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Enwau - Tudalen Ymgyfeirio / Names - Orientation Page
..........................................1937e Cyfeirddalen i Enwau Bedydd / Forenames - Orientation Page
........................................................0316e Cyfeirddalen i Enwau Bedydd Cymru
/ Welsh Forenames - Orientation Page
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hwn / this page
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Gwefan Cymru-Catalonia Part 2 -
Names from N - Z |
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2525e
Introduction to Welsh forenames
1265e Previous section -
Names A-M
1 -n
2 ( -
3 PRONUNCIATION:
4 NOTES: used in diminutive forms - usually in the pattern
‘n + monosyllabic name element’.
Since the prefixed ‘n’ is used with native names, it is probable that it is
last consonant of Welsh ‘fyn’ = my.
Owen > fyn Ow > Now
Many such names are to be found in English too (Ned,
These diminutives used in Welsh which are identical with the English ones may
have been taken directly from English, rather than being from Welsh “fyn Ed”,
“fyn Ann”, etc.
Another (less likely) possibility is that the use of ‘n’ with native names (as
in Now) is not from Welsh ‘fyn’ but an imitation of the initial ‘n’ of the
English forms Ned, Nan, etc
The use of ‘fyn’ is to be seen before ew˙rth (= uncle) - as in ‘New˙rth’ (= my
uncle), used preceding the name of an uncle - New˙rth Daf˙dd.
1 Nadolig
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: na DÔ lig [naˈdoˑlɪg]
4 NOTES: Christmas. There are examples of the English name Christmas used as a
surname by Welsh speakers in the 1800s, although uncommon, but Nadolig seems
barely to have been used at all. It is not in use at the present time. There is
a reference to an individual of this name in the Cambrian Journal of 1855
(p256). ‘Lieutenant Nadolig Ximenes Gwynne, from the Royal Glamorgan Light
Infantry Regiment of Militia, has just been appointed Ensign in the 41st.
This is as is should be; let Welshmen rally around the standard of their
country, the country of Caractacus, Arthur, Llywelyn and Glyndwr. Why join
other regiments, whilst the gallant 23rd and 41st claim
their services?’
1
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION:
4 NOTES: This is a pet form of Ann (= English Ann, Anne) with prefixed ‘n’. See
‘n’ above.
1 Nani
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: NÂ-ni [ˈnaˑnɪ]
4 NOTES: This is
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
(Note:
‘Nanney’ is an inexplicable English spelling of ‘Nani’)
1 Nanw
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: NÂ-nu [ˈnaˑnʊ]
4 NOTES: Pet form of Anne, with the ‘n’ from Welsh ‘fyn’ = my (or else English
Nan, where the ‘n’ is from English ‘mine’, equivalent to modern English ‘my’).
The ‘w’ is a diminutive ending.
1 Nel
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: NEL [nɛl]
4 NOTES: A pet form of Elin [E-lin]
1 Nelw
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: NĘ-lu [ˈneˑlʊ]
4 NOTES: A pet form of Elin [E-lin]
1 Nerys
(Ner˙s)
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: NĘ-ris [ˈneˑrɪs]
4 NOTES:
1 Nest
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: NEST [nɛst]
4 NOTES: In the North it is pronounced with a long ‘e’ [neːst] [NĘST] and for this reason
sometimes written Nęst.
1 Nesta
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: NE-sta (ne- as in neck, not as in Nero) [ˈnɛsta]
4 NOTES: Nest + -a
1 Nia
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: NI-a (ni- as in nit, not as in nine) [ˈniˑa]
4 NOTES:
1 Nisien
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: NI-shen (ni- as in nit, not as in nine; e as in pet, get,
Ben)
[ˈniʃɛn]
4 NOTES:
Bachgen amddifad oedd Nisien Wyn heb fam i ofalu am
dano. Pan agorodd ef ei lygaid gleision tywyll ar y byd, cauodd ei fam ei
hamrantau, heb allu gwneud dim dros ei hunig fachgen bach ond ei enwi fel Rahel
gynt. “Gelwch ef Nisien,” ebe hi, “Nisien Wyn, mynnwn iddo fod yn fab
tangnefedd, yn bur, a didwyll, hyd nes y caf ei gofleidio yn y wlad na bydd
marwolaeth yno.” Ac er i amryw berthynasau geisio darbwyllo Mr. Wyn y byddai yn
amgenach i’r plentyn gael enw arall, ni chaent ganddo ef ond un atebiad,
“Nisien fydd ei enw ef.” A Nisien a fu.
