http://www.theuniversityofjoandeserrallonga.com/kimro/amryw/1_enwau/enwau_bedydd_cymraeg_geiriadur_1_1265e.htm
Yr Hafan / The Home Page
..........1864e Y Fynedfa yn Saesneg / The Gateway in
English
....................0010e Y Barthlen / The Siteplan in English
..............................1872e
Enwau - Tudalen Ymgyfeirio / Names - Orientation Page
..........................................1937e Cyfeirddalen i Enwau Bedydd / Forenames - Orientation Page
........................................................0316e Cyfeirddalen i Enwau Bedydd
Cymru / Welsh Forenames - Orientation Page
....................................................................y tudalen
hwn / this page
|
|
Gwefan Cymru-Catalonia Part 1
- Names from A - M |
|
xxxx Y tudalen hwn yn Gymraeg (ddim ar gael eto)
xxxx Aquesta pàgina en català (no disponible encara).
2525e
Introduction to Welsh forenames
1 -a
2 ( -
3 PRONUNCIATION: a
4 NOTES:
(1) added to male names to make
feminine forms - Aeron > Aerona,
Eifion > Eifiona,
Hefin > Hefina,
Ifan > Ifana,
Meirion > Meiriona,
Morgan > Morgana,
Owen > Owena
(2) added to place names to make
feminine forms - Alwen > Alwena
(3) added to common nouns to make
feminine names
awen > Awena (but see division 4 following)
(4) added to existing female names
to create new names
Awen > Awena
Elin > Elina,
Mair > Meira,
Nest > Nesta
1 Ábraham
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: A-bra-ham [ˈabraham]
4 NOTES: Biblical name Abraham
1 Abram
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: A-bram [ˈabram]
4 NOTES: Reduced form of Abraham
1 Adda
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Â-dha [ˈaˑða]
4 NOTES: Welsh form of Adam. Latin
ADÁM- > British ADÁM- > Welsh ADDÁF- > ÁDDAF (shoft of accent) >
ADDA.
The change of British ‘d’ to Welsh
‘dd’, and British ‘m’ to Welsh ‘f’ [v] is usual.
The loss of a final [v] in
polysyllabic words is another usual feature of Welsh, especially at colloquial
level, and can be traced as far back as the 1100s.
In this name the ‘f’-less form has
been the ‘official’ form for many centuries, and the form Addaf is obsolete.
1 Aeres
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EI-res [ˈeirɛs]
4 NOTES:
1 Aeron
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EI-ron [ˈeirɔn]
4 NOTES: Name of a river in Ceredigion. See note at the bottom of the page
1 Aerona
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ei-RO-na [eiˈroˑna]
4 NOTES: man’s name Aeron made feminine through the addition of the suffix -a
(qv)
1 Aeronwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ei-RON-wen [eiˈrɔnwɛn]
4 NOTES: (Aeron) + (-wen); the man’s name Aeron made feminine through the
addition of the suffix -wen
1 Aeronwy
(Aeronwÿ)
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ei-RO-nui [eiˈrɔnui]
4 NOTES: river name Aeron with a fanciful river-name suffix -wy. See -wy
1 Afan
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: A-van [ˈaˑvan]
4 NOTES: (1) river name,
1 Alban
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: AL-ban [ˈalban]
4 NOTES: The eldest son
of the antiquarian, author and naturalist George Owen of Henllys (1553-1613), by
Trefdraeth in the
The town of
In 1868 Alban Thomas, Esq., of
Ty^-glyn, was Sheriff of the
The name would be that of Saint
Alban, the first martyr of the
‘Yr Alban’ is Welsh for
Iolo Morgannwg (Edward Williams 1747-1826),
a stonemason, bard, antiquarian, and collector and forger of manuscripts,
invented the term Alban Hefin for ‘summer solstice’ (the expression is used by
him in a manuscript from 1795) and in some instances this too might have
accounted for its use as a forename. The forename Hefin (qv) seems to be from
this expression..
1 Aled
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Â-led [ˈaˑlɛd]
4 NOTES: river name, North-east Wales
1 Als
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ALS [als]
4 NOTES: equivalent to English Alice (A-lis). Not used currently.
1 Alun
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Â-lin [ˈaˑlɪn]
4 NOTES: river name,
In his English-Welsh Dictionary (1850),
Caerfallwch states (completely erroneously) that there is a word alun, made up of al (supposedly “a prefix occasionally used. It is of the same import
as very, great, and high, of the
English”) and un (one), to give a
word meaning “the chief one”. Some may have been given the name in the belief
that it had an explicit meaning, and that meaning was the one in Caerfallwch’s
dictionary.
1 Alwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: AL-wen [ˈalwɛn]
4 NOTES: river name, North-east Wales
1 Alwena
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: al-WÊ-na [alˈweˑna]
4 NOTES: Alwen (see preceding entry) + -a (suffix for forming girls’ names)
1 -an
2 ( -
3 PRONUNCIATION: AN [an]
4 NOTES: used in diminutive forms - usually in the pattern ‘monosyllabic element
+ i’. This is usually the first syllable of a name.
Elisabeth > Beth > Bethan
Dafydd > Dei > Deian
Marged > Meg > Megan
1 Andreas
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: an-DRÊ-as [anˈdreˑas]
4 NOTES: Welsh form of Andrew
1 Aneirin
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: a-NEI-rin [aˈneirɪn]
4 NOTES:
1 Aneurin
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: a-NEI-rin [aˈneirɪn]
4 NOTES: variant of Aneirin
1 Angharad
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ang-HÂ-rad [aŋˈhaˑrad]
4 NOTES:
1 Ann
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: AN [an]
4 NOTES: English ann, Anne. A borrowing from English. The diminutive form is
1 Annes
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: A-nes [ˈanɛs]
4 NOTES: Agnes AG-nøs
1 Anwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: AN-wen [ˈanwɛn]
4 NOTES:
5 ETYMOLOGY:
1 Anwylyd
(Anwÿlÿd) [aˈnuilɪd]
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: a-NUI-lid
4= “darling” (annwyl = dear), + (suffix -yd). Rare. No longer given as a
forename
1 Arianwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ar-YAN-wen [arˈjanwɛn]
4 NOTES: (‘silver’) + (suffix ‘-wen’)
1 Arthur
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: AR-thir [ˈarθɪr]
4 NOTES: from British < Latin: An example of theis name from the mid 1700s
is Arthur Evans (1755-1837), born in Y Felindre, Pen-boyr, Sir Gaefyrddin, a
Methodist hymnwriter.
1 Arwel
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: AR-wel [ˈarwɛl]
4 NOTES:
1 Arwγn (Arwÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: AR-win [ˈarwɪn]
4 NOTES:
5 ETYMOLOGY: adjective found in
Welsh literature from the 1200s onwards = fair, handsome
(
1 Aurfron
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: This ought to be EIR-vron [ˈeirvrɔn], as the name should be Eurfron. Usually pronounced though as
written AIR-vron [ˈairvrɔn]
4 NOTES: Variant spelling of Eurfon.
Eufron is a more correct form.
Meaning: ‘golden breast’.
From (AUR = gold) + soft mutation
[b] > [v] + (BRON = breast).
The diphthong ‘au’, in the syllable
before last, properly becomes ‘eu’ in the formation of compound words in Welsh.
1 Awel
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: AU-el [ˈauɛl]
4 NOTES: “breeze”
1 Awen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: AU-en [ˈauɛn]
4 NOTES: “muse, inspiration of a poet”
1 Awena
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: au-Ê-na [auˈeˑna]
4 NOTES: Awen (see preceding entry) + -a (suffix used to form female forenames)
1 Bedo
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: BÊ-do [ˈbeˑdɔ]
4 NOTES: familiar form of the name Maredudd [ma-RE-didh] - probably
originating in an infant’s pronunciation of the name. It became an independent
name, and the patronymic ap Bedo was Englished to form a fixed surname ‘Beddoe,
Beddoes’. Not now used as a baptismal name
1 Begw
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: BÊ-gu [ˈbeˑgʊ]
4 NOTES: familiar form of the name Marged [MAR-ged] - probably
originating in an infant’s pronunciation of the name
1
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: BER-win [ˈbɛrwɪn]
4 NOTES: mountain name, north-east
1 Bethan
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: BÊ-than [ˈbeˑθan]
4 NOTES: = Betty. From “Beth”, final syllable of
1 Beti
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: BE-ti [ˈbɛtɪ]
4 NOTES: Diminutive form of Elísabeth [e-LI-sa-beth], and equivalent to
English Betty. The English form is rather the final syllable Bet of Elisabet
(with ‘t’ rather than ‘th) + the English diminutive suffix ‘i’. Beti is most
likely this English form Betty taken into Welsh, and is unlikely to be Bet +
Welsh diminutive suffix -i. The element Bet though is used in the native
formations (probably from the late 1700s or early 1800s) Betsan and Betw.
1 Betsan
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: BET-san [ˈbɛtsan]
4 NOTES: A diminutive form of Elisabeth, and equivalent to English Betty
(1) Bet from Elisabeth;
(2) with the additon of -s > Bets;
(3) and the addition of the diminutive suffix -an > Betsan
In use as
a baptismal name.
1 Betw
2 Name for a female.
Diminutive form of Elísabeth. No
longer used.
3 PRONUNCIATION: BE-tu [ˈbɛtʊ]
4 NOTES: Not in use as a baptismal
name.
1 Bleddyn
(Bleddÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: BLÊ-dhin [ˈbleˑðɪn]
4 NOTES: ‘little wolf’. A variant of Bleiddyn. Blaidd = wolf; the penult
form is bleidd-; -yn is a diminutive suffix.
Blaidd + yn = Bleiddyn.
1 Blòd
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: BLOD [blɔd]
4 NOTES: Pet form of Blodwen
Not used as a baptismal name.
1 Blodwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: BLOD-wen [ˈblɔdwɛn]
4 NOTES: (BLOD- root of BLODYN or BLODEUYN = flower) + (feminine suffix -WEN).
Pet form: Blòd.
Very popular at the end of the 1800s
and at the beginning of the 1900s; it was the name of a popular opera in Welsh
by Sir Joseph Parry (1841-1903), of Merthyrtudful. He began work at the age 9
as a collier boy in Merthyr; but four years later his family emigrated and he
was a resident for eleven years from the age of 13 until he was 24 (1854-1865)
of Danville, Pennsylvania, where he worked in the steelworks. He later returned
to
Now definitely an older generation
name, and apparently no longer given. See also Myfanwy
1 Braid
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: BRAID [braid]
4 NOTES: Name of a female saint, found in the common church dedication
Llansanffráid (church of saint Braid). Same as Bríd in
1 Branwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: BRAN-wen [ˈbranwɛn]
4 NOTES: probably the same as BRONWEN
1 Briallen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: bri-Â-lhen [brɪˈaˑɬɛn]
4 NOTES: In current use.
5 MEANING: ‘primrose’
1 Bronwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: BRON-wen [ˈbrɔnwɛn]
4 NOTES: (BRON = breast) + (-WEN = fair)
1 Bryn (Brÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: BRIN [brɪn]
4 NOTES: ‘hill’.
1 Brynach (Brγnach)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: BRØ-nakh [ˈbrəˑnax]
4 NOTES:
1 Buddug
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: BÎ-dhig [ˈbiˑðɪg]
4 NOTES: Victory,
1 Cadfan
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KAD-van [ˈkadvan]
4 NOTES: Name of a saint, found in the place name Llangadfan.
1 Cadog
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KÂ-dog [ˈkaˑdɔg]
4 NOTES: Name of a saint, found in the place name Llangadog.
1 Cadwaladr
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: kad-WÂ-la-dør [kaˈdwaˑladr]
4 NOTES: In English, sometimes found as Cadwallader.
The colloquial form is Dwalad. [ˈdwaˑlad]
Final -r after certain consonants is
lost in colloquial Welsh:
ffenestr (window)
> ffenest [FE nest],
cebystr (noose)
> cebyst [KE bist]
“Cadwallader” is an English spelling
of the name. The grapheme ‘ll’ in Welsh represents an aspirated ‘l’, which this
name does not have.
