Which Combination to mean "Bright Shining Meadow"?

My grandmother’s name was [name]Shirley[/name], a name she didn’t love and she had no middle. I’d love to honour her by using middle names that combine to mean the same thing as [name]Shirley[/name] - “bright shining meadow.” The first name would be [name]Claudia[/name].

The one thing that makes this more difficult is that one middle HAS to be Welsh, non negotiable! Lol. Here are some of the Welsh names/words I can use:

D”l - meadow (Kind of like door with an L on the end instead of an r!)
Gwern - meadow
[name]Elen[/name]/[name]Elin[/name]/[name]Elinor[/name] - bright shining one
[name]Nia[/name] - brightness (nee-uh)
[name]Eirian[/name] - shining, bright (AY-ree-an)
Eirianwen - bright, shining (AY-ree-an-wen)
Aranwen - fair, holy, shining
Seiriol - shining bright one ([name]SAY[/name]-ree-ol)
[name]Gwen[/name] - shining, holy
Siwan - bright as the sun (SHOO-an)

[name]Non[/name] Welsh names:
[name]Lee[/name]/[name]Lea[/name]/[name]Ingrid[/name] - meadow
[name]Phoebe[/name]/[name]Elena[/name]/[name]Helena[/name]/[name]Zahra[/name]/[name]Eleonora[/name]/[name]Helen[/name]/Roshan/[name]Roxana[/name]/[name]Niamh[/name] - “bright shining”

I’ve also found these words which mean meadow in other languages, but not sure of pronunciation - Livada (Croatian), Louka (Czech), [name]Prairie[/name] (French) and L”ka (Slovak).

What combo would you use? Any other name ideas? Get as creative as you like! Thanks :slight_smile:

P.S. Here birth flower is [name]Poppy[/name] - do you think a combination meaning bright shining [name]Poppy[/name] as apposed to bright shining meadow would be as meaningful?

For example [name]Claudia[/name] [name]Elen[/name] [name]Poppy[/name]? Or [name]Claudia[/name] [name]Poppy[/name] [name]Gwen[/name]? Would love any opinions, suggestions or combo ideas!! :slight_smile:

I love [name]Claudia[/name] [name]Elen[/name] - absolutely beautiful!!!

In it’s original form, [name]Shir[/name]ley almost certainly meant a bright, shining lea (as in, a meadow). So, what about using the mn [name]Lea[/name], in combination with a Welsh adjective that means “bright.” Like, [name]Claudia[/name] [name]Eirian[/name] [name]Lea[/name]?

[name]Claudia[/name] [name]Gwendaline[/name] “[name]Bright[/name], Fair”
[name]Claudia[/name] [name]Alina[/name] “[name]Light[/name]”
[name]Claudia[/name] [name]Iliana[/name] “[name]Light[/name]”
[name]Claudia[/name] [name]Shirlyn[/name]

That’s a lovely meaning, and you have a good choice of names - fun!

D”l - meadow (Kind of like door with an L on the end instead of an r!) - I quite like this one as an unusual middle choice. Then again, I’m pronouncing it (no doubt incorrectly) less like ‘door’ and more like ‘doll’, and am hence dreaming about a little girl named [name]Dolly[/name], a nickname I’ve recently, and unexpectedly, started crushing on. Although, when I try pronouncing it as you describe, I still like it.

Gwern - meadow - If I’m honest, this feels a little like [name]Gwen[/name]'s less glamorous sister. That said, this is probably because it’s very unfamiliar, both the whole name and the sounds within it. Ask me again in a couple of weeks, and I might well love it; that tends to happen with crazy, old, forgotten British names like this (I’m a big fan of [name]Morag[/name]).

[name]Elen[/name]/[name]Elin[/name]/[name]Elinor[/name] - bright shining one - [name]Elinor[/name] and both her English and shortened variants, are very popular. But she’s also elegant and flows off the tongue, so I still think she’d make a great middle.

[name]Nia[/name] - brightness (nee-uh) - pretty, short and down to earth, but still feminine, in the same sort of style as [name]Mira[/name]. Something about [name]Nia[/name] just strikes me as quite unexciting, even plain, but there’s certainly nothing wrong with the name, and it’s just my personal opinion.