Nisien Wyn was an orphan without a mother to look after him. When he opened his
dark blue eyes on the world, his mother closed her eyes (“closed her eyelids”),
without being able to do anything for her only son except to name him, as Rahal
of yore. “Call him Nisien,” she said, “Nisien Wyn, I want him to be a man of
peace (“a son of peace”), pure, and honest, until he is embraced by the country
in which there is no death. And although some relatives tried to persuade Mr.
Wyn it would be more fitting for child to have another name, they only got one
response from him, ‘Nisien will be his name.’ And Nisien it was. The boy didn’t
know for long years why he got the name, but one day under the shadow of an old
oak, around which ivy was thickly wound, Rhianon took an old book of legends
out of her pocket and read to him the story of Nisien the brother of Bran
Fendigaid (“blessčd Brân”). The boy drank in the spirit of the old tales
abundantly day after day, and he and Rhianon were heard to compete hard to say
the stories by the peat fire in the kitchen of the Hafod
1 Non
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: NON [nɔn]
4 NOTES: Welsh saint and mother of Saint David; from Latin NONNA (= nun; old
lady)
1 -o
2 ( -
3 PRONUNCIATION: O
4 NOTES: used in diminutive forms - usually in the pattern
‘monosyllabic element + i’. This is usually the first syllable of a name Wiliam
> Bil > Bilo; Gwenhwyfar > Gwen > Gwenno
1 Oenwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: OEN-wen [ˈoinwɛn]
4 NOTES: (OEN = lamb) + (-WEN = suffix for forming female names = white, pure,
holy; soft mutated form of GWEN, which is the feminine form of GWźN)
1 Olwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: OL-wen [ˈolwɛn]
4 NOTES:
1 -on
2 ( -
3 PRONUNCIATION: -suffix in British names often found in the names of
deities. In modern Welsh it is to be seen in place names - in names of rivers,
which were often dedicated to gods (e.g. possibly Aeron), and names of saints
fossilised in church names (Mabon, in Llanfabon). Such names have been revived
as forenames in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. One which has survived
in constant use since British times is Lleision, characteristic of south-east
1 Oswallt
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: OS-walht [ˈoswaɬt]
4 NOTES: Welsh form of the English name Oswald. The town of
1 Owain
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: O-wain [ˈɔwain]
4 NOTES: Popular since the early 1400s because it perpetuated the name of Owain
Glyndwr, the Welsh leader who sought to unite
The patronymic ab Owain / Bowain (ab Owen / Bowen)
(son [of] Owain / Owen) is the surname “Bowen” in English.
The later patronymic Owen (with the loss of
the preceding ap) is the surname “Owen, Owens” in English
1 Owen
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: O-wen [ˈɔwɛn]
4 NOTES: See Owain [O-wain]
1 Owenna
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: o-WE-na [ɔˈwɛna]
4 NOTES: This is the male forename Owen made feminine by the addition of the
suffix -a
1 Padarn
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: PÂ-darn [ˈpaˑdarn]
4 NOTES: From Latin. The name of a Welsh saint (with churches at Llanbadarn
Fawr and six other locations in
1 Padrig
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: PA-drig [ˈpadrɪg]
4 NOTES: Patrick
1 Pali
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: PÂ-li
4 NOTES: A pet form of Mari [MÂ-ri] (= the English name Mary).
From Pal-, with a ‘p’ taking the place of the ‘m’ of Mal-, a pet form of Mari.
There is also 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
“All the provinces of
1 Palws
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: PÂ-lus
4 NOTES: A pet form of Mari [MÂ-ri] (= the English name Mary).
From Pal-, with a ‘p’ taking the place of the ‘m’ of Mal-, a pet form of Mari.
There is also 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 Pali, Malws.
“All the provinces of
1 Pedr
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: PĘ-der
4 NOTES: From Latin. Equivalent to English Peter. Found in various the name of
various villages called Llanbedr (‘church of (Saint) Peter’), pronounced
generally Llambed, or Llambad in the regions (north-west and south-east) where
‘e’ in a final syllable is pronounced ‘a’.