1 Cadwgan
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ka-DÛ-gan [kaˈduˑgan]
4 NOTES: Cadwgan Jones, an emigrant to the
1 Caerwyn
(Caerwÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KEIR-win [ˈkeirwɪn]
4 NOTES:
5 ETYMOLOGY: (CAER) + (-WŸN, suffix
for forming male names, = white, handsome, pure, blessed).
Possibly the first element is taken
from Breton KAER (= beautiful, handsome).
In old Welsh literature the word caerwys occurs a couple of times, for
which the Geiriadur Prifysol Cymru /
Or possibly a hypercorrect form of
the name Carwyn. Colloquial Car-dÿdd is standard Caer-dÿdd, Carffili >
Caerffili, Carnarfon > Caernarfon, Carfyrddin > Caerfyrddin, etc. The
first element car- of the name Carwyn was ‘restored’ to caer.
1 Cai
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KAI [kai]
4 NOTES:
1
2 (name for a male or
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KAM-bri-a
[ˈkambrɪa]
4 NOTES: Apparently not in use in
There are a couple of instances of
its use by Welsh emigrants.
One genealogy website notes a use of
An genealogy website has an example of Cambria as
a male name. Daniel Williams was born 31 Jul 1852 in Strata
Florida, Cardiganshire, Wales. He died
1 Caradog
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ka-RÂ-dog [kaˈradɔg]
4 NOTES: from ‘carad-’, = loved (car- = root of the verb caru =
to love, -ad = a suffix formerly used to make adjectives).
This element is also found in the
forenames Angharad (name for a female) (an + carad) and Ceredig (name
for a male) (carad + ig).
Caradog fab Cynfelyn was a British (i.e. proto-Welsh) tribal king, of the tribe
whose name in Latin was the ‘Catuvellauni’. (Caradog fab Cynfelyn is how he is
called in modern Welsh - the form in British would have been somewhat different
- e.g. Caradog < Karatákos).
He was the leader of an unsuccessful
seven-year revolt (43 - 50 AD) against the Roman administration of the
The Romans established a line of forts along the
He tried to link up with the Britons of the north of the peninsula, in what is
today North Wales, referred to by the Romans as the Ordovices, a Latinisation
of a native name, but he was defeated in a battle against the Romans on a hill
in what is today mid-Wales. There are several places in central
He fled to the territory of the Brigantes (as the Romans called them) - in what
is now
(1) A contracted form of Caradog is C’radog
It is typical in Welsh for the vowel in an unstressed syllable before a stressed
syllable to disappear between certain consonants-
(k + vowel + l) becomes (kl), (k + vowel + r) becomes (kr),
Other examples of this compression are the place name Caletryd (hard ford) becomes C’letryd,
and calennig (new year’s gift)
becomes c’lennig. The name Carannog becomes C’rannog.
The patronymic ap Caradog / ap C’radog
(“son of Caradog”) was Englished to form a fixed surname ‘Craddock’.
(2) As we have seen, the British form would have been Karatákos, and the
name in Latin was Caratácus [ka-ra-TA-kus]. The Anglicised form of this
Latin name is the somewhat garbled Caractacus [kø-RAK-tø-køs].
(3) The name was popular since Caradog was a symbol of resistance against
invaders; and it has continued in use through the centuries to the present day
(though apparently a bit thin on the ground in the 1600s, 1700s, 1800s. It has
enjoyed a revival in the 1900s, though it is fairly infrequent)
1 Carannog
2 (name for a male or a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ka-RA-nog [kaˈranɔg]
4 NOTES: A male saint’s name Carannog, found as C’rannog in the village name
Llangrannog.
(CARANNOG = beloved, < CARANT-, a stem of CÂR- = beloved) + (-OG noun suffix or adjectival
suffix).
This name has been in use in the
form Cranog, a poor spelling of Crannog [kˈranɔg], which is C’rannog < Carannog
Its use as a female name maybe due to Cranogwen, the pseudonym of Sarah Jane Rees of Llangrannog, a prominent figure in the second half of the 1800s (editor, poet,
preacher, supporter of temperance)
1 Caron
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KÂ-ron [ˈkaˑrɔn]
4 NOTES:
5 ETYMOLOGY: name of a stream
flowing into the Teifi river by the town of
The name Caron is a female name in
the
1 Carwyn
(Carwÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KAR-win [ˈkarwɪn]
4 NOTES:
5 ETYMOLOGY: ‘beloved and fair’?
Apparently (CÂR-, root of CARU = to love) + (-WŸN, suffix for forming male
names, = white, handsome, pure, blessed), although rules for compounding of
elements in Welsh would require the a > e through the influence of the
following y [i] to give “Cerwÿn” - though this would then be the same word as
‘tub, vat’.
1 Carys (Carÿs)
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KÂ-ris [ˈkaˑrɪs]
4 NOTES:
5 ETYMOLOGY:
1 Casi
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KA-si [ˈkasɪ]
4 NOTES:
1 Cathrin
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KATH-rin [ˈkaθrɪn]
4 NOTES: Catherine
1 Catrin
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KA-trin [ˈkatrɪn]
4 NOTES: Catherine
1 Cefin
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KE-vin [ˈkeˑvɪn]
4 NOTES: (late twentieth century). Welsh form of the English name Kevin, in
turn taken from a name used among the anglicised Irish - an Englished form of the
native name Caoimhín = ‘gentle’ + diminutive suffix
1 Ceindeg
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KEIN-deg [ˈkeindɛg]
4 NOTES: CEIN = (penult form of Cain = fair, beautiful, fine) + soft mutation +
(teg = fair, beautiful)
1 Ceinwedd
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KEIN-wedh [ˈkeinwɛð]
4 NOTES: ‘fair complexion, fair aspect’ - (cain = fair) + soft mutation +
(gwedd = complexion)
1 Ceinwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KEIN-wen [ˈkeinwɛn]
4 NOTES: feminine form of the adjective CEINWŸN (= splendid and fair, etc). See
the ecplanation under Ceinwyn
1 Ceinwyn (Ceinwÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KEIN-win [ˈkeinwɪn]
4 NOTES: Rare. It seems to have been given as a female name outside
5 ETYMOLOGY: ‘splendid and fair’,
‘handsome and fair’. (CEIN- penult form of CAIN = fair, beautiful, fine) + soft
mutation + (GWŸN = fair, handsome, pure, white, blessed).
The Geiriadur Prifysol Cymru /
The name Ceinwen however is an alternative name for the Welsh female saint
Cain, one of the 24 daughters of Brychan Brycheiniog ‘holy Cain’ (CEIN- penult
form of CAIN) + (-WEN = holy, blessed). -WEN in this instance is more or less
equivalent to English ‘SAINT’, but refering to persons revered by the Celtic
Church - Ceinwen ‘Saint Cain’; two
other examples are Meirwen ‘Saint
Mary’, Dwynwen ‘Saint Dwÿn’
1 Ceirwyn (Ceirwÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KEIR-win [ˈkeirwɪn]
4 NOTES: rare
5 ETYMOLOGY: ?a variant of Caerwyn
(which has the same pronunciation)
1 Celfyn
(Celfÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KEL-vin [ˈkɛlvɪn]
4 NOTES: Rare. Contemporary. Apparently From English “Kelvin”
1 Ceri1
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KÊ-ri [ˈkeˑrɪ]
4 NOTES: man’s name
1 Ceri2
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KÊ-ri [ˈkeˑrɪ]
4 NOTES: woman’s name
1 Ceridwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ke-RID-wen [kɛˈrɪdwɛn]
4 NOTES:
1 Citi
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KI-ti [ˈkɪtɪ]
4 NOTES: Pet form of Catrin [KA-trin], but taken from English Kitty
1 Conwy (Conwÿ)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KÔ-nui [ˈkoˑnui]
4 NOTES: An example of its use by an anglicised gentry family is Conwy
Grenville Hercules Rowley,
born at Bodrhyddan in January 1841
to Richard Thomas Rowley and Charlotte Shipley-Conwy.
Richard Rowley was a descendant of
the
In November 1869, Conwy Grenville
Hercules Rowley assumed the additional surname of Conwy, and became Conwy
Grenville Hercules Rowley-Conwy, and in 1895 he obtained royal licence and
authority for himself and any issue to use the surname Conwy.
1 Coronwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ko-RON-wen [koˈrɔnwɛn]
4 NOTES Probably no longer in use in
5 ETYMOLOGY: ‘white / fair crown’
(CORON = crown) + (feminine suffix -WEN).
In the Parish of Llanfihangel
Genau’r Glyn in the
1 Cranog1
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KRA-nog [kraˈnog]
See Carannog
1 Cranog2
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KRA-nog [kraˈnog]
4 Should really be spelt Crannog. See Carannog
1 Cranogwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: kra-NOG-wen [kraˈnogwɛn]
4 NOTES: Based on the male saint’s name Carannog, found as C’rannog in the
village name Llangrannog.
(CARANNOG = beloved, < CARANT-, a stem of CÂR- = beloved) + (-OG noun suffix or adjectival
suffix).
To this has been added the suffix
-WEN (literally ‘white, bright, pure, holy’) used in forming female names. The
‘nn’ becomes a single ‘n’ when it is in a prepenult syllable.
Cranogwen was the pseudonym of Sarah
Jane Rees (1839-1916), the daughter of a ship's captain. The name alludes to
the village of her birth - she was born in Llangrannog, in the
1 Curig
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KÎ-rig [ˈkiˑrɪg]
4 NOTES: Saint’s name, from Llangurig in
1 Cybi (Cγbi)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KØ-bi [ˈkəˑbɪ]
4 NOTES: Name of a Celtic saint. There are a number of place names with Cybi -
Llangybi, in Sir Fynwy (“Monmouthshire”), and Caergybi (“Holyhead”) in Ynys
Môn.
1 -cyn (-cÿn)
2
3 PRONUNCIATION: KIN [kɪn]
4 NOTES: used in diminutives. The suffix is from English (which took it from
Flemish). Some names in -cyn are adaptations of English names in -kin: Hopcyn,
Siencyn, Watcyn.
Welsh diminutive forms are usually in the pattern
‘(monosyllabic element) + (i)’. This monosyllable is usually the first syllable
of a name. Examples are
Huw > Huwcyn. (= Hugh, Hughie)
Siôn > Sioncyn (= John, Johnny)
Dafydd > Dei > Deicyn (= David, Davie)
1 Cynan (Cγnan)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KØ-nan [ˈkəˑnan]
4 NOTES: ‘little warrior’, literally ‘little dog’
1 Cynog (Cγnog)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KØ-nog [ˈkəˑnɔg]
4 NOTES:
1 Cynon (Cγnon)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: KØ-non [ˈkəˑnɔn]
4 NOTES: In current use.
Name of a river in the
1 *Daffyd (Daffÿd) [ˈdafɪd]
Daffyd is a nonexistent name - through the inabilty
of the English to read / understand / pronounce / reproduce the name Dafydd.
It comes from English people reading
Dafydd [ˈdaˑvɪð]
as if it were an
English name - f representing the
sound [f] as in knife, safe, full,
etc, and dd representing the sound
[d] as in Ludd, adder, saddle.
The English thus say the name as [ˈdafɪd] and
then spell it according to English spelling conventions, though with a ‘y’
where English would probably use an ‘i’.
Although to us it seems laughable,
to English eyes *Daffyd probably
seems correct, in spite of the confusing the graphemes. The graphemes “FF” / “Y”
/ “D” abound in Welsh, so that would seem to be justification in itself; and
the spelling probably confirms itself to them even more since it resembles the
spelling of the word “daffodil”, a well-known symbol of Wales.
1 Dafi
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DÂ-vi [ˈdaˑvɪ]
4 NOTES: pet form of Dafydd [DA-vidh] = David
1 Dafydd
(Dafÿdd)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DÂ-vidh [ˈdaˑvɪð]
4 NOTES: From Latin Davidus. This was borrowed during the British era as
Dewydd, and became modern Dewi. A later reborrowing into Welsh from Latin
Davidus gave Dafydd. The original form was probably too closely identifies with
Dewi Sant ‘David the missionary’, the patron of
Pet forms are Dei,
Deio, Deian, Dai, Deicyn, Dafi [DEI, DEI-o, DEI-an, DAI, DEI-kin, DA-vi]
1 Dai
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DAI [dai]
4 NOTES: In South Wales, a pet form of Dafydd [DA-vidh] (=
David). The equivalent in
Not used as a baptismal name.