[name]Eirian[/name] - shining, bright (AY-ree-an) - Gosh, this one looks pretty written down! Unfortunately, said aloud it might verge on sounding like ‘aryan’ (depending on how well I am pronouncing it). The sound is actually lovely, though, light but grounded by that final N - I guess it hinges on how much that would bother you. For what it’s worth, it’s a word with unpleasant connotations, but it also seems quite a trivial objection to a name which is clearly not actually [name]Aryan[/name] (or, you know, [name]Adolf[/name]. Or Master [name]Race[/name].)

Eirianwen - bright, shining (AY-ree-an-wen) - I’m seeing a Welsh-style Rapunzel … Not a bad thing! I can’t tell if I like the more streamlined [name]Eirian[/name] better or not; this one would certainly eliminate the ‘aryan’ problems I droned on about above!

Aranwen - fair, holy, shining - pretty cool, but not as lovely as Eirianwen, in my opinion. This might be because it, totally unfairly, reminds me of spiders (what’s that giant one in the [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name] series called? [name]Aragon[/name]? I’m guessing that’s why, coupled with ‘arachnid’.)

Seiriol - shining bright one ([name]SAY[/name]-ree-ol) - Beautiful, but also similar in sound to ‘cereal’. Hmm … dilemma.

[name]Gwen[/name] - shining, holy - A classic, and she also slots quite easy into combinations. Elegant and feminine, but by no means fussy. Perhaps she isn’t quite as fair-maiden-of-myth as some of your other Welsh choices, but then again they could always be used for another daughter.

Siwan - bright as the sun (SHOO-an) - I quite like this one, although I think some of your other choices are a little more exciting. More Welsh girl next door than Welsh Rapunzel :lol:

[name]Non[/name] Welsh names:
[name]Lee[/name]/[name]Lea[/name]/[name]Ingrid[/name] - meadow - [name]Lee[/name] is a little run of the mill in my opinion, especially as a middle, and also quite masculine. However, [name]Lea[/name] is simple, pretty choice and [name]Ingrid[/name] is intresting, very cool, and remarkably feminine given the number of hard consonant sounds.

[name]Phoebe[/name]/[name]Elena[/name]/[name]Helena[/name]/[name]Zahra[/name]/[name]Eleonora[/name]/[name]Helen[/name]/Roshan/[name]Roxana[/name]/[name]Niamh[/name] - “bright shining” - I know you love [name]Phoebe[/name], and I think it’s great, too. Sweet, fun, but unfortunately popular, she’d be a good middle. [name]Elena[/name] and [name]Eleonora[/name] are as lovely as [name]Elinor[/name], [name]Helena[/name] is elegant and [name]Helen[/name] is simple and purposeful - in a very good way. [name]Niamh[/name] is an accessible Irish choice, and just stunning in her simplicity. [name]Roxana[/name] doesn’t have to wear that dress … no, I’m joking, I love the name, spunky but with the classic [name]Anna[/name] association. The only ones I’m not as keen on are [name]Zahra[/name], which just feels a little boring to me (I feel like it’s got a Z, it should be a bit more fun!) and Roshan, for the same reason, and that is just personal taste and not an actual problem with the names. [name]Just[/name] make sure that you pick on how much you love the name, not just the fact that it has the right meaning!

On a side note, have you considered [name]Meadow[/name] itself? I think we’ve talked about it before, actually, so apologies if I’m just repeating a previous conversation, but I do love an unusual word name in the middle. Plus, its similarity to [name]Margot[/name] makes it accessible, while some similar nature names can sound a bit hippy-in-a-not-great-way.

I’m a big fan of Slavic languages, and think Louka and L”ka would both be pronounced like the boys’ name [name]Luca[/name], LOO-ka. They’re pretty but spunky, and I think both would be good choices. You might find someone thinks Louka is a yooneek spelling of [name]Luca[/name], but you know it isn’t so that’s really all that matters. I’m afraid I can’t help on Livada - my instinct would be [name]LIV[/name]-a-da, rather than liv-[name]AH[/name]-da, but I’m not sure. As for [name]Prairie[/name], it is pronounced the same as the English word, but in a French accent - something like PRAY-ree - but it makes me think of a dusty expanse rather than lush green grass, so it wouldn’t be my personal choice.