1 Pedrog
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: PE-drog
4 NOTES: Rare. Usually indicates a connection with the village or parish of
Llanbedrog ‘church of Pedrog’ in the county of Gwynedd in North-west Wales
1 Pčg
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: PEG
4 NOTES: Pet form of Marged [MAR-ged] = Margaret
1 Pegan
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: PĘ-gan
4 NOTES: Pet form of Marged [MAR-ged] = Margaret
1 Pegi
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: PĘ-gi
4 NOTES: Pet form of Marged [MAR-ged] = Margaret
1 Peris
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: PĘR-ris
4 NOTES:
1 Pryderi (Prγderi)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: prř-DĘ-ri
4 NOTES: In current use
1 Ratshel
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: RA-chel
4 NOTES: Rachel
1 Rheinallt
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HREI-nalht
4 NOTES: Equivalent to English Reginald.
1 Rhian
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HRÎ-an
4 NOTES: In current use.
5 ETYMOLOGY: (RHIAN, a form of RHIAIN = maiden)
1 Rhianen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: hri-Â-nen
4 NOTES: In current use.
5 ETYMOLOGY: (RHIAN, a form of RHIAIN = maiden) + (-EN
diminutive suffix).
1 Rhiannon
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: hri-Â-non
4 NOTES: In current use.
A variant spelling or Rhianon. Etymylogically, the form with
a single ‘n’ is more correct.
1 Rhianon
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: hri-Â-non
4 NOTES: An alternative spelling, though less correct etymologically, has two
‘n’s- Rhiannon.
5 ETYMOLOGY: (RHIAN, a form of RHIAIN = maiden) + (-ON
suffix). From British from Celtic; related to
Latin REGÎNA (= queen).
In his 1850 English-Welsh Dictionary, Caerfallwch has:
“A paragon of the female sex: rhianon”
1 Rhianwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HRIAN-wen
4 NOTES: rhian + wen
1 Rhidian
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HRID-yan
4 NOTES:
1 Rhisiart
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HRI-shart
4 NOTES: Richard
The patronymic ap Rhisiart / Prisiart (son
[of] Richard) is the surname “
The later patronymic Rhisiart (with the loss
of the preceding ap) is the surname “Richard, Richards” in English
1 Rhobert
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HRÔ-bert [ˈhroˑbɛrt]
4 NOTES: In fact the modern form is Robert without the aspirated initial r. But
it was earlier aspirated like other borrowings from English (Rhisiart,
Rhosier).
The patronymic ap Rhobert / Probert (son
[of] Robert) is the surname “Probert” in English.
The later patronymic Rhobert (with the loss
of the preceding ap) is the surname “Roberts” in English
1 Rhobyn (Rhob˙n)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HRÔ-bin
4 NOTES: Robin (diminutive form of Robert)
1 Rhodri
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HRO-dri
4 NOTES: (rhod = circle, wheel) + soft mutation + (rhi = king)
1 Rholant
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HRÔ-lant [ˈhroˑlant]
4 NOTES: Rowland
1 Rhoser
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HRO-ser = HROS-yer
4 NOTES: From the English name Roger. The standard form is Rhosier.
From the ‘ab’ patronymic comes the Englandic surname “Prosser” found in
South-east Wales
ab Rhoser > ap Rhoser > Proser, spelt in English with a double ‘s’
- “Prosser”
From the ‘ab’-minus patronymic comes the Englandic surname “Rosser” found in
South-east Wales
Rhoser > Roser, spelt in English with a double ‘s’, - “Rosser”. The
change of rh > r may have occureed in Welsh or in English.The use of
‘r’ instead of ‘rh’ is usual in the traditional Welsh dialect of the
south-east. On the other hand, as the sound does not exist in English, any name
beginning with ‘rh’ in Welsh becomes ‘r anyway (for example, Rhys > Reece)
1 Rhosier
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HRO-sher
4 NOTES: From the English name Roger.
1 Rhoslyn1 (Rhosl˙n)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HROS-lin [ˈhrɔslɪn]
4 NOTES: In current use.
ETYMOLOGY: possibly
from a place name.
For example, on the
In either case, the
full form is “llyn y rhos ddu” with typical loss of the linking definite
article in place names.
(LLYN = lake) + (Y
definite article) + (RHOS = moorland) + soft mutation + (DU = black).
Such a place name could
have been reworked to make it more suitable as a given name - “lake of the
black moor” > “moor lake”
(RHOS = moor) + soft
mutation + (LLYN = lake).
1 Rhoslyn2 (Rhosl˙n)
2 (name for a female)
3
PRONUNCIATION: HROS-lin [ˈhrɔslɪn]
4 NOTES: In current use.
ETYMOLOGY: In lists
of Welsh names on various websites it is said to be ‘Welsh for lovely rose’,
though this is inaccurate.
It is apparently
the English name Rosalinde / Roselyne given a Welsh form.
From Rosalina de
Vilanova (French: Roseline de Villeneuve) an Occitan saint (1267-1329), patron
saint of Draguinhan (French: Draguignan) in Occitania.