In vogue for males called Dafydd, or
the English name David, in
(A few years ago I had the following
reply when I phoned the parents of a friend called David, known to all his
contemporaries as Dai.
The mother (non-Welsh-speaking)
answered - ‘Dai? There’s no-one with that name who lives here. You probably
want to speak to David’.)
1 Daniel
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DAN-yel [ˈdanyɛl]
4 NOTES: Daniel. This is the form of the name in the Welsh Bible - Daniel was
the youth who lived in the household of Nebuchadnezzar and received divine
protection when thrown into the lions’ den. The name also came into Welsh as
“Deiniol” via British from Latin. The final “i” has caused the diphthongisation
(“ei”) of the original “a”.
1 Degwel
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DEG-wel [ˈdɛgwɛl]
4 NOTES:
1 Dei
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DEI [dei]
4 NOTES: A pet form of Dafydd [DA-vidh] = David in North Wales
1 Deian
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DEI-an [ˈdeian]
4 NOTES: This is not the English name DIANE! It is a diminutive form of DEI (=
David)
(DEI, a short form for DAFŸDD) +
(-AN diminutive prefix).
1 Deicyn
(Deicÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DEI-kin [ˈdeikɪn]
4 NOTES: diminutive form of Dei = David (Dei + cyn). Obsolete. Not used as a
baptismal name.
1 Deiniol
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DEIN-yol [ˈdeinjɔl]
4 NOTES: Daniel - a borrowing from Latin > British > Welsh.
See “Daniel” in this list.
1 Delfrig
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DEL-vrig [ˈdɛlvrɪg]
4 NOTES:
1 Derec
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Dê-rek [ˈdeˑrɛk]
4 NOTES: A recent name in Welsh, and not common, from English Derek [ˈdɛrɪk].
1 Derfel
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DER-vel [ˈdɛrvɛl]
4 NOTES: From Llandderfel, near Y Bala. The saint’s name is Derfael; the place
name incorporates the colloquial reduction of ae [ai] to e [e] in a final
syllable.
DERFEL < DERFAEL < DERWFAEL
< (DERW = true) + soft mutation + (MAEL = princec, leader)
1 Derwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DER-wen [ˈdɛrwɛn]
4 NOTES:
DERWEN is ‘oak tree’, and also the name
of a village in the
The name though could also be the
female equivalent of DERWYN, and in this case it would be (DERW- obsolete
element = true, found in CEFNDER(W) = male cousin, CYFNITHER(W) = female
cousin, DERWFAEL saint’s name = true * prince, leader) + (-WEN, suffix for
forming female names < GWEN, feminine form of GWYN = white, pure, blessed,
holy)
1 Derwyn (Derwÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DER-win [ˈdɛrwɪn]
4 NOTES:
Possibly (DERW- obsolete element =
true, found in CEFNDER(W) = male cousin, CYFNITHER(W) = female cousin, DERWFAEL
saint’s name = true * prince, leader) + (-WYN, suffix for forming male names
< GWYN = white, pure, blessed, holy)
1 Dewi
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DEU-i [ˈdeuɪ]
4 NOTES: Latin Davidus > British *Davidos > early Welsh *Dewydd > Dewy
> Dewi. This name applied only to Dewi Sant ‘David the missionary’, the
patron of
1 Dilwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DIL-wen [ˈdɪlwɛn]
4 NOTES: In current use
5 ETYMOLOGY: Probably (DIL-, first
syllable of the forename DILYS) + (-WEN suffix for forming female names)
1 Dilys
(Dilÿs)
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DÎ-lis [ˈdiˑlis]
4 NOTES: ‘true’; in modern Welsh, it is in general use as ‘authentic, genuine;
valid’
1 ‘Dwalad
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DWA-lad [ˈdwaˑlad]
4 NOTES: short form of Cadwaladr
(i) the ‘r’ after ‘d’ or ‘t’ is often lost in Welsh
ffenestr > ffenest (= window);
rhaeadr > rhaead = (waterfall);
(ii) the loss of the first syllable in three-syllable words is also common -
Nadolig > ‘Dolig (= Christmas),
ceffyle > ‘ffyle (= horses)
1 Dwynwen (Dwÿnwen)
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DUIN-wen [ˈduinwɛn]
4 NOTES: Name of a saint with a dedication at Llanddwyn, county of Môn
1 Dyfnallt (Dγfnallt)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DØV-nalht [ˈdəvnaɬt]
4 NOTES: Equivalent to Scottish
Dòmhnall (Englished as Donald), found too in the Scottish surname MacDhòmhnaill
(MacDonald).
1 Dyfrig (Dγfrig)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DØ-vrig [ˈdəvrɪg]
4 NOTES:
1 Dyfyr (Dγfÿr)
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DØ-vir [ˈdəvɪr]
4 NOTES:
1 Dylan (Dγlan)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: DØ-lan [ˈdəlan]
4 NOTES: from dy-lanw (dy = intensifying prefix) + soft mutation +
(llanw = ‘tide’, or in older Welsh ‘sea’).
The w was consonantal, and has dropped away.
Other words in Welsh show the same
process - e.g. gwarchod (= look after) < gwarchadw.
Dylan was the name of a sea god
alluded to in the medieval Mabinogi tales.
Dylan Thomas’s parents were Welsh-speakers but also snobs, a combination which
usually means bringing up children as monoglot English and instilling contempt
for the language and culture of their country, their forebears who had fought
and suffered to pass these on, and their contemporaries who continue the
struggle to prevent the obliteration of the Welsh language and a Welsh identity
grounded in this.
Dylan Thomas’s contempt for Welsh-speaking Welsh people is well documented. His
alcoholism may have been caused by the contradictions which such
deculturisation causes. What is curious is that his father - a teacher of
English in a grammar school - should have chosen the name Dylan, as it had
never before been used as a forename in
It is now used as a forename among
Welsh-speakers having become well-known thanks to Dylan Thomas’s (or even Bob
Dylan’s) fame in
Dylan Thomas is admired by non-Welsh speakers, who are cut off from their real
heritage and real poets and writers, because of his fame in
Note that the Welsh pronunciation is not as in English “Dillon” [DI-løn]. In
At at the start of his career Robert Zimmerman had gone to
(I don’t know how reliable this
information about Bob Dylan is - it turned up on a website, which has
subsequently disappeared)
The son of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones is Dylan (as she is
non-Welsh-speaking, she probably pronounces it as in ‘Bob Dylan’). The reason
for the name is probably that like her (and myself) Dylan Thomas was from the
same city, Abertawe.
1 Eben
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Ê-ben [ˈeˑbɛn]
4 NOTES: Short form of Ebeneser. Not used as a baptismal name.
Y Diwygiwr (magazine title, = the reformer)1884 Cyfrol (volume) 49, tudalen
(page) 92. “Eu henwau yn llawn mewn print neu dystysgrif fuasai Ebenezer ac Ann
Salathiel; ond ar lafar, gelwid hwynt Eben a Nanney Salathia” - their names
(written) fully in print or on a certificate would have been Ebenezer and Ann
Salathiel; but in common parlance, they were called Eben and Nanney Salathia
1 Edna
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ED-na [ˈɛdna]
4 NOTES:
5 ETYMOLOGY: From English Edna
1 Edward
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ED-ward [ˈɛdward]
4 NOTES: Diminutive forms in Welsh are Ned [NED], Nedw [NE-du] From the English
name. It was taken to be an equivalent of the native name Iorwerth [YOR-werth]
(there is no connection in fact apart from a vague similarity in form). From
the patronymic ab Edward (son of Edward) came the fused form Bedward,
and the fused patronymic was used as a fixed surname, spelt the same in English
“Bedward”. The patronymic ab Edward eventually became simply Edward (anyone who
was ‘John the son of Edward’, who in an earlier period (pre-1650 approximately)
would have been Siôn ab Edward, would have been Siôn Edward after this. This
also became the basis of a fixed surname - Edward (spelt the same in English),
or more usually with the addition of the English genitive ‘s - Edwards (=
Edward’s son).
1 Efa
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Ê-va [ˈeˑva]
4 NOTES: Equivalent to ‘Eve’ in English.
1 Egryn (Egrÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: E-grin [ˈɛgrɪn]
4 NOTES: Name of a Celtic saint.
Individuals with this name probably have a connection with Llanegryn, a village
and parish in the district of Meirionydd in the
1 Egwad
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: E-gwad [ˈɛgwad]
4 NOTES: Name of a Celtic saint. Individuals with this name probably have a
connection with Llanegwad, a village in the
1 Eiddig
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EI-dhig [ˈeiðɪg]
4 NOTES:
Name of a stream in
Ceredigion whose source is Corsfigan on Mynydd Pencarreg by the main road
llanbedr Pont Steffan to Llaymddyfri. It follows a zig-zag course for some
three miles through a narrow valley, flows through Parc-y-rhos and joins the
river Teifi by Felin-fach farm. By its banks are dwellings with the names
Glaneiddig (“bank of the Eiddig stream’), Bryneiddig (“hill of the Eiddig
stream”), Coedeiddig (“wood by the Eiddig stream”), and Tancoedeiddig (“place
below wood by the Eiddig stream”)
1 Eiddwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EIDH-wen [ˈeiðwɛn]
4 NOTES: Possiblement (EIDD- first syllable of the stream name EIDDIG) + (-WEN
suffix for forming feminine names)
1 Eiddon
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EI-dhon [ˈeiðɔn]
4 Notes: As in the name of the
Egyptologist Dr. Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen Edwards (1900-1996), born in
1 Eifion
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EIV-yon [ˈeivjɔn]
4 NOTES: from the district name of Eifionydd in North-west Wales. The origin of
this name is (EIFION - a personal name) + (-YDD - a suffix indicating a
territory). The name Eifion was fossilised in the place name until revived in
the eighteen hundreds
1 Eifiona
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: eiv-IÔ-na [eivˈjoˑna]
4 NOTES: (EIFION) + (A). Female names are sometimes made from a male name by
adding ‘a’. See this suffix -a in this list.
1 Eilonwy (Eilonwÿ)
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ei-LÔ-nui [eiˈloˑnui]
4 NOTES: An invented twentieth-century name.
It could be based on literary Welsh
EILON (= deer, stag) or more likely on the dictionary word EILON (= music,
melody, harmony). This second word is in fact the same as the first - but the lexicographer
William Owen-Pughe, in compiling his Welsh-English dictionary (1795 onwards)
had misunderstood the word and had given it the meaning of music. To this has
been added the suffix -WY, with no real meaning, to give the name more
substance.
1 Einion
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EIN-yon [ˈeinjɔn]
4 NOTES: In South Wales, the [y] at the beginning of a final syllable is
dropped in many words, which gives the form Einon [EI-non]. From the patronymic
ab Einon (son of Einon) came the fused form Beinon, and the fused
patronymic was used as a fixed surname, spelt in English “Beynon”.
1 Einir
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EI-nir [ˈeinɪr]
4 NOTES:
1 Eira
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EI-ra [ˈeira]
4 NOTES: snow. Cf Eiry
1 Eirian
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EIR-yan [ˈeirjan]
4 NOTES: from an obolete word meaning ‘beautiful, fair, brilliant’
1 Eirion1
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EIR-yon [ˈeirjɔn]
4
NOTES: In use.
A newspaper report (Western
Mail? 05 12 1982 has “His daughter, Eirion, 19, is also an enthusiast...”
A Google site
reference includes the phrase “Rydym yn dymuno'n dda i Eirion a'i phwyllgor...” = We wish Eirion and her committee
well...
5 ETYMOLOGY:
1 Eirion1
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EIR-yon [ˈeirjɔn]
4 NOTES: In use.
Google shows a site
reference including the name “Mr. Eirion
Richards...”