[name]How[/name] about (I think I remember your surname being a two syllable M name [not sure if you’d want me to mention it online], so I’ve attempted to pick combinations which I think flow nicely with that) :

[name]Claudia[/name] [name]Phoebe[/name] Dol - This was a dilemma, as I wanted to put [name]Phoebe[/name] in there but she sounds a little off right next to your surname to me, almost like you have to rush too much when you say it. Then I didn’t want the double -N ending of Gwern next to your surname, so I went for Dol (sorry, I’m unable to type accents on this computer), but pronouncing Dol like ‘doll’, I’m concerned it borders on cutesy when paired with [name]Phoebe[/name].

[name]Claudia[/name] [name]Gwen[/name] [name]Eleonora[/name] - I really love the short [name]Gwen[/name] next to the very feminine [name]Eleonora[/name]. Overall, I think this has the best flow with your surname of all of my proposed combinations.

[name]Claudia[/name] [name]Eirian[/name] Louka - I almost had this combination as [name]Claudia[/name] [name]Niamh[/name] [name]Eirian[/name], until I realised I’d left out the ‘meadow’ part! It’s a pity, those two sounded great together, but I also adore this combination. It’s so interesting, with all the different name origins, and beautiful but also very grown up.

[name]Claudia[/name] Dol Eirianwen - Yes, two Welsh middles, but I felt like a one-syllable choice was needed and nothing else fit the bill!

[name]Auburn[/name]

[name]EDIT[/name]: Oh, I didn’t see the post about [name]Poppy[/name] - I think [name]Claudia[/name] Eirianwen [name]Poppy[/name] would be perfect, probably preferable to the Eirianwen combination above. [name]Long[/name] and elegant Eirianwen, coupled with sweet and pretty [name]Poppy[/name] - just wonderful, especially with [name]Claudia[/name] in front.

@saramee - thank you! [name]Do[/name] you think the “a” end of [name]Claudia[/name] and “e” beginning of [name]Elen[/name] sound abrupt together or are they ok?

@tuliptrees2 - Yes that’s a lovely combo, definitely one to consider! [name]Just[/name] to clarify, when referring to a meadow and spelt [name]Lea[/name], are you pronouncing it “[name]Lee[/name]” or “[name]Lee[/name]-uh”?

@flexiballetgirl - I adore the name [name]Alina[/name] but there are no names in there meaning meadow! What would you pair it with? I’ve considered [name]Shirlyn[/name] before too since it honours my grandmother, my mother, my sister and my [name]MIL[/name]! ([name]Shirley[/name], [name]Lyn[/name], [name]Caitlyn[/name] and [name]Marilyn[/name]). But is it a horrible name? Does it sound dated and like a trendy version of [name]Shirley[/name]? I’m not sure!

@ [name]Auburn[/name] - [name]Hi[/name] [name]Auburn[/name], how are you? :slight_smile: Loving your input!

I forgot to mention that D”l and Gwern aren’t actual names, just words meaning meadow. That’s why I’m so unsure of using them! Does this change your opinion of using them?

I find [name]Nia[/name] a little plain to be honest too, maybe because I know a few. I think it’s depend on the sound and flow of the whole combo as to whether I’d use [name]Nia[/name] or not.

Hmmm I’d never considered the [name]Eirian[/name]/[name]Aryan[/name] association - definitely something to consider. To me they don’t sound the same, but are definitely similar. Eirianwen is gorgeous but maybe too much, especially with [name]Claudia[/name] and another middle name! It’s funny you mentioned the Seiriol/Cereal thing. I know a girl called Siriol (sih-ree-ol) and I’d totally forgot that as children people teased her and called her Cereal! I don’t think I’d worry too much about it as a middle though.

[name]Meadow[/name] is cute but I don’t think it’s my style. Also, when I put it in combos I tend to put it next to [name]Morgan[/name] (our surname as I think you remembered!) and [name]Meadow[/name] [name]Morgan[/name] does not sound good to me. It may be a bit too cutesy for me.

I love [name]Claudia[/name] [name]Phoebe[/name] D”l :slight_smile: Somehow I just couldn’t put that combo together but now you’ve suggested it it seems so obvious! I’ll def be adding it to the list.

[name]Claudia[/name] [name]Gwen[/name] [name]Eleonora[/name] is absolutely stunning, but is it too much name for a little girl? [name]How[/name] many syllables are too many? Lol. Also, there’s no “[name]Meadow[/name]” in this combo. So maybe it’d have to be [name]Claudia[/name] Gwern [name]Eleonora[/name] or [name]Claudia[/name] D”l [name]Eleonora[/name]?