Her name has given
rise to stories of miracles in which roses play a part.
As a child in her
father’s castle, she took pity on the beggars congregated at the castle gate,
and would take them food. But this angered her father, who saw it as a misuse
of expensive food, and he ordered her to stop feeding the beggars. But a week
after the prohibition, unable to continue ignoring the their plight, she filled
her apron with food once more and went towards the gate.
She was caught by
her father who wanted to know what she was carrying in her apron. She opened up
her apron but miraculously all the food had been transformed into roses.
Realising that a miracle had taken place, the father ordered his cooks to
prepare food to feed all the beggars at the gate.
Rosalina and her
mother subsequently became nuns.
1 Rhoswen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HROS-wen [ˈhrɔswɛn]
4 NOTES: In current use. Rare.
ETYMOLOGY: (RHOS = rose) + (-WEN =
suffix for forming female names; white, fair, pretty; soft.mutated form of
GWEN, feminine form of GWźN)
1 Rhys (Rh˙s)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: HRIIS [hriːs]
4 NOTES: ‘impetus’
1 Robert
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: RO-bert [ˈroˑbɛrt]
4 NOTES: See Rhobert
1 Rwth
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: RUUTH [ˈruːθ]
4 NOTES: = Ruth
1 -s
2
3 PRONUNCIATION:4
4 NOTES: used in diminutive forms - usually in the pattern ‘monosyllabic
element + s’. This is usually the first syllable of a name. Emrys >
Also in Betsan:
(1) Bet from Elisabeth;
(2) with the additon of -s > Bets;
(3) and the addition of the diminutive suffix -an > Betsan
1 Sabrina
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: sa-BRÎ-na
4 NOTE: Rare.
5 ETYMOLOGY: The Latin (from the
British or proto-Welsh name) name of a river in mid-Wales which flows into
Hafren (qv) ia also used a forename
in
1 Sali
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SA-li
4 NOTES: Sally. A diminutive of Sarah. The Welsh form is probably the English
name; or possibly it is a parallel formation - Sara > Sala / Sal (childish
confusion of ‘r’ and ‘l’) > Sali (addition of the diminutive suffix -i)
1 Shanco
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SHANG-ko
4 NOTES: A pet form of the name Siencyn [SHENG-kin]
Not used as a baptismal name.
1 Shôn
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SHOON [ʃoːn]
4 NOTES: John. This is a variant spelling of Siôn.
1 Siâms
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SHÂMS [ʃaːms]
4 NOTES: James, A diminutive form is Siemsyn (SHEM-sin) (qv)
1 Siân
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SHÂN [ʃaːn]
4 NOTES: Jane
1 Siani
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SHÂ-ni [ˈʃaˑnɪ]
4 NOTES: diminutive form of Siân (= Jane)
1 Siarl
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SHARL [ʃarl]
4 NOTES: Equivalent to English Charles. The Welsh name is in fact a borrowing
of this English name.
1 Sieffre
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SHE-fre [ˈʃɛfrɛ]
4 NOTES: Geoffrey, Jeffrey. In south-east Wales, this was Sieffra [SHE fra]
1 Siemsyn
(Siems˙n)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SHEM-sin [ˈʃɛnsɪn]
4 NOTES: Diminutive of ‘Siâms / Jâms’
1 Siencyn
(Sienc˙n)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SHENG-kin [ˈʃɛngkɪn]
4 NOTES: Jenkin. A colloquial variant is Shincyn SHING-kin. Diminutives
are [SHANG ko] (spelt either Shanco or Sianco), Shincs
The patronymic ap Sienc˙n (son [of]
Sienc˙n), or the later patronymic Sienc˙n (with
the loss of the preceding ap) is the surname “Jenkins” in English.
1 Siôn
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SHÔN [ʃoːn]
4 NOTES: John.
In English this was originally
pronounced with a long ‘o’. For example, in
It seems that the pronunciation was
dropped because it coincided with that of the girl’s name Joan.
In
When the name was taken into Welsh
in medieval times, the initial ‘j-’ was replace by ‘sy-’, since Welsh-speakers
were unable to produce the sound ‘j-’. This accounts for the spelling with
‘si-’.
Later, the sound ‘sh-’ developed in
Welsh, and replaced ‘sy-’.
When English-type surnames were
imposed by the English administration, the patronymic (ap) Siôn = son of Siôn
was replaced by Jone with the genitive ‘s’ - Jones.