5 ETYMOLOGY:
1 Eirlys
(Eirlÿs)
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EIR-lis [ˈeirlɪs]
4 NOTES: snowdrop (EIR- = stem of EIRA, or its older form EIRY) + soft mutation
+ (LLYS = plant)
1 Eirwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EIR-wen [ˈeirwɛn]
4 NOTES: EIR- = stem of EIRA - this was EIRY in medival Welsh = snow) + (WEN =
white)
1 Eiry (Eirÿ)
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EI-ri [ˈeirɪ]
4 NOTES: older form of EIRA = snow
1 Êl
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EEL (that is, a long ‘e’; the same as the pronunciation
of ‘ale’ in Northern England)
4 NOTES: Short form of Elis [E-lis]
1 Elain
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Ê-lain [ˈeˑlain]
4 NOTES: This is not the English name Elaine. Elain is a word in literary Welsh
(i.e. it is no longer in general use) meaning ‘young deer’ or ‘female deer’.
From British from Celtic *elanî (= female deer) from a root *el- (= red).
1 Eleias
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: e-LEI-as [ɛˈleias]
4 NOTES: Eleias is the name found in the Welsh Bible for Elias, which is the
Greek form of the name Elijah. In the Old Testament, Elias is a Hebrew prophet
of the ninth century BC, persecuted for denouncing Ahab and Jezebel. (1
Brenhinoedd 18.42 Ac Eleias a aeth i fyny i ben Carmel / 1 Kings 18.42 And
Elijah went up to the top of Carmel)
1 Elen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Ê-len [ˈeˑlɛn]
4 NOTES: A popular name in some parts of Wales, ultimately from a character in
the medieval “Mabinogi” tales. This was ‘Elen Luyddog’ [E-len li-Ø-dhog]
(Helen of the Hosts). The story told about her has its origins in Roman Britain,
and occurs in the account of Macsen Wledig, Magnus Maximus, Roman governor of
the Roman
1 Eleri
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: e-LÊ-ri [ɛˈleˑrɪ]
4 NOTES: A river in Ceredigion, which passes through the
1 Elfÿn
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EL-vin [ˈɛlvɪn]
4 NOTES:
1 Elin
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Ê-lin [eˑlɪn]
4 NOTES: The diminutive forms are Nel, Neli [
1 Elina
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: e-LÎ-na [ɛliˑna]
4 NOTES:
1
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Ê-lis [eˑlɪs]
4 NOTES: A diminutive form is made by using only the first syllable - Êl [EEL]
(the vowel is a long e; somewhat like English ‘ale’, ‘ail’, but it is a long
vowel, not a diphthong).
1 Eluned
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: e-LÎ-ned [ɛliˑnɛd]
4 NOTES: Sometmes found shortened as Luned
1 Elwydd (Elwÿdd)
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: E-luidh [ˈɛluið]
4 NOTES: Rare. In current use.
5 MEANING: Possibly from a place
name. There is a Bryn Elwydd in Machynlleth.
In older Welsh, elwydd / eilwydd
meant ‘meeting, trist’, though this does not seem a likely word or a forename.
Caerfallwch, in his 1850
English-Welsh dictionary, translates ‘beatic presence’ as ‘elwydd’, probably an
invented word made up of an element (EL) + soft mutation + (GŴYDD =
presence)
1 Elwyn (Elwÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EL-win [ˈɛlwɪn]
4 NOTES:
1 Emlyn
(Emlÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EM-lin [ˈɛmlɪn]
4 NOTES: From a district name.
1 Emrys
(Emrÿs)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EM-ris [ˈɛmrɪs]
4 NOTES:
1 Emwnt
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: E-munt [ˈeˑmʊnt]
4 NOTES: A Cymricised form of the English name Edmund (from Old English ead
= prosperity, mund = protection). The patronymics ‘ab Emwnt / Bemwnt’,
‘Emwnt’ (both meaning ‘son of Edmund’) became the English-language surnames
Bedmond, Edmunds, found in south-east
1 Emyr (Emÿr)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: E-mir [ˈɛmɪr]
4 NOTES:
1 Endaf
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EN-dav [ˈɛndav]
4 NOTES:
1 Enfys
(Enfÿs)
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EN-vis (that is, like English ‘envy’ + s) [ˈɛnvɪs]
4 NOTES: The meaning is ‘rainbow’. In use at present as a girl’s name.
1
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: E-nid [ˈeˑnɪd]
4 NOTES:
1 Eos
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Ê-os [ˈeˑɔ]
4 NOTES: nightingale
1 Erwyd (Erwÿd)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Ê-ruid [ˈeˑruid]
4 NOTES:
1 Eryl (Erÿl)
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Ê-ril [ˈeˑrɪl]
4 NOTES:
1 Esyllt
(Esÿllt)
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: E-silht [ˈɛsɪɬt]
4 NOTES:
1 Ethni
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ETH-ni [ˈɛθnɪ]
4 NOTES:
1 Eurem
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EI-rem [ˈeirɛm]
4 NOTES: (EUR-, the penult form of AUR = gold) + soft mutation + (gem = jewel,
gem, precious stone)
1 Eurfon
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EIR-von [ˈeirvɔn]
4 NOTES: Seems to be (EUR - the penult form of AUR = gold) + soft mutation +
(MÔN = island of Anglesey)
1 Eurfron
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EIR-vron [ˈeirvrɔn]
4 NOTES:
5 ETYMOLOGY: (EUR - the penult form
of AUR = gold) + soft mutation + (BRON = breast)
1 Eurfryn I(Eurfrÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EIR-vron [ˈeirvrɪn]
4 NOTES: In use
5 ETYMOLOGY: ‘golden hill’ (EUR -
the penult form of AUR = gold) + soft mutation + (BRYN = hill)
Possibly from the place name
Bryn-aur (“hill (of) gold”), with the elements reversed. The 1881 Census notes
a dwelling called Bryn-aur (“Brynaur”) in Nefyn, in present-day Gwynedd. As a
house name, there are also examples (found via Google) on Heol Aberhonddu,
Pen-y-cae, Abertawe; a farm in Pentrecelyn in the county of Dinbych; a street
name in Caerwys, county of Y Fflint, a street in Gorsedd, Treffynnon, county of
Y Fflint; a street name in Coed-y-cwm, Pont-y-pridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf; etc
The name is found in 1889 - the
author of an article “Enwau adar yn Llanrwst” (bird names in Llanrwst) in the
magazine “Cymru Fydd” (Future Wales) is W. Eurfyn Davies
1 Eurfyl I(Eurfÿl)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EIR-vil [ˈeirvɪl]
4 NOTES: In use
5 ETYMOLOGY:
1 Eurion
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EIR-yon [ˈeirjɔn]
4 NOTES: In use
5 ETYMOLOGY:
1 Eurwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EIR-wen [ˈeirwɛn]
4 NOTES: In use
5 ETYMOLOGY: (EUR - the penult form of
AUR = gold) + (-WEN suffix for forming female names)
1 Eurwyn (Eurwÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EIR-win [ˈeirwɪn]
4 NOTES: In use
5 ETYMOLOGY: (EUR - the penult form
of AUR = gold) + (-WYN suffix for forming male names)
1 Euryn (Eurÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: EI-rin [ˈeirɪn]
4 NOTES: In use
5 ETYMOLOGY: (EUR - the penult form
of AUR = gold) + (-YN dimuntive suffix)
1 Falmai
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: VAL-mai [ˈvalmai]
4 NOTES:
1 Fanw
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: VÂ-nu
4 NOTES: This is a pet form of Myfanwy [mø-VA-nui]. The first syllable MY- has
been dropped.
The final -w is possibly the diminutive suffix -W as in Begw, Nanw.
Alternatively it is the colloquial reduction of final wy, found especially in
the South. Examples are:
ofnadwy / ofnadw = terrible,
Ebwy / Ebw = river name,
Goronowy / Gronw = man’s name..
1 Ffilip
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Fî-lip
4 NOTES:
1 Fflur
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: FLÎR [ˈfliːr]
4 NOTES: from Latin flora = flower; there is a ruined monastery in Wales called
Ystrad Fflur (Strata Florida) - (the) valley (of) (the) flower
1 Ffransis
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: FRAN-sis [ˈfransɪs]
4 NOTES: From English Francis, equivalent to French ‘Franois’, Italian
‘Francesco’, Catalan ‘Francesc’, Castilian ‘Francisco’. Ultimately from
Germanic ‘frank’, meaning ‘free’, and the name of the Germanic tribe, the
Franks (literally ‘freemen’). The rise of the Frankish dynasty madethe use of
‘frank’ a popular element in name composition.
1 Ffrèd
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: FRED [ˈfrɛd]
4 NOTES: From English Fred <
1 Gareth
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GÂ-reth
4 NOTES: Very popular at present, though precisley what its origin is is
difficult to fathom. The commonly quoted ‘Gareth is from Welsh Garwedd =
roughness’ is to be taken with a pinch of salt.
1 Garmon
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GAR-mon [ˈgarmɔn]
4 NOTES: See our dictionary entry
1 Geinwr
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GEI-nur [ˈgeinʊr]
4 NOTES: A reduced form of Gwenhwyfar [gwen-HUI-var]
1 Geraint
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GÊ-raint [ˈgeˑraint]
4 NOTES: Latin geront-ius = old man (??with the sense of respected elder, wise
elder) ; from Greek gêras = old age; related the English word of Latin origin
‘geriatric’
1 Gerallt
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GÊ-ralht [ˈgeˑraɬt]
4 = Gerald
1 Gerwyn (Gerwÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GER-win [ˈgɛrwɪn]
4
1 Geta
2 (name for a
female). Clipped form of Margareta.
Not a name in its own right.
3 PRONUNCIATION: GE-ta
4 NOTES:
1 Glenys
(Glenÿs)
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GLÊ-nis [ˈgleˑnɪs]
4 NOTES:
1 Glain
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GLAIN [glain]
4 NOTES:
1 Glan
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GLAN [glan]
4 NOTES:
1 Glyn (Glÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GLIN [glɪn]
4 NOTES: A clipped form of Glyndwr
1 Glyndwr (Glÿndwr)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GLØN-dur, GLIN-dur
4 NOTES: From Owain Glyn Dwr, the Welsh leader who sought to reunite
The short form is Glyn (Glÿn) GLIN which has become a
name in its own right.
See the website
OWAIN GLŸN DWR: Cymdeithas Owain Glyn Dwr (Owain Glyn Dwr Association)
http://www.owain-glyndwr-soc.org.uk
1 Glynis (Glγnis)
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GLØ-nis
4 NOTES:
1 Gruffudd
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GRÎ-fidh [ˈgriˑfɪð],
4 NOTES: Ahort forms are Guto, Gutyn (Gutÿn)
1 Guto
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GI-to [ˈgɪtɔ]
4 NOTES: A diminutive form of Gruffudd [GRI-fidh]
1 Gutyn
(Gutÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GI-tin [ˈgɪtɪn]
4 NOTES: A diminutive form of Gruffudd [GRI-fidh]
1 Gwalchmai
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWALCH-mai [ˈgwaɬxmaɪ]
4 NOTES: meaning: ‘hawk of the plain’.
GWALCH is hawk, MAI (now obsolete,
older Welsh MEI) meaning ‘plain’.
1 Gwallter
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWALH-ter [ˈgwaɬtɛr]
4 NOTES: Walter
1 Gwanwyn
(Gwanwÿn)
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWAN-win [ˈgwanwɪn]
4 NOTES: In current use. Rare.
5: ETYMOLOGY: The meaning is
‘spring, springtime’.
1 Gwawr
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWAUR [gwaur],
4 NOTES: In current use.
5 ETYMOLOGY: GWAWR = dawn, daybreak
1 gwedd
2 aspect, appearance, complexion; face
3 PRONUNCIATION: [ˈgweːð]
4 NOTES: It is used as a second element in some girls’ names: Ceinwedd [ˈkeinwɛð], Tegwedd [ˈtɛgwɛð]
Such names were formed probably in imitation of the name Blodeuwedd, a character in the fourth and last part the medieval
Mabinogi stories. She is the beautiful wife of Lleu Llawgyffes who deceives her
husband. She and her lover Gronw Pebr, lord of Penllyn, conspire to kill Lleu.