[name]Claudia[/name] [name]Eirian[/name] Louka is lovely too - you’re so good at combos! I can’t decide if I love [name]Eirian[/name] or not though. Somehow it feels slightly masculine to me. I quite like soft “pretty” names and [name]Claudia[/name], [name]Eirian[/name] and Louka all feel strong and quite hard to me, especially when paired together.

[name]Claudia[/name] D”l Eirianwen - also lovely, but again I’m not sure if Eirianwen is too long? Would love opinions on this? I used to love long combos ([name]Penelope[/name] [name]Susannah[/name] [name]Seren[/name] being a fav! Lol) but recently people I’ve talked to have made me worry about lumbering a child with a long impossible name, that’s hard for them to write, say and remember. Plus the whole form filling thing. Not sure!

I’d love to get [name]Poppy[/name] into a combo, but do you think “bright shining poppy” would be as meaningful as “bright shining meadow”? I guess it’s a double whammy since it has a similar meaning to her name and also uses her birth flower.

Thanks so much everyone for the input! :slight_smile:

I don’t know if this is to much of a stretch but “Maes” means [name]Field[/name] in Wesh
[name]Claudia[/name] [name]Alina[/name] Maes
Could that work?

[name]Claudia[/name] [name]Ingrid[/name] Seiriol
[name]Claudia[/name] Siwan [name]Lee[/name]
[name]Claudia[/name] [name]Phoebe[/name] Gwern
[name]Claudia[/name] [name]Niamh[/name] Dol

Some resources say my name ([name]Leslie[/name]) means ‘small meadow’ – part of Scottish 'Leas ____", perhaps.
I really love the names [name]Poppy[/name] & Maes.
I think [name]Lesley[/name] Maes [name]Poppy[/name] is pretty cute, [name]IMO[/name]!
I also like [name]Ellen[/name] [name]Poppy[/name] Maes / [name]Gwyneth[/name] (or [name]Gwynne[/name]) [name]Poppy[/name] Maes.
[name]Just[/name] some ideas/thoughts–I do also like [name]Lea[/name] [name]Poppy[/name] Maes a lot!! Very pretty. :slight_smile:
All the best,
[name]Leslie[/name]

Thank you :slight_smile: That would be so beautiful in theory, but “maes” as actually pronounced like “mice”!! So to me it sounds odd.

Another Welsh word for field that I have briefly considered is [name]Cae[/name] ([name]KAI[/name]). But does this sound too masculine?

Wow, thanks [name]Mischa[/name]! I love [name]Claudia[/name] [name]Ingrid[/name] Seiriol but my partner’s just vetoed [name]Ingrid[/name] even as a middle! :frowning:

[name]Claudia[/name] Siwan [name]Lee[/name]'s not quite frilly enough for me. I’m so difficult! I don’t want anything to long and [name]OTT[/name] but I want it to sound a little frilly too lol.

[name]Claudia[/name] [name]Phoebe[/name] Gwern - now I adore that. [name]Phoebe[/name] is one of my all time favourite names (and my partners) plus the meaning is spot on! Definitely on the list :slight_smile:

[name]Claudia[/name] [name]Niamh[/name] Dol - I like it in theory and it looks pretty, but in reality I don’t like the two 1 syllable names together.

Hiya thankyou, but the first name will definitely be [name]Claudia[/name] and I only want two middles! From what I gather, a lot of “ley/lie” ending names seem to have a meadow meaning, like [name]Ashley[/name] ([name]Ash[/name] tree meadow), [name]Harley[/name] (long field), [name]Bradley[/name] (broad clearing), [name]Hayley[/name] (hay clearing), [name]Presley[/name] (priest clearing), [name]Raleigh[/name] (red clearing), [name]Chelsey[/name] (camp meadow) etc.

Thanks for the ideas though! If Maes was pronounced as it looks in English they’d sound lovely! Lol. :slight_smile:

I’m great, thanks, just rushed off my feet! So not much time for Nameberry, sadly. I hope you’re well too, [name]Laura[/name].

