s weird, I know, but [name_m]Lloyd[/name_m] is just [name_m]Loyd[/name_m])

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