She is captured by the magician Gwydion and transformed into an owl, and
ordered never to appear in daylight again.
The origin of the name is not clear - it could be either
(1) ‘flower face’, (BLODAU = flowers), (GWEDD = aspect, face)
(2) or BLODEU-W-EDD, a form of BLODEUEDD, a double plural of BLODAU.
(BLODEU, form of BLODAU = flowers) + (an
intrusive ‘w’) + (the plural suffix “-edd”)
The GWEDD derivation is the one considered to be more likely and is the one
popularly accepted.
1 Gwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWEN [gwɛn]
4 NOTES: short form of Gwenhwyfar, ‘white’
1 Gwenda
2 (name for a female) [ˈgwɛnda]
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWEN-da
4 NOTES:
5 ETYMOLOGY: Seems to be GWEN + DA (=
good), though this should give *GWENDDA, with soft mutation, as in the obsolete
word GWENDDŸN (= blessed / fair / beloved person) (GWEN + DŸN).
Possibly *GWENDDA, with the mutation
removerd for euphony.
Or possibly a feminised form of the
saint’s name Gwÿndaf. The name occurs in name Llanwnda, historically
Llanwyndaf; there are two villages with this name, one in the north-west near
Caernarfon, and one in the south-west by Gwdig. The sound changes whcih have
taken place to give ‘-WNDA’ typical of colloquial Welsh - loss of the final -f
[v], monophtongisation of -wÿ- in a penult, as in gw’bod [GUU bod] (= to know) for standard gwÿbod [GUI bod]
In Llanwnda by Gwdig
there is apparently a “Saint Gwendaf’s Cottage” (2005 Rhestr Brisio Drafft 2005 ar gyfer Awdurdod Biliau / Valuation List for the Billing Authority of
Pembrokeshire). This could indicate, if the name is correct, and of long
standing, a belief that the saint to whom the church is dedicated was a female
saint *Gwendaf.
1 Gwenddolen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: gwen-DHO-len [gwɛnˈðoˑlɛn]
4 NOTES: (GWEN = white, feminine form of GWŸN) + soft mutation + (DOLEN = link
of a chain)
There is a saint Gwenddolen who
lived in the 600s and who is buried in Talgarth,
The name Gwendolen, in the writings
of Geoffrey of Monmouth (1100s), is distinct - it seems he reused a name from
early Welsh poetry (a male name Guendoleu, in modern Welsh Gwendolau). He took the final u to be an n, and
created a female character called Guendolen
1 Gwenfair
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWEN-vair [ˈgwɛnvair]
4 NOTES: (white / pure / blessed / holy) + (Virgin Mary).
GWEN feminine form of GWŸN (= white, fair, etc.) + soft mutation + (MAIR = Mary).
An adjective placed before a non causes a soft mutation, and [m] becomes [v].
Hence (GWEN + FAIR) becomes GWEN ºFAIR > GWENFAIR
1 Gwenffrewi
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: gwen-FREU-i [gwɛnˈfreui]
4 NOTES:
1 Gwenfron
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWEN-vron [ˈgwɛnvrɔn]
4 NOTES: fair breast
Gwen, feminine form of gwyn = white, fair, etc. bron = breast.. An adjective
placed before a non causes a soft mutation, and [m] becomes [v]. Hence (gwen +
bron) becomes gwen fron > Gwenfron
1 Gwenith
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWÊ-nith [ˈgweˑnɪθ]
4 NOTES: wheat
1 Gwenllian
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: gwen-LHÎ-an [gwɛnˈɬiˑan]
4 NOTES:
1 Gwennant
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWE-nant [ˈgwɛnant]
4 NOTES: white stream
1 Gwenno
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWE-no [ˈgwɛnɔ]
4 NOTES: in medieval Welsh, the name for the planet Venus (‘little white /
bright one’)
1 Gwìl
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWIL [ˈgwɪl]
4 NOTES: Short form of Gwilym [GWÎ-lim] [ˈgwiˑlɪm]
= William. Many short
forms in Welsh are the first syllable of the name.
Not used as a baptismal name.
1 Gwili
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWÎ-li [ˈgwiˑlɪ]
4 NOTES: Name of a river in the south-west
1 Gwilym
(Gwilÿm)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWI-lim [ˈgwiˑlɪm]
4 NOTES: William. The short form is Gwil.
1 Gwladus
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWLA-dis [ˈgwlaˑdɪs]
4 NOTES: “ruler over territory; leader”
(GWLAD = country) + (-US suffix).
This became popular in
1 Gwlithyn (Gwlithÿn)
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWLÎ-thin [ˈgwliˑθɪn]
4 NOTES: dew-drop (gwlith = dew as a collective phenomenon; -yn is a
singulative suffix)
1 Gwrhyd (Gwrhÿd)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GÛ-rid
4 NOTES: Probably not in use
“newydd symud y mae (Y Parchedig
Gwrhyd Roberts) o
The Reverend Gwrhyd Roberts of
1 Gwydion
(Gwÿdion)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GUØD-yon, GUID-yon
4 NOTES:
5 ETYMOLOGY
1 Gwÿdol
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GUI-dol [ˈguidɔl]
4 NOTES: Rare
5 ETYMOLOGY: Name of a stream in Powys
flowing into the river Dyfi at Abergwÿdol
1 Gwylon (Gwÿlon)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GUI-lon
4 NOTES:
5 ETYMOLOGY:
1 Gwyn (Gwÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWIN [ˈgwin]
4 NOTES: white; in fact, a reduced form - the first element of compounds names
of British origin with gwyn- as the first element
1 Gwynant (Gwÿnant)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GUI-nant
[ˈguinant]
4 NOTES: (1) By Beddgelert there is a valley Nant Gwynant, where there is a
(2) There is an Afon Gwynant by
Dolgellau, on the northern flank of Cader Idris. It flows into the Mawddach at
Abergwynant.
1 Gwynda (Gwγnda
or Gwÿnda)
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWØN-da, GWIN-da
4 NOTES: Noted in a death notice, 1982
5 ETYMOLOGY: See Gwenda
1 Gwyndon (Gwγndon
or Gwÿndon)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWØN-don, GWIN-don
4 NOTES: Rare
5 ETYMOLOGY Seems to be the place
name Gwyndon ‘white pasture’. (GWŸN = white) + soft mutation + (TON = pasture)
1 Gwynedd (Gwγnedd
or Gwÿnedd)
2 (name for a
female), (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWØ-nedd, GWÎ-nedh
4 NOTES: Modern county (1974-1996; 1996 onwards with a reduced area), and a former
country in North-west Wales. Can be a male or female name
As a female name an example of its
use in an anglicised gentry family in the nineteenth century is: “Gwynedd
Frances Rowley, the eldest child of Richard Thomas Rowley and Charlotte
Shipley-Conwy, born
1 Gwÿneira
(Gwγneira or Gwÿneira)
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: gwø-NEI-ra, gwi-NEI-ra [gwəˈnəira,
gwɪˈnəira]
4 NOTES: snow white
1 Gwyneth (Gwγneth or Gwÿneth)
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWØ-neth, GWI-neth [ˈgwənɛθ,
ˈgwɪnɛθ]
4 NOTES: Apparently a form of Gwynedd, the name of a region in North-west
Wales, revived officially since 1974 as the name of a county, reconstituted (in
a smaller version) in 1996.
1 Gwÿnfil (Gwγnfil or Gwÿnfil)
2 (name for a male)
[ˈgwənvɪl, ˈgwɪnvɪl]
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWØN-vil, GWIN-vil
4 NOTES:
5 ETYMOLOGY: Formerly a parish in
Ceredigion, and formerly a township and census enumeration district. In
Llangeithio there is a Calvanistic Methodist chapel, Capel Gwynfil.
1 Gwynfor (Gwγnfor
or Gwÿnfor)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWØN-vor, GWIN-vor [ˈgwənvɔr,
ˈgwɪnvɔr]
4 NOTES:
1 Gwynfrÿn
(Gwγnfrÿn or Gwÿnfrÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWØN-vrin, GWIN-vrin [ˈgwənvrɪn,
ˈgwɪnvrɪn]
4 NOTES:
5 ETYMOLOGY: a place name, ‘white
hill’. (GWYN = white) + soft mutation + (BRYN = hill)
1 Gwynffrwd
(Gwγnffrwd or Gwÿnffrwd)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWØN-frud, GWIN-frud [ˈgwənfrʊd,
ˈgwɪnfrʊd]
4 NOTES: Rare. Appeared in a death notice1982.
5 ETYMOLOGY: from Gwenffrwd a stream name, with the use
of gwÿn to make the name more
appropriate for a male.
(GWYN = white) + (FFRWD = stream).
The place name may have been Ffrwd
Wen (FFRWD = stream) + soft mutation + (GWEN, feminine form of GWYN = white),
in which case the elements were reversed to form the single compound word Gwenffrwd.
1 Gwynnyth (Gwγnnÿth
or Gwÿnnÿth)
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: GWØ-nith, GWI-nith [ˈgwənɪθ,
ˈgwɪnɪθ]
4 NOTES: Rare .
5 ETYMOLOGY: Seems to be a variant
of Gwyneth; possibly it is a variant
of Gwenith (= wheat). Pererin “A Treatise on the Chief Peculiarities that
Distinguish the Cymraeg, as Spoken by the Inhabitants of Gwent and Morganwg
Respectively” (a series of articles 1855-1857 in Archaeologia Cambrensis)
0959e
notes that in east Morgannwg wheat is “gwinith”.
As it stands it is ‘white nest’
(GWYN = white) + (NYTH = nest) (though this is hardly the derivation of this
name).
1 Gwynoro (Gwγnoro or Gwÿnoro)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: gwø-NÔ-ro, gwi-NÔ-ro [gwəˈnoˑrɔ,
gwɪˈnoˑrɔ]
4 NOTES:
1 Haf
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HAAV [haːv]
4 NOTES: summer
1 Hafina
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ha-VÎ-na [haˈviˑna]
4 NOTES: In use. Rare.
From the literary word HAFIN (=
summer weather) + (-A suffix for forming female names).
HAFIN < HAF-HIN (HAF = summer) +
(HIN = weather).
The word occurs in a poem written in
the 1400s by Hywel ab Owain; it is included in Owen William-Pughe’s
Welsh-English Dictionary (1803).
1 Hafod
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HÂ-vod [ˈhaˑvɔd]
4 NOTES: Rare. The South Wales Argus (
5 ETYMOLOGY: From a place name. Hafod is summer pasture; upland farm by
the summer pasture
1 Hafren
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HAV-ren [ˈhavrɛn]
4 NOTE: Rare.
5 ETYMOLOGY: Name of a river in
mid-Wales which flows into
1 Hafwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HAV-wen [ˈhavwɛn]
4 (haf = summer) + (suffix -wen)
1 Haranwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ha-RAN-wen [haˈranwɛn]
4 NOTES: Rare. Occurs in a death notice, 1982
5 ETYMOLOGY: (
Possibly based on the town name
If this is not the
origin, there is another possible explanation. There is a village called
Llanharan in Rhondda-Cynon-Taf county, from which Haran may have been taken as
the name of a saint (thought the parish church is dedicated to St Julius &
St Aaron - Haran may represent Aaron, unless Aaron has been used to explain the
name Haran)
.
1 Harri
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HA-ri [ˈharɪ]
4 NOTES: Harry.
The patronymic ap Harri (“son (of) Harri”) was contracted as Parri,
which became a fixed surname. In English, it is spelt Parry.
1 Hedd
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HÊDH [heːð]
4 NOTES: In current use.
5 ETYMOLOGY: hedd = peace
1 Heddwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HEDH-wen [ˈhɛddwɛn]
4 NOTES:
5 ETYMOLOGY: (HEDD = peace) + (-WEN suffix for forming female names = white,
pure, holy; soft-mutated form of GWEN, which is the feminine form of GWŸN)
1 Heddwÿn
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HEDH-win [ˈhɛddwɪn]
4 NOTES: In use.
5 ETYMOLOGY: (HEDD = peace) + (-WŸN suffix for forming male names = white,
pure, holy; soft-mutated form of GWŸN). Or this is the pseudonym Hedd Wyn
(Ellis Humphrey Evans 1887-1917), a poet killed in the First World War,
modified for use as a forename.
1 Hefin
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HÊ-vin [ˈheˑvɪn]
4 NOTES: summer. Occurs in William Owen-Pughe’s dictionary (1803), and it
appears in a manuscript by Iolo Morgannwg in 1795 in the invented expression
Alban Hefin (= summer solstice). It seems to be taken from the month name
MEHEFIN (= June), which literally is ‘midsummer’, corresponding to modern Welsh
(*
1 Hefina
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: he-VÎ-na [hɛˈviˑna]
4 NOTES: feminine form of Hefin = summer
1 Heledd
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HÊ-ledh [ˈheˑlɛð]
4 NOTES:
1 Henri
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HEN-ri [ˈhɛnrɪ]
4 NOTES: Henry
1 Heulwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HEIL-wen
4 NOTES: SUNSHINE, from HEUL, penult form of HAUL = sun, + -WEN = white, bright
1 Hirwaun
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HIR-wain [ˈhɪrwain]
4 NOTES: place name, town near Merthyrtudful = long moor
1 Hopcyn
(Hopcÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HOP-kin [ˈhɔpkɪn]
4 NOTES: Hopkin
The patronymic ap Hopcyn (“son (of) Hopcyn”) was contracted as Popcyn,
which became a fixed surname in South Wales. In English, it is spelt Popkin.
In the 1600s the patronymic ap Hopcyn (“son (of) Hopcyn”) lost the ap,
and ‘Morgan son of Hopkin’, which earlier had been Morgan ap Hopcyn, was
now Morgan Hopcyn. This became a fixed surname (spelt in English Hopkin).
A form with an added -s also came into use in English:
1 Huana
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: hi-Â-na [hiˈaˑna]
4 NOTES: In use. Rare.
“sun” - from the literary word HUAN
(= sun) + (-A suffix for forming female names).
1 Huw
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HYUU [hjuː]
4 NOTES: Hugh.
Huwcyn [HYUU-kin]
is a diminutive
The patronymic ap Huw (“son (of) Huw”) was contracted as Puw,
which became a fixed surname. In English, it is spelt Pugh.
In the 1600s the patronymic ap Huw (“son (of) Huw”) lost the ap,
and ‘Morgan son of Huw’, which earlier had been Morgan ap Huw, was now Morgan
Huw. This became a fixed surname (spelt in English Hugh). A form
with an added -s also came into use in English: Hughes, = Huw’s (son).
The adoption of the form with -s, or the later addition of -s to the the
surname ‘Hugh’, was so widespread that ‘Hughes’ seems to have entirely replaced
the surname ‘Hugh’ in
1 Huwcyn
(Huwcÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HYUU-kin [ˈhjuˑkɪn]
4 NOTES: “little Hugh”. A diminutive form of Huw through the addition of the
suffix “-cyn”
1 Hwlcyn
(Hwlcÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HUL-kin
4 NOTES: “little Hywel”. Pet form of Hywel [HØ-wel], through the
contraction of the name to a single syllable and the addtion of the suffix
“-cyn” (cf Hywel > Hwlyn, Lewys > Lewsyn)
1 Hwlyn
(Hwlÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HÛ-lin
4 NOTES: “little Hywel”. Pet form of Hywel [HØ-wel], through the contraction
of the name to a single syllable and the addtion of the suffix “-yn” (cf Hywel
> Hwlcyn, Lewys > Lewsyn)
1 Hywel (Hγwel)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HØ-wel
4 NOTES: ‘eminent’
The patronymic ap Hywel (“son (of) Hywel”) was contracted as Pywel,
which became a fixed surname. In English, it is spelt Powell.
In the 1600s the patronymic ap Hywel (“son (of) Hywel”) lost the ap,
and ‘Morgan son of Hywel’, which earlier had been Morgan ap Hywel, was
now Morgan Hywel. This became a fixed surname (spelt in English Howell).
A form with an added -s also came into use in English: Howells, =
Hywel’s (son)
In Welsh, a colloquial form of Hywel was Howel (ho- as in English
‘hot’). However, the use of ‘o’ in the English form seems to be because there
was no satisfactory way of writing the obscure vowel in English (which the
letter y in Hywel represents), and the ‘o’ sound was felt to be a
near-enough equivalent.
Diminutive forms are Hywyn, Hwlyn, Hwlcyn
1 Hywyn
(Hγwÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HØ-win [ˈhəˑwɪn]
4 NOTES: diminutive form of Hywel [HØ-wel], with the final vowel
and consonant replaced by the diminutive suffix “-yn”.
1 -i
2 ( -
3 PRONUNCIATION: I
4 NOTES: used in diminutive forms - usually in the pattern
‘(monosyllabic element) + (i)’. This monosyllable is usually the first syllable
of a name. Examples are:
Ifan > (If + -i) > Ifi (rhymes approximately with English ‘chivvy’)
Morus > (Mo + -i) > Moi)
Owen > (Ow + -i) > Owi (rhymes approximately with English ‘snowy’)
1 Iago
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: IÂ-go [ˈjaˑgɔ]
4 NOTES: James, Jacob
1 Ianto
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: IAN-to [ˈjantɔ]
4 diminutive of Ifan [I-van]
1 Iantws
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: IAN-tus [ˈjantʊs]
4 diminutive of Ifan [I-van] = John, Evan
1 Idris
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: I-dris [ˈɪdrɪs]
4 NOTES: equivalent to modern Welsh spellings (*iudd = lord) + soft mutation +
(rhys = vigour, impulse). This obsolete element *iudd is found in other Welsh
names, the most well-known of which is Gruffudd (“Griffith”)
1 Idwal
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ID-wal [ˈɪdwal]
4 NOTES:
1 Iefan
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: IÊ-van [ˈjeˑvan]
4 NOTES: A development of the medieval name Ieuan = John, “Evan”. This
gave the present form Ifan [I-van], in the same way that ieuanc
= young has become ifanc in modern Welsh. Iefan was a south-eastern
form of Ieuan, used colloquially until the early 1900s, but not found as a
baptismal name.
1 Iestyn
(Iestÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: IE-stin
4 NOTES:
1 Ieu
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: IEI
4 NOTES: pet form of the name Ieuan [IEI-an]
1 Ieuan
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: IEI-an
4 NOTES: John A traditional form of the name John, from British < Latin.
Colloquially it became Iefan, Efan, Ifan. In the 1900’s the medieval form Ieuan
was revived. The short form is Ieu [IEI]
1 Ifan
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Î-van
4 Ifan is the modern form of Ieuan = John . Originally it was a colloquial form,
a reduction of Iefan, from Ieuan, with [ev] replacing [ei]. Pet forms of Ifan
are Ianto [IAN-to], Iantws [IAN-tus], Ifi [I-vi]
1 Ifana
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: i-VÂ-na
4 NOTES: Ifan + a = Joanna. Female names are sometimes made by adding ‘a’ to
the male name.
1 Ifi
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Î-vi
4 diminutive of Ifan [I-van]. Ifi is not used as a baptismal name
1 Ifor
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Î-vor (note: ‘i’ as in Tim, not as in time)
4 NOTES: a rare example of a Scandinavian name which found its way into Welsh
(probably via the Irish-Scandinavians who settled on parts of the west coast of
1 Ilar
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Î-lar
4 NOTES: In Dinbych there is Capel y Santes
Ilar (Chapel of Saint Ilar)
1 Ilid
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Î-lid
4 NOTES:
1 Illtud
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ILH-tid
4 NOTES: This saint’s name is found in village names (originally church names)
in the south-east - Llanilltud (county: Powys), Llanilltud Fawr (county: Bro
Morgannwg), Llanilltud Faerdre (county: Rhondda Cynon Taf), Llanilltud Fach
(county: Castell-nedd ac Aberafan), Llanilltud Gŵyr (county: Abertawe).
1 Illtÿd
2 (name for a male).
A less etymological spelling of Illtud
1 Ioan
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: IÔ-an
4 NOTES: John This was the form that the translators of the Bible preferred to
use, taken directly from the Greek form. The traditional form was Ieuan (which
became Iefan, Efan, Ifan)
1 Iolo
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: IOL-lo,
4 NOTES: This is a pet form of Iorwerth [IOR-werth], based on the
first syllable, with a change of consonant r > l, and the addition of the
diminutive suffix -o. It is used nowadays as a name in its own right.
1 Iori
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: IÔ-ri
4 NOTES: A pet form of Iorwerth [IOR-werth] based on the first
syllable, with the addition of the diminutive suffix -i. It is not used as a
baptismal name however (or has not been used - some pet forms, like another
(Iolo) based on Iorwerth, become independent given names)
1 Iorwerth
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: IOR-werth
4 NOTES: This has diminutives Iolo [IO-lo] and Iori [IO-ri].
In medieval times, Edward was used as an equivalent of this native name, although
there is no real connection apart from a slight resemblance in form. Iorwerth
is made up of the elements iôr = lord, gwerth = value.
1 Irfon
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: IR-von
4 NOTES: (Irfon, river name, South-east Wales)
1 Irfonwy
(Irfonwÿ)
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ir-VÔ-nui
4 NOTES: (Irfon, river name, South-east Wales) + (suffix -wy used to adorn
river names in the 1800s )
1 Islwyn
(Islwÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: IS-luin
4 NOTES: popular at the beginning of the 1900’s. No longer common though; now
mainly an older generation name) Islwyn was the pen name of poet William
Thomas, (1832-78), born by Ynys-ddu (in
1 Iwan
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: I-wan
4 NOTES: John (form of Ifan)
1 j
2 (-)
3 PRONUNCIATION: -
4 NOTES: At one time this sound (a voiced palato-alveolar affricate) was not
part of the Welsh sound system, and words taken from English with ‘j’ were
accommodated by replacing it with a voiceless alveolar fricative + voiced
palatal approximant [sy]. This was spelt as ‘si-’ in Welsh. Later this sound
became palatalised in Welsh, [sh] (voiceless palato-alveolar fricative).
English John [joon] > Welsh Siôn [syoon], nowadays Siôn [shoon].
Nowadays the sound [j] is quite usual in Welsh (though there are older speakers
in the north-west who are unable to produce this sound). In the case of
personal names equivalent to English names beginning with [j], this means that
there are often two forms of the same name - an earlier borrowing which is now
pronounced with [sh], and a later borrowing pronounced with [j].
Examples are:
John (Welsh Siôn, Jon)
James (Welsh Siâms, Jâms, Jêms)
Jane (Welsh Siân, Jên)
George (Welsh Siôr) (Also Jorj, but
never written as such - the English spelling is always used in this case)
These older forms with ‘si-’ generally preserve the former English long vowel
which changed to a diphthong in the long-vowel shifts circa 1500. Jane and James
would have had a long ‘a’ [aa], which the Welsh names retain - Siân, Siâms.
1 Jac
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: JAK
4 NOTES: Jack. Just as the English name is used as a pet form of John, the
Welsh form Jac is used for Siôn and Jon
1 Jâms
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: JAAMS
4 NOTES: James. This represents an older borrowing from English because around
1500 the English pronunciation changes {Jaamz} > {Jeimz}
1 Jên
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: JEEN
4 Jane - usually spelt ‘Jane’ as in English. The genuine Welsh form is in fact
Siân, although this too in origin is a borrowing from English
1 Jeni
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: JÊ-ni
4 Jenny - a pet form of Jên = Jane
1 Jonas
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: JÔ-nas
4 Jonah
Matthew 12:40 Canys fel y bu Jonas
dridiau a thair nos ym mol y morfil...
Matthew
1 Jon
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: JON
4 NOTES: John. This is usually spelt when used as a baptismal name in the
English way, with ‘h’, as though it were still a foreign name. It should
however be considered another Welsh form by now, adding to the list of
equivalent names borrowed over the centuries from various sources
(1) Latin > British > Welsh: Ieuan / Iefan / Ifan / Iwan
(2) Greek: Ioan (from the Welsh translation of the Bible from the Greek
version)
(3) Middle English: Siôn
(4) Modern English: Jon
The diminutive Joni is never written with an ‘h’. There are instances of the
spelling ‘Jon’ by some writers. There seem to be a couple of examples at the
present time of Welshman preferring the spelling ‘Jon’. Sometimes though it is
the English short form of the English name (from the Biblical name) Jonathan.
1 Joni
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: JÔ-ni
4 NOTES: diminutive form of Jon. As the ‘o’ is short, the spelling Jonni would be more correct in Welsh
1 Lal
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LAL [lal]
4 NOTES: Pet name for Sara; from the pet form Sal [SAL] with change of
intial consonant
1 Lali
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LÂ-li
4 NOTES: Pet name for Sara; from the pet form Sali [SA-li] with change
of intial consonant
1 Lefi
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LÊ-vi
4 NOTES: = Levy
1 Lewis
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LEU-is
4 NOTES: Lewis, Louis
1 Lewsyn
(Lewsÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LEU-sin
4 NOTES: Pet form of Lewys [LEU-is], through the contraction of the name
to a single syllable and the addtion of the suffix -yn (cf Hywel > Hwlcyn,
Hwlyn)
1 Lewys
(Lewÿs)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LEU-is,
4 NOTES: A diminutive form is Lewsyn [LEU-sin]
1 Lisa
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LÎ-sa
4 NOTES: Dimutive form of Elizabeth. Probably the English diminutive form taken
into Welsh
1 Lleision
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LHEI-shon [ˈɬeiʃɔn]
4 llais = voice; -on = suffix usually found in names of Celtic deities
1 Llelo
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LHÊ-lo,
4 NOTE: A diminutive form of Llewelyn [lhe-WE-lin], a variant form of
Llywelyn [lhø-WE-lin]
1 Lleucu
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LHEI-ki [ˈɬeikɪ]
4 Considered to be the Welsh equivalent of ‘Lucy’ though in fact there is no
connection, apart from the sequence of letters l-c in the written form of the
name.
William the son of John William and
Lleykey his wife was baptised the last day of December 1676 (p.32 Register of
Glasbury, Thomas Wood, 1904)
1 Llew
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LHEU
4 NOTES: A diminutive form of Llewelyn [lhe-WÊ-lin], a variant form of
Llywelyn [lhø-WÊ-lin]
1 Llewela
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: lhe-WÊ-la
4 NOTES: See Llywela [lhø-WÊ-la]
1 Llewelyn
(Llewelÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: lhø-WÊ-lin
4 NOTES: See Llywelyn
1 Llifon
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LHÎ-von
4 NOTES: In current use. Name of a river and a cwmwd (medieval neighbourhood) in Ynys Môn /
1 Llinos
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LHÎ-nos
4 NOTES: meaning is ‘greenfinch’; the name of the bird - an attractive green
grain-eater - comes ultimately from ‘llin’ = flax, flaxseed.
1 Llio
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LHÎ-o [ˈɬiˑɔ]
4 NOTES:
1 Llion
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LHÎ-on [ˈɬiˑɔn]
4 NOTES: In current use
1 Lliwelydd
(Lliwelÿdd)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: lhi-WÊ-lidh
4 NOTES: Not in current use. It is familiar to Welsh speakers as it occurs in
the Welsh name for
1 Llwchwr
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LHÛ-khur [ˈɬuˑxʊr]
4 NOTES: river name, south-west Wales
1 Llwyd
(Llwÿd)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LHUID [ˈɬuid]
4 NOTES: ‘grey’. In English as ‘Lloyd’ and ‘Floyd’
1 Llynfi
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LHØN-vi [ˈɬənvɪ]
4 Name of a river in Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr county
1 Llŷr
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LHÎR [ˈɬiːr]
4 NOTES: Origin of the English name Lear,as in Shakespeare’s King Lear. It is
in current use, though not common, having been revived in the 1960’s
1 Llywarch (Llγwarch)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LHØ-warkh
4 NOTES: British:
*LUGU-MARK-O- LUG- (= Celtic
sun god), MARK- (= horse). These elements correspond to modern Welsh LLEU (same
meaning), MARCH (same meaning).
MEANING: ‘horse of Lleu’ (if the
elements in such names were combined meaningfully - possibly they are two elements
taken from the names of relatives or admired people, real or mythological, with
no thought as to what the two elements combined would mean)
1 Llywela (Llγwela)
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: lhø-WÊ-la
4 Probably Llywelyn with the final ‘-yn’ removed and replaced with -a,
a suffix used in forming female names.
The ‘-yn’ has been presumed to be the masculine diminutive suffix
(though in this name this is not so).
1 Llywelydd
(Llγwelÿdd)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: lhø-WÊ-lidh
4 NOTES: Not in current use.
1 Llywelyn (Llγwelÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: lhø-WÊ-lin,
4 NOTES: From a British form LUGU-BELINO-. The elements are Lug- (the
Celtic sun god), and belin- (war). Diminutives of Llywelyn / Llewelyn
are Llew [LHEU], Lyn [LIN]
1 Lowri
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LOW-ri [ˈlourɪ]
4 NOTES: Equivalent to English Laura
1 Lyn (Lÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LIN = < lhø-WE-lin
4 NOTES: A pet form of Llywelyn - the last syllable of this name. With increasing
Anglicisation of Wales, people are more familiar with [lin] as an English
girl’s name Lynn / Lynne, and this has probably halted the more general use of
the boy’s name Lyn.
1 Lynwen (Lγnwen)
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: LØN-wen
4 NOTES: in current use; dates from the 1960’s??
1 Mabon
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MÂ-bon [ˈmaˑbɔn]
4 NOTES: there is a church and parish Llanfabon in south-east
1 Machreth
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MAKH-reth
4 NOTES: A Celtic saint’s name, preserved in the village name Llanfachreth. The
name was is more exactly Machraith, but in colloquial Welsh the diphthong -ai-
in a final syllable becomes -e- (or -a- in the north-west corner of
Tarian y Gweithiwr 24 12 1908. Nodion o Rhymni (sic). Gan Owain Glyndwr.
Dymunaf hysbysu y beirdd o Gaerdydd i Gaergybi, fod Pwyllgor Eisteddfodol
Cadair Gwent, eleni eto, wedi sicrhau beirniad o allu, gonestrwydd, a safle yn
mherson y Prif-fardd Barchedig Machreth Rees, Llundain.
Beirniad hyddysg dysg a dawn - i osod
Y pwysau yn gyfiawn;
Machreth Rees! mae uwch rhoi i’th rawn
Awenydd, ond mesur uniawn
Tarian y Gweithiwr (the shield of the worker) 24 12 1908. Notes from Rhymni. By
Owain Glyndwr. I would like to inform the poets from Caerdydd to Caergybi (=
from one end of Wales to the other), that the committee for the chaired
eisteddfod of Gwent, this year once again, has secured an adjudicator of
ability, honesty and standing in the personof the Grand Poet the reverend
Machreth Rees, of London.
An erudite adjudicator of learning and talent - to place
The weights fairly
Machreth Rees! he is above giving to your fruit
of the Muse, anything but the exact measure
1 Madog
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MÂ-dog
4 NOTES:
1 Maelog
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MEI-log [ˈmeilɔg]
4 NOTES:
1 Màg
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MAG
4 NOTES: Pet form of Marged [MAR-ged] = Margaret
1 Magi
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MÂ-gi
4 NOTES: Pet form of Marged [MAR-ged] = Margaret (Mag +
diminutive suffix -i)
1 Magwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MA-gwen
4 NOTES: Name base on Mag (a pet form of Marged [MAR-ged] =
Margaret) and the addition of the suffix -wen freely used in the coining of
Welsh female names
1 Magws
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MÂ-gus
4 NOTES: Pet form of Marged [MAR-ged] = Margaret (Mag +
diminutive suffix -ws)
1 Mai
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MAI [mai]
4 NOTES: = (month of) May
1 Mair
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MAIR [mair]
4 NOTES: Mary. This is the form used in the Welsh Bible for the Virgin Mary,
and occurs all over Wales in the very common village name Llanfair (church
dedicated to the Virign Mary).
In the 1800s the name meaning ‘Mary’
was Mari, taken from English in its
older pronunciation (that is, as in the word ‘marry’) (
1 Mairwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MAIR-wen
4 NOTES: Form of Meirwen [MEIR-wen], which is a more correct form.
Meaning: (blessed / holy) + (Mary). From (Mair = Mary) + (-wen, soft-mutated
form og “gwen”, the feminine form of “gwyn” = white, brilliant, holy, blessed;
also used as a suffix to form feminine names).
The diphthong ‘ai’, in the syllable
before last, properly becomes ‘ei’ in the formation of compound words in Welsh.
1 Mal
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MAL [mal]
4 NOTES: Short form of Maldwyn [MALD-win]. Not used as a baptismal name.
1 Maldwyn
(Maldwÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MALD-win [ˈmaldwɪn]
4 NOTES: The name Maldwyn is used
popularly for Sir Drefaldwyn (the
The two elements of the name are
(TREF = town) + soft mutation + (BALDWYN =
In Welsh morphology, the initial
consonant of a name in a construction equivalent to English ‘town (of) Balwyn’
would undergo soft mutation, to give ‘town (of) Valdwin’. This is what has
happened in Trefaldwyn (the sound [v] being written ‘f’ in Welsh, of course).
But [v] ‘f’’ is not only the soft
mutation of the consonant ‘b’, but also of ‘m’. In a handful of words in Welsh,
there is confusion, and words which should begin with ‘b’ now begin with ‘m’,
and vice versa.
benyw (= woman) (related to the
Irish word ‘bean’ = woman)
y fenyw (= the woman) (there is soft
mutation in Welsh of the initial consonant of a feminine word after the
definite article ‘y’)
In some dialects, the original form has been assumed to be ‘menyw’ rather than ‘benyw’.
And this is what happened with Trefaldwyn - it was supposed that the original
name was ‘Maldwyn’, though in fact it was ‘Baldwyn’. Although
1 Malen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MÂ-len [ˈmaˑlɛn]
4 NOTES: A pet form of Mari [MÂ-ri] (= the English name Mary). Form
Mal-, a pet form of Mari with the subsitution of ‘l’ for ‘r’ (probably from a
childish pronunciation), with the addition of the diminutive suffix -en. Exists
as a baptismal name.
“All the provinces of
1
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MÂ-li [ˈmaˑlɪ]
4 NOTES: A pet form of Mari [MÂ-ri] (= the English name Mary).
From MAL-, a pet form of MARI with
the subsitution of ‘l’ for ‘r’ (probably from a childish pronunciation), with
the addition of the diminutive suffix -i.
Not used as a baptismal name.
Compare MALEN and MALWS.
“All the provinces of
1 Mallt
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MALHT [maɬt]
4 NOTES: Maud.
1 Malws
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MÂ-lus [ˈmaˑlʊs]
4 NOTES: A pet form of Mari [MÂ-ri] (= the English name Mary).
From Mal-, a pet form of Mari with the subsitution of ‘l’ for ‘r’ (probably
from a childish pronunciation), with the addition of the diminutive suffix -ws.
Not used as a baptismal name. Compare Malen.
“All the provinces of
1 Marc
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MARK [ˈmark]
4 NOTES: Mark. Twentieth-century adaptation of an English forename.
1 Marchell
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MAR-khelh [ˈmarxɛɬ]
4 NOTES: Marcellus. No examples to hand - I have an idea that it is / was
sometimes used as a middle name, taken from place names which include
‘Marchell’. The Latin name Marcellus was taken into British (i.e. proto-Welsh,
the pre 400 A.D. language).
There is an abbey called Ystrad
Marchell near Y Trallwng (‘Welshpool’) in the county of Powys
1 Mared
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MA-red [ˈmaˑrɛd].
4 NOTES: In use as a baptismal name. Also found spelt Marred.
Mared / Marred is a reduced form of
Marged. Equivalent to English Margaret.