Diminutive: Sioni (SHÔ-ni)
1 Sioned
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SHÔ-ned [ˈʃoˑnɛd]
4 NOTES: Janet
1 Sioni
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SHÔ-ni [ˈʃoˑnɪ]
4 NOTES: Familiar form of Siôn [SHOON]. From “Siôn” with the addition of the
diminutive suffix -i.
It was often used as a nickname for
a man from the industrial regions of the south-east (also as Sioni-hoi,
Sioni-’oi). It suggested someone given over to a dissolute life-style.
Not used as a baptismal name.
1 Siôr
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SHÔR [ˈʃoˑr]
4 NOTES: George
1 Siorus
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SHÔ-ris [ˈʃoˑrɪs]
4 NOTES: George
1 Siriol
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SIR-yol [ˈsɪrjɔl]
4 NOTES: cheerful
Has been used in the 1900s but very
rarely
1 Siwan
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SHU-an, SYU-an
[ˈʃiwan, ˈsiwan]
4 NOTES: Joan
1 Siwsan
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SYU-san [ˈsjʊsan]
4 NOTES: Susan
1 Steffan
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: STĘ-fan [ˈsteˑfan]
4 NOTES: Stephen. Although infrequently used as a forename, the Welsh form of
the name is familiar from the place name Llanbedr Pont Steffan, the Llanbedr by
Steffan’s bridge, a village in Ceredigion.
1 Sulwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SIL-wen [ˈsɪlwɛn]
4 NOTES:
1 Sulwyn
(Sulw˙n)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: SIL-wen [ˈsɪlwɪn]
4 NOTES: Seems to be a form of Sulgwyn ‘Whit Sunday’. (from Dydd Sul ‘day (of
the) sun’, gwyn = ‘white, holy, blessed’).
But Sul (= sun) was also the name of
a Celtic saint, as in the names Llandysul, Llandysilio. Sulwyn is this element
with the addition of the suffix -wyn.used in the formation of certain male
names
1 Taliesin
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: tal-YE-sin [talˈjɛsɪn]
4 NOTES:
1 Tanglwst
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TAN-glust [ˈtanglʊst]
4 NOTES:
1 Tanwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TAN-wen [ˈtanwɛn]
4 NOTES:
1 Tecwyn
(Tecw˙n)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TEK-win [ˈtɛkwɪn]
4 NOTES:
1 Tegai
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TE-gai [ˈteˑgai]
4 NOTES: Possibly from the place name Llandygái, which had a colloquial
pronunciation Llandegái.
If so, the accent was regularised
(Tegái > Tégai) to make it more suitable as a forename.
It was considered appropriate for a
female as it had the element ‘teg’ (= fair, beautiful) in the first syllable.
In fact, the name Tygái is that of a male saint Cai, with the addition of a
hypochoristic prefix ty (literally,
“thy, your”).
(TY = thy, your) + soft mutation +
(CAI male name)
1 Tegfron
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TEG-vron [ˈtɛgvrɔn]
4 NOTES: “fair bosom” (TEG = fair) + soft mutation + (BRON = breast, bosom).
It appears as a name for a female in a novel in instalments in Cymru in the
1920s (e.g. Volume 62, p. 218 - Cerddai Tegfron yn
araf o orsaf y Groesffordd, ei phen yn ogwyddedig mewn myfyr dwys - Tegfron
walked slowly from Groesffordd station, her head bowed in deep reflection)
1 Tegid
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TĘ-gid [ˈteˑgɪd]
4 NOTES: The lake by Bala in central Wales is called Llyn Tegid, and Tegid is
often explained as being from Latin Tacitus - the British aristocracy seem to
have adopted Latin names during the 00-year long Roman occupation since and
there are many place names whoch contain Britannicised forms of Latin names.
But although the derivation from Tacitus is perfectly feasible, a Celtic origin
is also possible - ‘Tegid’ could be based on a word equivalent to modern Welsh
‘teg’ [teeg] = fair.
1 Tegla
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TEG-la [ˈtɛgla]
4 NOTES: Village name in Sir Ddinbych - Llandegla.
1 Tegryd (Tegr˙d)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TE-grid [ˈtɛgrɪd]
4 NOTES: In current use
Etymology: ?
Name of a stream in Llandysul, Ceredigion (Nant Tegryd = the Tegryd stream, Cwm
Tegryd = valley of the Tegryd stream)
1 Tegryn (Tegr˙n)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TE-grin [ˈtɛgrɪn]
4 NOTES: In current use
Etymology: ?