Well, it actually doesn’t affect my opinion of Dol and Gwern, to find out that they are both word names. As I’m sure you know, I’m a huge fan of word names, the quirkier the better. From an English point of view, using word names from another language seems like a fine option, especially as both sound similar (in my head) to more established names like [name]Dolly[/name] and [name]Gwen[/name]. However, would it seem strange to your Welsh relatives? I probably wouldn’t questions a baby boy with the middle name [name]Field[/name], and would assume it had meaning if it was given to a girl, but I find it hard to judge quite how peculiar it might be in another language. (For example, a French friend of mine finds it endlessly hilarious that ‘ciel’, meaning ‘sky’, is being used as a name in the English-speaking world.) To conclude my lengthy ramble - unless it sounds very bizarre to Welsh ears, either one should be fine, especially grounded by the sensible but lovely [name]Claudia[/name], and another middle.

As for [name]Cae[/name], it does of course remind me of [name]Kai[/name], but in the middle, and as the spelling is totally different, I don’t think it would be a problem. [name]Claudia[/name] _____ [name]Cae[/name] might actually have very good flow, because of the C sounds tying the name together.

I think [name]Poppy[/name] is definitely a viable option for honouring, especially with the ‘bright, shining’ in there, too.

Oh, I got carried away and forgot to put a ‘meadow’ in [name]Claudia[/name] [name]Gwen[/name] [name]Eleanora[/name]! The other options are difficult - the L of Dol is hard to say next to [name]Eleanora[/name], and I worry that there are too many R sounds in [name]Claudia[/name] Gwern [name]Eleanora[/name] (as I pronounce [name]Claudia[/name] [name]CLOR[/name]-dee-a). I’d probably go with the latter.

[name]How[/name] long is too long? Well, I know many people (myself included) with long names, including multiple middle names (three in a couple of cases). Here in the UK we are so set up for multiple middles that I don’t think it would ever really cause a problem - I’ve certainly never had a problem fitting my names on a form, even those ones where you have a box per letter. Actually, that’s not quite true, but on the rare occasion when I haven’t been able to (never on an important, official form), I simply leave out my middle names, or only put my middle initials, and it’s fine. In fact, last time I went to sent up a new bank account, I remember being surprised that on the online form I was being led through, they were so set up for multiple middles that the boxes were:
Forename
Middle Name 1
Middle Name 2
Surname.

Besides, nicknames are so widely used that even the longest name quickly becomes much more streamlined - and it’s not as though middles are used on a regular basis, or you have a long surname.

An example:
This name follows a similar syllabic pattern to a friend of mine’s:
[name]Penelope[/name] [name]Caroline[/name] [name]Alice[/name] [name]Williams[/name].
That’s 12 syllables, yet the vast majority of the time she is [name]Poppy[/name] - never a mouthful.

[name]Auburn[/name]

[name]Hi[/name] [name]Auburn[/name], well I was the first member of my family to go to a Welsh school and speak Welsh, so it’s not like there are any older members of my family that would find the welsh words as names odd. [name]Seren[/name] is literally the Welsh word for star, and a friends little girl is called Cariad which is the Welsh word for love so I guess it’s quite acceptable! I think personally I’d find those names odd as firsts, but if they were in the middle I’d just assume they had special meaning.

I’m still not sure about any of the meadow names though. I love [name]Phoebe[/name], [name]Elinor[/name], [name]Elen[/name], [name]Helen[/name], [name]Eleonora[/name], [name]Elena[/name] and [name]Helena[/name] but I don’t love any of the meadow names which holds me back from losing them.

Perhaps [name]Bright[/name] Shining [name]Poppy[/name] is the way to go?

Or maybe use [name]Poppy[/name] since its her birthflower? Or use a name she loved ([name]Lydia[/name], [name]Olivia[/name], [name]Sophie[/name], [name]Sophia[/name])? Or [name]Poppy[/name] teamed with and S name since that was her initial? Or since her maiden name initials were SS maybe 2 S names in the middle would honour her? [name]Claudia[/name] [name]Sophia[/name] [name]Sian[/name]? She liked the name [name]Sophia[/name] and loved [name]Sophia[/name] [name]Loren[/name], the middle initials are SS like hers (something she was teased for during war time!) and [name]Sian[/name] which is Welsh, is also the Welsh for [name]Jane[/name] which is my middle name, and starts with the same SH sound as [name]Shirley[/name].

[name]Do[/name] you have any other fabulous ideas on how I can honour her?! Lol.

Thanks for any help! Oh and thanks for the reassurance about long names on forms! :slight_smile: