Top 7* Names - Cons for each, please weigh in!

Thanks sosban fach :slight_smile:

That is a nice little link to a great Welsh man but I’m not at all religious so it’s not a huge draw for me either, and I really want [name]William[/name] in the firts middle slot if possible, since this is the one that means the most to me and I feel like the first middle would probably get used more often.

What do you think of the first name choices? As another Welsh point of view? :slight_smile:

Here I am - finally!

Braith - It does sound a little lispy to me, although of course that’s because I’m not familiar with it. He’s definitely in the same category as the softer boys’ names you like, not harsh a la [name]Bruce[/name], and as the name is already short (I’m saying it as one syllable, is that correct?) I really don’t think the nickname Bry would be natural. In my personal opinion, he’s not as exciting as some of your other choices.

[name]Caio[/name] - I love this one, handsome and unusual, although pronunciation would probably be a problem with non-Welsh speakers, as they’d (we’d) assume a strong OH ending, whereas I believe it sounds more like the girls’ name [name]Kaia[/name] - [name]KEYE[/name]-a? Also, I do think it’s too close to [name]Claudia[/name] for use as a first name.

Cynan - Is this [name]Cy[/name] like [name]Simon[/name], or si-non, short ‘i’ sound? Or is it a hard C? I wouldn’t describe this one as bland - in fact, appearance-wise, it’s quite handsome - but it’s true that Cynan [name]Morgan[/name] doesn’t sound great, so if neither of you really adore it then perhaps it’s one to cross off. That said, if you did both love it then I don’t think it’s too similar to [name]Claudia[/name] to be used in the same ‘sibset’ - just sharing an initial perhaps isn’t the ideal, but it’s far from bad enough to stop you using your absolute favourite.

Neirin - I know Nais, too, but the nickname doesn’t sound inherently feminine to me, mainly because it is very clearly a nickname. Feels very Welsh to me, too. Better than Cynan with [name]Morgan[/name], but not ideal - however, if this was the one you both really loved, I think it sounds fine enough that it wouldn’t be bad.

[name]Ren[/name] - I wouldn’t have thought of [name]Ren[/name] and Stimpy, although on Googling it I do remember the show. Perhaps try it out? Have [name]Ryan[/name] introduce himself as [name]Ren[/name] (obviously in a situation where you won’t actually need to see the person again, like sitting next to someone on the train or to a waiter) and see if they comment on the [name]Ren[/name] and Stimpy connection. Would it bother you if they did? Because your child’s peers certainly won’t get the link. It does seem quite feminine to me, mainly as I’ve only seen it (with its Japanese origin) on girls - but it’s actually a name for both genders. That said, I don’t think [name]Wren[/name] will soar, so it shouldn’t become totally linked to girls. Unfortunately, I can’t confirm or deny rumours of origin, other than that it definitely is a Japanese name in one of its incarnations, and that the French word for queen is ‘reine’, pronounced as ren, so linguistically there is some basis for the same sound also having a leader meaning in Welsh.

[name]Sulien[/name] - I would have pronounced this SULL-ee-an, but is it more like see-[name]LEE[/name]-an? I don’t hear ‘silly’, even when I rush, but it’s true that it does sound very rhyme-y with [name]William[/name] - perhaps a middle for another child, given that if you hear ‘silly’ you’re likely to keep hearing it, whether other people do or not, and the fact it doesn’t flow so well with the middle names you’re prioritising. I think the pronunciation issue with this one would probably be that people would think they could pronounce it when they couldn’t … possibly harder to correct than someone who’s just stumped by a name. Although you never know, you might get lots of people asking “Is that Teffy?” for Teifi.

Teifi - very handsome, and I think the pronunciation is pretty accessible for non-Welsh speakers - once told, I wouldn’t find it hard to remember. Friendly, because of that EE ending, but not too nickname-y - he could only really be a nickname for [name]Octavian[/name], and I wouldn’t be suprised to find out he wasn’t. I find him very sophisticated - he feels upper class in a really non-pompous/pretentious way, which is exactly how I’d describe choices like [name]Claudia[/name] and [name]Penelope[/name]. However, I do think he’s too similar to [name]Ivy[/name] to use both. That said, all in all he’s my favourite of the bunch.

[name]Auburn[/name]

To add to this, I think as you’re using two middles, the temptation to say both first and middles would be much less. [name]Penelope[/name] [name]Jane[/name] or [name]Anna[/name] [name]Clementine[/name] flow pretty well as a full name, so they make sense as an affectionate option, but can you imagine someone saying [name]Sulien[/name] [name]William[/name] [name]Norman[/name] when referring to him, ever? It’s not too much name for the birth certificate et cetera, or for in answer to “What’s your full name?”, but it is too much name for any significant verbal use.

Oh, I had the pronunciation totally wrong - it’s more like [name]Conan[/name], then. (I really should have read the whole thread before I replied :lol: ) In that case, I love it. The pesky initals problem still stands, but if it were your favourite, as I said, I wouldn’t discount it just because of that. Possibly weirdly, I feel like the order of your kids’ genders would matter on this one. [name]Claudia[/name], Cynan and then a non-C name sounds more off to me (at least until a fourth child came along) than [name]Claudia[/name], [name]Penelope[/name] and Cynan - much more as though the C thing was coincidental, rather than you were going for a pattern but couldn’t find any more you liked.