Name of a village in Penfro county
1 Tegwedd
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TEG-wedh [ˈtɛgwɛđ]
4 NOTES: In current use. See GWEDD
MEANING: ‘fair complexion, fair aspect’ (TEG = fair) + soft mutation + (GWEDD =
complexion)
1 Tegwen
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TEG-wen [ˈtɛgwɛn]
4 NOTES: In current use
MEANING: ‘fair + fair’ (TEG = fair) + soft mutation + (-WEN = suffix for
forming female names; white, fair, pretty; soft.mutated form of GWEN, feminine
form of GWźN) )
1 Tegwyn (Tegw˙n)
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TEG-win [ˈtɛgwɪn]
4 NOTES: In current use
MEANING: ‘fair + fair’ (TEG = fair) + soft mutation + (-WźN = suffix for
forming male names; white, fair, handsome)
1 Teifi
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TEI-vi (EI as in English DAY,
4 NOTES: In current use. Sometimes with the nonstandard spelling Teify
MEANING: name of a river in Ceredigion
1 Teifion
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TEI-vyon (EI as in English DAY,
4 NOTES: In current use.
ETYMOLOGY: Possibly (TEIFI = name of a river in Ceredigion) + (suffix -ON).
This suffix is found in certain saints names from the early Welsh period
(Ma:bon), and in names of rivers dedicated to deities (Aeron)
1 Teifryn
(Teifr˙n)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TEI-vyon (EI as in English DAY,
4 NOTES: In current use.
ETYMOLOGY: Seems to originate from the Dyffryn Teifi area (valley of the river
Teifi) in Ceredigion, where various houses are named Brynteifi (= hill
[overlooking the river] Teifi). Possibly this is the name reversed (TEIFI) +
soft mutation + (BRźN = hill) > TÉIFI-FRźN
> TEIFRźN, to give a more euphonious name of two syllables (otherwise the
accent would shift to the penult to give TEIFIFRźN)
1 Teilo
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TEI-lo (EI as in English DAY, SALE, etc) [ˈteilɔ]
4
NOTES: From the saint’s name Teilo, or specifically from the place name
Llandeilo (“church of Teilo) - there are fifteen places so called either
currently or in former times.
ETYMOLOGY: It is a diminutive form of the name ELIUDD.
TEILO < TEILIO < TELIO < T’ ELIAW < TY
ELIAW
(TY- thy, your used
as a hypochoristic prefix) + (ELI- part of the name ELIUDD) + (-sufix
diminitive suffix).
Before a vowel TY
became T’.
The AW of the final
syllable became O, a normal development in Welsh.
The semiconsonant I
of the final syllable caused the diphthongisation of the E in the previous
syllable, another normal development in Welsh.
The semiconsonant
I- at the beginning of a final syllable is unusual in
An anglicised
spelling is Tylo. “He was followed by Tylo Evans who was the last pastor.” (Y Drych
15 October 1949, referring to a chapel in Lansford, Pennsylvania)
1 Teleri
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: te-LĘ-ri [tɛˈleˑrɪ]
4 NOTES: A variant is Tyleri, where the pretonic vowel has lost its quality nad become an obscure
vowel - a feature of southern Welsh, where such a change occurs in many words.
ETYMOLOGY: This is (TY- thy, your used
as a hypochoristic prefix) + (ELERI woman’s name)
TY-ELERI >
T’ELERI > TELERI.
It is associated
with northern Ceredigion where there is a river Teleri (Afon Teleri;
colloquially in the clipped form Leri > Afon Leri)
There is a stream
of the same name in Blaenau Gwent, in south-east Wales, which flows into the
Ebwy Fach at Abertyleri. The stream was Teleri originally - and was so noted in
the year 1332 (Pastura sua de Teleri, Mon. Angl. iv. 163)
A related name
found in genealogies is Meleri, where the hypochoristic suffix is my- (English “my”) - MY-ELERI >
M’ELERI > MELERI
1 Telor
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TĘ-lor [ˈteˑlɔr]
4 NOTES:
5 ETYMOLOGY: “warbler”. Used by
singers in the 1800s in pseudonyms; this is probably how it became a (rare) forename.
The original form of the word is DELOR; from a Celtic root *DEL- meaning ‘to
shake’, either from the flight of the bird, or from the trill of its song. The
change from DELOR to TELOR is apparently through the influence of the unrelated
word TELźN (= harp).
1 Tom
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TOM [tɔm]
4 NOTES: Short form of Tomos. An equivalent of this is Twm. Through the
addition of the diminutive suffix ‘-i’ we get the form Tomi (equivalent
to English ‘Tommy’)
1 Tomos
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TO-mos [ˈtɔmɔs]
4 NOTES: Thomas. Diminutives are Tom, Tomi; Twm, Twmi
TOMAS > TOMOS. The change
of a the ‘a’ in a final syllable to ‘o’ occurs in other words in Welsh - yn wastad (= continually) > (yn) wastod. This change would also have
been facilitated probably by the presence of the ‘o’in the first syllable.
