Here I am - finally!
Braith - It does sound a little lispy to me, although of course thatâs because Iâm not familiar with it. Heâs definitely in the same category as the softer boysâ names you like, not harsh a la [name]Bruce[/name], and as the name is already short (Iâm saying it as one syllable, is that correct?) I really donât think the nickname Bry would be natural. In my personal opinion, heâs 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 theyâd (weâd) assume a strong OH ending, whereas I believe it sounds more like the girlsâ name [name]Kaia[/name] - [name]KEYE[/name]-a? Also, I do think itâs 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 âiâ sound? Or is it a hard C? I wouldnât describe this one as bland - in fact, appearance-wise, itâs quite handsome - but itâs true that Cynan [name]Morgan[/name] doesnât sound great, so if neither of you really adore it then perhaps itâs one to cross off. That said, if you did both love it then I donât think itâs too similar to [name]Claudia[/name] to be used in the same âsibsetâ - just sharing an initial perhaps isnât the ideal, but itâs far from bad enough to stop you using your absolute favourite.
Neirin - I know Nais, too, but the nickname doesnât 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 wouldnât be bad.
[name]Ren[/name] - I wouldnât 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 wonât 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 childâs peers certainly wonât get the link. It does seem quite feminine to me, mainly as Iâve only seen it (with its Japanese origin) on girls - but itâs actually a name for both genders. That said, I donât think [name]Wren[/name] will soar, so it shouldnât become totally linked to girls. Unfortunately, I canât 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 âreineâ, 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 donât hear âsillyâ, even when I rush, but itâs true that it does sound very rhyme-y with [name]William[/name] - perhaps a middle for another child, given that if you hear âsillyâ youâre likely to keep hearing it, whether other people do or not, and the fact it doesnât flow so well with the middle names youâre prioritising. I think the pronunciation issue with this one would probably be that people would think they could pronounce it when they couldnât ⌠possibly harder to correct than someone whoâs just stumped by a name. Although you never know, you might get lots of people asking âIs that Teffy?â for Teifi.
Teifi - very handsome, and I think the pronunciation is pretty accessible for non-Welsh speakers - once told, I wouldnât 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 wouldnât be suprised to find out he wasnât. I find him very sophisticated - he feels upper class in a really non-pompous/pretentious way, which is exactly how Iâd describe choices like [name]Claudia[/name] and [name]Penelope[/name]. However, I do think heâs too similar to [name]Ivy[/name] to use both. That said, all in all heâs my favourite of the bunch.
[name]Auburn[/name]