1 Maredudd
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ma-RE-didh [maˈreˑdɪð]
4 NOTES: Englished as ‘Meredith’. In Welsh, it is only a boy’s name. The use of
it as a girl’s name is peculiar to the
1 Margareta
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: mar-ga-RE-ta [margaˈrɛta]
4 NOTES: An English name, a variation of Margaret. Usually spelt as in English
with two ‘t’s - Margaretta - though a Welsh spelling would have only one t. It
had a certain vogue in the early 1900s. The diminutive form is Geta
1 Marged
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MAR-ged [ˈmargɛd]
4 NOTES: Equivalent to English Margaret.
It has a number of diminutive forms
- Meg, Begw, Megan, Mag, Magws, Magi, Magwen, Peg, Pegi, Pegan) [MEG, BÊ-gu,
MÊ-gan, MAG, MÂ-gus, MÂ-gi, MA-gwen, PEG,
PÊ-gi, PÊ-gan]
1 Mari
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MÂ-ri [ˈmaˑrɪ]
4 NOTES: Mary. From a pre-modern English form.
The Welsh name preserves zn older English
pronunciation.
Henry Sweet, in a study of the Welsh
language in a village in North-west Wales, notes in the Transactions of the Philological
Society 18 February 1881: “Mary is now (meri), but the older form (mari) still
lingers, while the genuine Welsh Mair, formed directly from Maria,
survives only in Biblical language.”
In fact, Mair (qv) has since become
a popular given name.
1 Marred
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MA-red [ˈmarɛd]
4 NOTES: A form of Marged = Margaret. In use as a baptismal name. The
more usual form is spelt with a single ‘r’: Mared.
1 Mati
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MA ti [ˈmatɪ]
4 NOTES: pet form of Martha. Not used as a baptismal name.
1 Mefus
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ME-vis [ˈmeˑvɪs]
4 NOTES: Rare
5 ETYMOLOGY: = strawberries
1 Meg
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: [MEG] [mɛg]
4 NOTES: diminutive form of Marged [MAR-ged]
1 Megan
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MÊ-gan [ˈmeˑgan]
4 NOTES: from Meg, diminutive form of Marged (“Margaret”) with the diminutive
suffix ‘-an’
1 Megwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ME-gwen [ˈmɛgwɛn]
4 NOTES: from Meg, diminutive form of Marged (“Margaret”) and the addition of
the suffix -wen freely used in the coining of Welsh female names
1 Meic
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MEIK [meik]
4 NOTES: Mike. In use in the 1900s. It is English Mike with the usual adaptation
of the English diphthong [ai] to [ei] when Cymricising a word.
1 Meillionen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: meilh-YÔ-nen [meiɬˈjɔnɛn]
4 NOTES: Rare.
5 ETYMOLOGY: = clover leaf.
1 Meilyr
(Meilÿr)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MEI-lir [ˈmeilɪr]
4 NOTES: From British *MAGLO-RÎKS,
(big, great) + (king). The corresponding name in Breton is Meler. In
current use.
1 Meinir
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MEI-nir [ˈmeinɪr]
4 NOTES:
ETYMOLGY: ‘maiden’ literally “(a)
slim and tall (female person)”
(MEIN- penult form of
(In modern Welsh, tall is TAL, taken from English)
1 Meinwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MEIN-wen [ˈmeinwɛn]
4 NOTES: Middle Welsh = maiden, literally “(a) slim and fair (female person)
(MEIN- penult form of
1 Meira
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MEI-ra [ˈmeira]
4 NOTES:
5: ETYMOLOGY: Apparently (MEIR-
penult form of MAIR = Mary} + (-A suffix used in creating names for a female)
1 Meirion
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MEIR-yon [ˈmeirjɔn]
4 NOTES: In current use. The short form is Mei.
From Meirionydd, the
1 Meiriona
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: meir-YÔ-na [meirˈjoˑna]
4 NOTES: Meirion + -a; a male name made female by the addition of the suffix
-a.
1 Meirionwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: meir-YON-wen [meirˈjonwɛn]
4 NOTES: Meirion + -wen; Meirion + -a; a male name made female by the addition
of the suffix -wen.
1 Meirwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MEIR-wen [ˈmeirwɛn]
4 NOTES: (MAIR = Mary) + (-WEN suffix for names fro females; = white, holy)
1 Melangell
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: me-LA-ngelh [mɛˈlaŋɛɬ]
4 NOTES: In current use.
Name of the patron of the
Latin name: Monacella
1 Melfyn (Melfÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MEL-vin [ˈmɛlvɪn]
4 NOTES:
1 Menai
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ME-nai [ˈmeˑnai].
4 NOTES: name of the strait separating the
1 Meleri
2 (name for a female)
me-LÊ-ri [mɛˈleˑrɪ]
See Teleri
1 Menna
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: ME-na [ˈmɛna]
4 NOTES:
1 Meredydd (Meredÿdd)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: me-RÊ-didh [mɛˈreˑdɪð]
4 NOTES: Englished as Meredith, where the final ‘dd’ (as in ‘this, that and the
other’) has become English ‘th’ (as in ‘thin’). A form derived from the earlier
Maredudd [ma-RÊ-didh] [maˈreˑdɪð].
In the USA for some reason Meredith
has become a girl’s name.
See Maredudd.
The substitution of English -th for Welsh -dd occurs in other names and words
taken into English.
Meirionÿdd (former
county in the north-west) > Merioneth;
(Castell-)nedd (town in south-east Wales) > Neath.
1 Merfyn
(Merfÿn)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MER-vin [ˈmɛrvɪn]
4 NOTES:
1 Meurig
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MEI-rig [ˈmeirɪg]
4 NOTES: from Latin Mauritius, which is also the basis of the English name
Morris.
Because Welsh Meurig and English
Morris are the same name, sometimes an individual with the forename Meurig
might use Morris too as an English equivalent.
In other cases the English forename
Morris replaced Meurig.
Later Morris came to be regarded as
a separate Welsh forename (spelt in Welsh Morus, or Morys). See Morus below.
The forename Meurig is sometimes spelt in English (as Meirick, Meyrick).
With the imposition of an English administration after the annexation of Wales
to England in 1536 which required the adoption of English naming practices the
patronymic ap Meurig (“son (of) Meurig”), later reduced to simply Meurig
(“(son of) Meurig”), became a fixed surname.
Fixed surnames were spelt in English - hence Meyrick.
1 Mihangel
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: mi-HA-ngel
4 NOTES: Michael Archangel. Not used as a given name until modern times. Still
very unusual as a first name in the modern period. It is found all over Wales
in churches built by or rededicated by the Norman conquerers to the Archangel -
there are many villages called Llanfihangel named from their parish church.
1 Mirain
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MI-rain [ˈmiˑrain]
4
NOTES: = lovely, beautiful, fair. In current use.
5 ORIGIN: A word in
use in literary Welsh, but no longer used in the spoken language. It occurs in
a line of poetry by Casnodyn (one of the “Gogynfeirdd”, Welsh poets of the
period from the 1100s to the 1300s. In an “awdl” (an alliterative poem
combining different metres) to Gwenllian, wife of Sir Gruffudd Llwyd, there is
the line Main firain riain gain Gymraeg
– (“slender lovely maiden (with) elegant Welsh speech”)
1 Moelwyn
(Moelwÿn) [ˈmoilwɪn]
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MOIL-win
4 NOTES: “bald (and) white” (moel = bald) + soft mutation + (gwyn = white).
The origin of this name in modern usage is uncertain. There is an instance of
its use in the year 1292 (Ieuan ap Moelwyn = John son of Moelwyn).
In the parish of Ffestiniog in the county of Gwynedd there are two mountains
known as Moelwyn Bach and Moelwyn Mawr, and it seems more likely that the name
in the modern period (it may have been first used in the late 1800s) comes from
this, possibly via its use as a poet’s byname or pseudonym, and then adopted by
admirers or realtives of the person with the pseudonum as a name for a child.
Cf Berwyn, another mountain name
which has become a first name.
1 Moi
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MOI [moi]
4 NOTES: A diminutive of the forename Morus [MO-ris] (= first syllable
1 Moli
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MÔ-li
4 NOTES: Diminutive of Mari (= Mary).
In fact, the diminutive was not formed in Welsh. It is the English diminutive
form Molly.
1 Morfudd
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MOR-vidh [ˈmɔrvɪð]
4 NOTES:
1 Morgan
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MOR-gan [ˈmɔrgan]
4 NOTES: A teapot is referred to as Morgan in Welsh.
Mae Morgan yn berwi = the kettle is boiling;
yr hen Forgan = old Morgan (ie the kettle),
hen Forgan y Tegell = old Morgan the kettle
In the
5 ETYMOLOGY: Old Welsh MORGANT.
1 Morgana
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: mor-GÂ-na [ˈmɔrgaˑna]
4 NOTES: Possibly not in use a Welsh
name; it seems to occur outside Wales. If a Welsh name, it is a femininisation
of Morgan (MORGAN) + (-A suffix for forming female names)
1 Morus
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MÔ-ris [ˈmoˑrɪs]
4 NOTES: Morris or Maurice. Ths diminutive form is Moi (qv).
1 Morwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MOR-wen [ˈmɔrwɛn]
4 NOTES:
1 Myfanwy
(Mγfanwÿ)
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION:mø-VÂ-nui [məˈvaˑnui]
4 NOTES:
(i) MY [mø] = my, belonging to me; used in Old Welsh to form pet names.
(ii) BANWY is a variation of BANW = woman, daughter (now both obsolete words in
Welsh).
Related to the English words QUEEN, Irish BEAN
(= woman), Greek BANA.
(MY = my) + SOFT MUTATION + (BANWY = woman) > MYFANWY, literally “(dear)
girl, my (dear) girl” popular at the end of the last century and at the
beginning of this; name of a popular tune written by Syr Joseph Parry, of
Merthyrtudful (Wales) and Danville (USA); now an older generation name, and
apparently no longer given as a name.
See Blodwen
The diminutive forms are Myf [MØV], Myfi [MØ-vi], Fanw [VÂ-nu] (qv).
1 Myf (Mγf)
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MØV [məv]
4 NOTES: pet form of Myfanwy [mø-VÂ-nui] [məˈvaˑnui]
1 Myfi (Mγfi)
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MØ-vi [ˈməˑvɪ]
4 NOTES: pet form of Myfanwy [mø-VÂ-nui] [məˈvaˑnui]
1 Myrddin (Mγrddin)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: MØR-dhin [ˈmərðɪn]
4 NOTES: An invented name, sometime around the year 1000, when a myth from the
old Welsh territories of The Old North (now northern England and southern
Scotland), probably brought to Wales by refugees after the Old North was
overrun by the English, was given a new setting in South Wales, in Caerfyrddin.
The name was explained as ‘the fort of Myrddin’, and the magician and prophet
was given this name Myrddin.
The name Myrddin in fact is from British MORI-DUN- ‘maritime fort’, the name of
a British hilltop fort in Caerfyrddin. The Romans built a fort (‘caer’ in
Welsh) here down by the river, and the town name is in fact ‘(the Roman) fort (by the hilltop fort of) Mori-dun-’
Next page: 2524e
Main page - Welsh forenames: 0316e
Contact us
via our guestbook 1853e
________________________________
Adolygiad
diweddaraf - latest update: 2001-01-01 a couple of additions; some minor errors
corrected) , 2006-09-27 minor corrections; 2006-09-30 more correctons, and
addition of names
2006-11-27
Sumbolau arbennig [ˈːˑəðɬxʊŵx
ʧʃɔŋθɛɪ]
1265e Gwefan Cymru-
Ble’r wÿf i? Yr ÿch chi’n ymwéld ag un o dudalennau’r Gwefan “CYMRU-CATALONIA”
On sóc? Esteu visitant una pàgina de la Web “CYMRU-CATALONIA” (=
Gal·les-Catalunya)
Where am I? You are visiting a page from the “CYMRU-CATALONIA” (=
Wales-Catalonia) Website
Weø(r) àm ai? Yuu àa(r) vízïting ø peij fròm dhø “CYMRU-CATALONIA” (=
Weilz-Katølóuniø) Wébsait
CYMRU-CATALONIA
diwedd /
fi
Edrychwch
ar yr Ystadegau / Mireu les estadístiques / See Our Stats