1 Tudful
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TID-vil [ˈtɪdvɪl]
4 NOTES: Usually in the semi-English spelling Tydvil, from Welsh Tydfil [TŘD-vil],
representing a dialect form of Tudful.
The name is found in the name of the south-eastern town of Merthyrtudful (the
English use the poor spelling Merthyr Tydfil), which means ‘the church of
Tudful’.
There is a word merthyr in Welsh meaning ‘martyr’ (from Latin martyr).
But the first element in
Merthyrtudful is not exactly the same word - it is in fact from Latin martyrium
‘shrine of a martyr’ but in Welsh the word merthyr in place names
meant no more than a church.
However the idea of a martyr was attractive and a folk explanation of the name
became popular. It was said that here were the reamins of a female saint called
Tudful who was martyred by invading ‘Irish and Picts’ in the fifth century. The
name Tudful though seems more likely to have been a man’s name.
In the mid-1800’s, with the opening of the ironworks in the area, the town
became the biggest in Wales - and not surprisingly it was overwhelmingly
Welsh-speaking, until the rapid eradication of the language in the first
decades of the 1900s. In the late 1800s however, with the resurgence of pride
in Welsh identity - before the massive abandonment of the language due mainly
to the imposition of the English education system about this time - many
families sought Welsh names for their children, and although not one of the
most popular, ‘Tydfil’ was to be found as a girl’s name here and there in the
south-east, or spelt with an English ‘v’ - Tydvil.
The correct form ‘Tudful’ in the name of the town was readopted in standard
Welsh in the early 1900s, but I’ve never come across the form with the correct
spelling as a forename.
‘Tydfil’ in fact represents a dialect form - in south-east Wales ‘u’ and ‘i’
are pronounced the same (although in the North they are still different sounds)
and so ‘i’ was often written in place of ‘u’. Also, in the penult, it is not
unusual in Welsh - but especially in the south-east - for a vowel (usually
a,e,u) to become a schwa - that is, the obscure vowel [ř] as in the first
syllable of English ‘about’.
1 Tudno
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TID-no [ˈtɪdnɔ]
4 NOTES: Town name in Conwy - Llandudno (
1 Tudur
2 (name for a male) [ˈtiˑdɪr]
3 PRONUNCIATION: TI-dir
4 NOTES: from two elements corresponding to modern Welsh forms TUD (obsolete, = people) + RHI (obsolete, = king). Englished as Tudor.
1 Twm
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TUM [tʊm]
4 NOTES: Short form of Tomos. The vowel [o] has become [u] Tom > Twm. This
vowel change may have occurred in English though, since ‘Tum’ is used for ‘Tom’
in
1 Tyleri (Tγleri)
2 (name for a
female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: tř-LĘ-ri [təˈleˑrɪ]
4 NOTES: See Teleri
1 Tydfil (Tγdfil)
2 (name for a female)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TŘD-vil [ˈtədvɪl]
4 NOTES: see Tudful
1 Tysul (Tγsul)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: TŘ-sil [ˈtəsɪl]
4 NOTES: Hypochoristic form of Sul.
The first element ty is equivalent to modern Welsh dy (= your)
(that is to say, the modern Welsh
form uses ty with a soft-mutated
first consonant. This has happened too with the word equivalent to English my
(Welsh fy, pronounced [vř] < my pronounced [mř]).
Also with many prepositions:
gan (= with)
< can,
dan (=
under) < tan,
wrth (=
near, by) < gwrth,
dros (=
over) < tros,
drwy (=
through) < trwy).
This use of the possessive
determiner to make a ‘pet name’ seems to have been copied from a practice used
by the early Irish.
In Ceredigion there is a village Llandysul (
1 -w
2 (diminutive suffix)
3 PRONUNCIATION: u [ʊ]
4 NOTES: used in diminutive forms - usually in the pattern’monosyllabic element
+ s’. This is usually the first syllable of a name.
Elin > El > Nel > Nelw
1 Wat
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: WAT [wat]
4 NOTES: from English Wat, Watt = short form of Walter.
Not used as a baptismal name.
