Welsh names?

Girl Names
1

I’m loving the boy’s name Ywen these days. It would be a way to honor someone named [name]Yu[/name] who was dear to me, and to honor my Welsh heritage and arborist father (yew tree)
Only problem is, my girl’s list doesn’t seem to accommodate it. I have [name]Celia[/name], which might be ok with Ywen, but I wanted to get some more options.
My boy names are more serious ([name]Cy[/name], Ösel, Ywen) I love them. Ösel is a little incongruous, but I love its sound and meaning, and it’s in honor of someone.
My girl’s list is more playful ([name]Xenia[/name], [name]Acacia[/name], [name]Ginger[/name], [name]Celia[/name]) All have meaning for DH and I, but they don’t feel as …deep as my boy names.

So: suggestions? Girl names with depth. Possibly Welsh.

2

I immediately thought of goddess & legend names: [name]Rhiannon[/name], [name]Ceridwen[/name], [name]Gwendolen[/name], [name]Sabrina[/name].
I think [name]Acacia[/name] has a lot of depth. Tree names in general. And [name]Xenia[/name], too, as a saint name.

3

Thanks [name]Christina[/name] for the reassurance. :slight_smile: I like the sound of [name]Rhiannon[/name], but I know one, not namesake material at all I’m afraid. [name]Ceridwen[/name]- goddess of poetry good, pronunciation (keRIDwen) doesn’t appeal to me. [name]Gwendolyn[/name]… I love just [name]Gwen[/name] for its simplicity and strength, but I fear it’s too motherly. I may have to give it another chance. Thanks for that one! [name]Gwendolyn[/name] feels “damsel in distress” to me. [name]Sabrina[/name]- I dislike the BR sound for some reason.

4

Well, I live in [name]Wales[/name] and have a welsh name. Im [name]Briallen[/name] Aerona prn. [name]Bree[/name]-[name]Allen[/name]. I always go by [name]Bree[/name] though. My twin sister is called [name]Cerys[/name] [name]Arianwen[/name] again welsh.

I love [name]Acacia[/name] and [name]Xenia[/name] from your girls list though!
[name]Bree[/name]

5

Wow Namelover you’re a twin and mother to twins! Cool. Your name is lovely. [name]Briallen[/name] is so graceful, and much nicer than [name]Brielle[/name], which is common here in the US. But not quite what I’m looking for. [name]Rowena[/name] is pretty tempting, from your daughter’s name. I seem to like the “wen” sound. Good to know.

6

I’ve never seen [name]Ewan[/name]/[name]Iwan[/name] spelt with a ‘y’ before. The Welsh [name]Iwan[/name] I know uses the ‘i’ spelling.

Names of Welsh people I know include:

[name]Sian[/name] (sharn), [name]Angharad[/name], Gerlinde (galinda) and [name]Lowri[/name] (loh-ree).

I also like [name]Eira[/name] (eye-ra) and [name]Anwen[/name] :slight_smile:

7

I [name]LOVE[/name] Welsh names. I visited [name]Wales[/name] as a high school graduation present many years ago and fell in love w/ the country. I dream of some day going back! The language and names are so beautiful. My fav Welsh girls name is [name]Myfanwy[/name]. [name]Adore[/name] it. But no one else in my fam seems to like or get it. It means my lovely little one. I just love the way it flows off the tongue, so pretty to me.

8

My suggestions are [name]Arwen[/name] and [name]Elowen[/name]. I think they are beautiful.

9

[name]Acacia[/name] and [name]Xenia[/name] are gorgeous!

I like some welsh names, I think [name]Rhiannon[/name] is gorgrous, as is Rhianwen, Eirwen, Eirlys, [name]Elowen[/name], [name]Nesta[/name], [name]Meredith[/name], [name]Angharad[/name] and [name]Myfanwy[/name].

10

I love [name]Ginger[/name] and [name]Acacia[/name].

[name]Owena[/name]
[name]Wynne[/name]/[name]Wynn[/name]
[name]Ceridwen[/name]

11

Renrose: Ywen is a direct translation of yew (the tree) in Welsh. Maybe not the common spelling of the name, but I’m loving it.
Gerlinde is quite beautiful but extremely close to my last name. [name]Anwen[/name] is lovely. It’ll go on my list for further consideration!

Lavendyr: [name]Myfanwy[/name] is indeed a magical name. I think I like it more written than spoken. But I’ll live with it for a while.

Alzora: [name]Elowen[/name] is a delight to say. And it’s a tree name! Too bad [name]Elowen[/name] wasn’t also some ancient goddess, but you can’t have everything! I’m going to hold onto this one.

[name]Ottilie[/name]: Thanks for popping by. I’m so inspired by your lists. Eirlys is lovely, and it means “snowdrop” :slight_smile: I just hope it isn’t pronounced “earless.” [name]Nesta[/name] is a magical name. [name]Love[/name] that it contains nest. I worried it may be too close to [name]Nestor[/name], which I dislike. I will hold onto it though.

Beauchanson: [name]Wynn[/name]/[name]Wynne[/name] I like as a nickname, and [name]Winnie[/name] (though it sounds like the sound a horse makes.) Thanks for getting behind [name]Ginger[/name]! I’m crazy about it, though it’s not the most dignified name. Certainly would be a little odd as a sister to Ywen.

Thanks all for the support of [name]Acacia[/name] and [name]Xenia[/name]!
Any thoughts on [name]Enid[/name]? I think it’s kind of wonderful, though maybe it’s too much like “aphid.”

12

Ok I’m bumping myself forward here.
So far you’ve come up with:
[name]Anwen[/name]
[name]Myfanwy[/name]
[name]Elowen[/name]
Eirlys
[name]Nesta[/name]

I found [name]Enid[/name], and I’m liking that.
And I realized that my maternal great gran’s name, Síla (pronounced Sheela) is the Irish version of one of my faves, [name]Celia[/name]. I’ve thought about having a daughter [name]Celia[/name] and nicknaming her Selkie (like the seal-mermaid, since [name]Celia[/name] contains “seal”) I’m more Welsh than Irish, but I think the Síla/[name]Celia[/name] connection is neat.

Anyone have more opinions/ideas for girl names (matching Ywen) with interesting meaning/history/sound - Celtic or Welsh or vaguely botanical?

13

Here are some more nice welsh names:
[name]Eleri[/name]
[name]Caron[/name]
[name]Ffion[/name] (foxglove)
[name]Luned[/name]
Rhosyn
Tesni (warmth of the sun)
[name]Aeron[/name] (a welsh river)

[name]Aeronwy[/name] (name of [name]Dylan[/name] [name]Thomas[/name]’ daughter)
Embla (the first woman in norse mythology, she was made from an elm tree)
Dandelion
[name]Eglantine[/name] (the sweet briar-rose)

14

I love [name]Briallen[/name], [name]Arianwen[/name] and [name]Aeronwen[/name]. For a while I was mistaken that Aerowen was a name.

15

Eirlys is either ‘ire-liss’ or ‘ayr-liss’ depending on whether you’re from [name]North[/name] or South [name]Wales[/name].

Edit:: Just found this link. Thought it might be of interest :slight_smile:

16

Woah [name]Ottilie[/name]!
[name]Ffion[/name] is interesting. I love foxglove, and I love the double Fs.
[name]Luned[/name]… I like the story behind this one, but slightly prefer the sound of [name]Eluned[/name].
Tesni is both very friendly-sounding and a bit mysterious.
[name]Aeronwy[/name] - Not sure about this one yet, but it’s going on the list because who am I to question [name]Dylan[/name] [name]Thomas[/name]?
Dandelion is frickin adorable - such a noble weed. But I think my husband may think I’ve gone bonkers.
[name]Eglantine[/name] is beautiful. I’ve always liked [name]Briar[/name]-[name]Rose[/name] (for Sleeping Beauty) but this takes it up a notch. A bit unsure about that EG sound…

Cristinamarie: Yes [name]Aeronwen[/name] is very pretty. Means “fair river” or something nice like that. I’m not so sure about Ywen and other “wen” names together. Might try to go for more variety!

Renrose: Thankyou! “Ire-liss” or “Ayr-liss” is way better than earless.

17

I’m welsh and my name is [name]Bethan[/name] [name]Lowri[/name], I also have a sister named [name]Rhian[/name] Menna. But if you’re looking for some more pretty Welsh names here are a few;

[name]Marged[/name] (Mahr-ged)
[name]Eleri[/name] ([name]El[/name]-air-ee/[name]El[/name]-eh-ree)
[name]Delyth[/name] ([name]Del[/name]-ith)
Eiri (Ey-[name]Ree[/name])
[name]Catrin[/name] ([name]Cat[/name]-[name]Rin[/name])
[name]Anwen[/name] ([name]Ann[/name]-when)
[name]Efa[/name] ([name]Ava[/name])
[name]Mali[/name] ([name]Mal[/name]-ee)
[name]Cadi[/name] (Cah-dee)
[name]Seren[/name] (Seh-ren)
Cariad (Cahr-iad)
[name]Eluned[/name] ([name]Elle[/name]-in-ed)

18

Loving this this thread! I have always like [name]Myfanwy[/name] but Dh is not a fan, plus given where we live I see a beautiful name like this being way too unusual for the average person. [name]Love[/name] love love [name]Enid[/name]! It was on our list for this babe. Of course I am partial to [name]Bronwen[/name] :wink: and tickled when people comment on its spelling being proper ad compared to [name]Bronwyn[/name] especially since we live in the US and most people havent a clue.

19

I followed the link renrose gave, and the one that stuck out the most was Merywen. It means juniper, and seems pretty straight forward as far as pronunciation goes. Plus, it just has a happy sound :slight_smile: I love this thread by the way. Welsh names are some of my favorites!

20

Well my dears, I’m afraid most of these lovely names have been given the thumbs down by my husband, who thinks we have too many names swimming around. I’m keeping them hidden away for future babes though. [name]Eglantine[/name] was really blowing my mind, but once I said it out loud in a crowded place, I felt as if I’d said… “I really like the sound of [name]Alka[/name]-Seltzer for a girl. [name]How[/name] about Staphylococcus for a boy? Oxen? Taxonomy? Vole?” Poor husband. Here’s the list, as it stands:

BOYS:
[name]Cy[/name] [name]Quincy[/name] (for quince trees)
[name]Cy[/name] Ywen (Liking this, but is it too much Y?)
Ywen [name]Randolf[/name] (family name)
Ywen [name]Marsh[/name] (family name on DH’s side, I dislike it but it may prevail)
Ywen Ösel (Tibetan name, belonging to a teacher of mine)

GIRLS:
[name]Celia[/name] Dear ([name]Celia[/name] has significance to both husband and I. Dear for my grandmother, nn’d this)
[name]Acacia[/name] [name]Xenia[/name] or [name]Xenia[/name] [name]Acacia[/name] (X for my mother and [name]Acacia[/name] for my father)
[name]Ginger[/name] [name]Margaret[/name] (I was feeling resolved about kicking [name]Ginger[/name] off the list, since she’s mismatched with Ywen, but DH has grown attached to her. [name]Margaret[/name] for an aunt)

UNDER CONSIDERATION:
[name]Enid[/name]
[name]Nesta[/name]
[name]Anwen[/name] (DH’s mother is an [name]Anne[/name])
[name]Eluned[/name]. I love lune-names. [name]Uma[/name] [name]Thurman[/name]'s [name]Altalune[/name] gave me a thrill too.
[name]Marged[/name]
[name]Catrin[/name]
Elliw

IF ANYONE HAS ANY BURNING IDEAS ABOUT COMBINATIONS, SUBSTITUTIONS, ETC, I’D [name]LOVE[/name] TO HEAR THEM.

[name]BETHAN[/name]:
Thank you for [name]Marged[/name]! It’s a lovely twist on [name]Margaret[/name], which has family significance. [name]Catrin[/name] is really cool too - sounds like saying [name]Catherine[/name] with an accent. And I have an Aunt [name]Caitlin[/name] (not as important as Aunt [name]Margaret[/name], but she’s got a good name-root.) I really like your name too, first and middle!

JEMAMA:
Thanks for saying nice things about [name]Enid[/name]. It’s so serious, I love it. [name]Bronwen[/name] isn’t for me, though it sounds wonderfully Medieval and fits right into your cool sibset.

[name]WHIT[/name]:
Thanks for the name-hunting! I like the word “merry” and I think I’d like this one on someone else’s child- just too close to [name]Mary[/name] for me. However, in googling it I ran across Elliw (means “color”.) Can’t stop saying that one.