I’d like to hear some thoughts on the name [name]Emrys[/name] (pronounced em-riss; Welsh variation of the Greek name Ambrose meaning ‘immortal’)
It’s been slowly climbing it’s way up our list and is now sitting solidly in our top five (and our top five is finally starting to become actually solid, whereas before it just kept changing every week or so).
What do you think of [name]Emrys[/name]?
I like it, different, phonetic, and easily said. All in all a great name!
I love it!
I love it too. Wish I’d thought of it! My assumption was that it would be pronounced the way you pronounce it but there is some risk that it will be pronounced [name]Em[/name]-[name]Reese[/name]. I think it’s easily corrected and not that big of a deal, though.
I like [name]Emrys[/name] a lot, but I watch the TV show [name]Merlin[/name] and have read many renditions of the Arthurian legend, so naming a kid [name]Emrys[/name] would feel sort of nerdy to me, since it’s one of the names for [name]Merlin[/name]. To me it’s similar to naming your daughter [name]Eowyn[/name]. Beautiful, beautiful name, but everyone is going to know that you’re a huge [name]Lord[/name] of the Rings fan. No problem with that, but I might not want to tie myself so closely to something. [name]Emrys[/name] is less well known than just naming your kid [name]Merlin[/name], of course. In fact, maybe the only people who would know the reference would be fans of Arthurian legend themselves. But you could be inducting yourself into a little club.
I like [name]Emrys[/name] a lot, but I watch the TV show [name]Merlin[/name] and have read many renditions of the Arthurian legend, so naming a kid [name]Emrys[/name] would feel sort of nerdy to me, since it’s one of the names for [name]Merlin[/name]. To me it’s similar to naming your daughter [name]Eowyn[/name]. Beautiful, beautiful name, but everyone is going to know that you’re a huge [name]Lord[/name] of the Rings fan. No problem with that, but I might not want to tie myself so closely to something. [name]Emrys[/name] is less well known than just naming your kid [name]Merlin[/name], of course. In fact, maybe the only people who would know the reference would be fans of Arthurian legend themselves. But you could be inducting yourself into a little club.
[name]Edit[/name]: The name profile says it was the TV show that named [name]Merlin[/name] that. That’s certainly how I came to know about it, but there IS some historical basis for him being called [name]Emrys[/name] as well. [name]Geoffrey[/name] of Monmouth, who basically invented the character of [name]Merlin[/name], called him [name]Merlin[/name] [name]Ambrosius[/name]. The Welsh form, of course, is [name]Emrys[/name]. Since the TV show is pretty terrible and will hardly be a classic, and no one actually reads [name]Geoffrey[/name] of Monmouth, you can probably rest easy that in a few years, no one will even realize the connection.
I think it’s beautiful. A little less head-on than [name]Ambrose[/name]. For me, it’s a tossup between [name]Emrys[/name] and [name]Ambrose[/name]. I love [name]Ambrose[/name]'s “rose,” but [name]Emrys[/name] has the Y, and it’s Welsh! Supposedly, the character of [name]Merlin[/name] was based on an [name]Emrys[/name]. [name]May[/name] I ask what your top five are?
Whoops! Sparrowfinch, didn’t see your comment. Not being a big [name]Merlin[/name]-maven myself, I wouldn’t assume someone who named her son [name]Emrys[/name] was some kind of Dungeons and Dragons nerd…
Sorry, haha, just had to comment on this because [name]Merlin[/name] is my favourite TV show and this really made me laugh 
[name]Don[/name]'t worry, totally get it’s not everyone’s cup of tea or high art or anything, just made me chuckle.
Anyway, back to the name. I adore [name]Emrys[/name] and think it would be an amazing choice steeped in history. It’s beautifully rare but would still fit in with the [name]Em[/name]- sound. It’s solidly in my top five, too 
Ooh, i love [name]Emrys[/name]. it’s sort of mysterious sounding, and i love Welsh names in general.
I think in [name]Wales[/name] it is pronounced em-[name]REESE[/name]. Myrddin [name]Emrys[/name] is the Welsh variant of the name Merlinus [name]Ambrosius[/name]. But [name]Geoffrey[/name] of Monmouth was writing in Latin, so he Latinized the existing Welsh name. Whether or not the [name]Ambrosius[/name] was actually part of the historical [name]Merlin[/name]'s name (assuming he really existed in some, very diluted form) or was simply attached due to beliefs re: his immortality is up for debate.
I love it. I wish it were a realistic option for my family, but it could never work with our Arabic surname.
According to my Welsh friend:
Myrddin [name]Emrys[/name] = mer-thin em-ress (the ‘th’ sound is like the start of the word ‘the’ rather than ‘thought’)
I love it!
Thanks for responses everyone…
Sparrowfinch- Yeah, I also discovered this link to [name]Merlin[/name], but I had never realized this connection until I actually was doing name research, so my assumption is that the vast majority of other people won’t know this either.
Emmabo- You asked about top five, they are: [name]Emrys[/name], [name]Caius[/name], [name]Amias[/name], Caian and [name]Kian[/name] ([name]Ansel[/name], [name]Saul[/name], [name]Darius[/name], [name]Emmett[/name] and [name]Conrad[/name] filling up the top 10)
[name]Blade[/name]- I was wondering if it may be pronounced like that, but from everything I can discover it seems to be more like em-riss or em-ress. It seems that the y sound in Welsh has different pronunciation based on what its together with, so [name]Rhys[/name] = [name]Reese[/name], but Rys = Riss. I think. I’m not expert, but that’s what it seems to say on different pronunciation sites I found
Renrose- Thanks for letting me know how your Welsh friend pronounces it! Definitely want to be pronouncing it correctly if we use it. I’m wondering if the way you wrote it, em-ress, and the way I had written it earlier, em-riss, are the same pronunciation? They seem to me to be pretty close to identical pronunciations, but maybe there is a subtle difference I’m missing?
[name]One[/name] more important point to mention.
[name]Do[/name] you think it’d be strange to choose [name]Emrys[/name] for our second sons name if our first son’s middle name is [name]Rees[/name] (same pronunciation as [name]Rhys[/name]/[name]Reese[/name]/[name]Reece[/name], we choose this spelling variation because of many generations of family history)?