1 Watcyn
(Watc˙n)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: WAT-kin [ˈwatkɪn]
4 NOTES: from English = little Walter
1 -wedd
[wɛđ] See gwedd [gwɛđ]
1 -wen [wɛn]
Suffix
used in the formation of female names. From gwen, the feminine form of gwyn
(= white, pure, blessed, holy). Two of the 24 daughters of Brychan
Brycheiniog became nuns, and have churches dedicated to them - Dwyn (Llanddwyn
on the
It was
first used in the names of female saints in the sense of ‘holy’
1 Wěl
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: WIL [wɪl]
4 NOTES: Short form of the forename “Wiliam”. Same as English “Will”. Not a
name in its own right.
1 Wiliam
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: WI-liřm [ˈwɪljam]
4 NOTES: William. The most usual diminutive forms are taken from English - Wil
(= Will) and Bil, Bili (= Bill, Billy / Billie).
1 Wmffra
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: UM-fra [ˈʊmfra]
4 NOTES: (North-west Wales). Considered non-standard, so not used as a
baptismal name. See Wmffre
1 Wmffre
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: UM-fre [ˈʊmfrɛ]
4 NOTES: In curent use as a baptismal name.
Equivalent to English ‘Humphrey’ (in
fact a borrowing from English). In the North-west, where [e] in the final
syllable becomes [a], it is colloquially Wmffra
The older form had an inital H - so
the patronymic ab Hwmffre became ap Hwmffre > Pwmffre, anglicised as
Pumphrey. The later patronymic Hwmffre, without the ap, became Humphrey (Hubert
Humphrey, etc) or Humphries, with the addition of the English genitiving suffix
-s [s, z, řz]
1 -ws
2 (diminutive suffix)
3 PRONUNCIATION: [ʊs]
4 NOTES: In pet forms of male and
female names - usually in the pattern ‘(monosyllabic element) + (i)’. This is usually the first syllable
of a name.
This monosyllable is usually the
first syllable of a name. Examples are:
Catrin > Cati (English: “Catherine”) > (Cat- + -ws) > Catws
Ieuan > Ifan (English: “John”) > (Ian + t + -ws) > Iantws
Marged (English: “Margaret”) >
Mag- > (Mag + -ws) > Magws
Marged (English: “Margaret”) > Meg
> Peg > (Peg + -ws) > Pegws
Mari (English: “Mary”) > Mal- >
(Mal + -ws) > Malws
Mari (English: “Mary”) > Mal >
Pal- > (Pal + -ws) > Palws
1 -wy (w˙)
2 -
3 PRONUNCIATION: [ui]
4 NOTES: Fanciful suffix used with some river
names; some of these river names have been used as forenames.
Certain river names end in -wy, but
this is not a suffix in most cases (Elwy, Conwy, Dyfrdwy, Ebwy, etc) - just as
the letters a-b-l-e are a suffix ‘-able’ in the English words ‘countable,
notable, eatable, etc’, but not in ‘vegetable, constable, table’.
There is also a river name Gwy / Afon Gwy (in
earlier Welsh with soft mutation after the word afon -
In the 1800s though it was believed
(as a result of an entry in William Owen(-Pughe)’s Welsh-English dictionary,
which contained mainly fanciful items - such as the word Athyn later applied to
a place in Pennsylvania - Bryn Athyn!) that there was a ‘primitive
element’ wy meaning water.
There was a belief among some
pseudo-etymologists that all river names must have had this ending at one time,
so it was ‘restored’ in many cases. Such ‘restored’ forms never went beyond bardic
names, or house or street names, except later as an occasional forename, and in
the name given in Welsh to the river Chubut in Patagonia - Camwy
(twisting river), where it also became a forename among the settlers. A few
examples of river names with the additional -wy (some of which are found
as middle names, if not first names):
(Aeron - Aeronwy);
(Aman - Amanwy);
(Ogwr - Ogwy);
(Taf - Tafwy)
1 Wyn (W˙n)
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: WIN [win]
4 NOTES: soft mutation of ‘gwyn’ = fair-haired,
white-haired.
1 -yn (˙n)
2 (diminutive suffix)
3 PRONUNCIATION: [ɪn]
4 NOTES:
In pet forms of
male names - usually in the pattern‘(monosyllabic element) + (i)’.
This monosyllable is usually the
first syllable of a name.
Examples are:
Rhobert
> (Rhob + -yn) > Rhobyn
If the name contains ‘a’, this can become ‘e’ (‘vowel affection’)
Siâms > Siemsyn
Other examples are
Lewys > (Lew’s + - yn) > Lewsyn
1 Ywain
(γwain)= Owain
2 (name for a male)
3 PRONUNCIATION: Ř-wain [əˈwain]
4 NOTES: the older form of Owain. In use, rare.
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