Welsh Names

Now that the midcentury sound-alike name Gail for girls is sailing out to sea, Gael is becoming an increasingly popular name for boys -- and could make the gender switch in the opposite direction again.

This 1950s Welsh bird name sounds less dated than our fifties Robin.

This Welsh surname might be an interesting alternative to the popular Evan, though that Bev beginning conjures up a fifty-five-year-old woman named Beverly.

Noted bearers of this surname include a metaphysical poet, a Nobel Prize winner, and a baseball Hall of Famer, so there's plenty of hero-name inspiration.

This phonetic version of the Welsh Cerys might be easier for Americans, certainly, to understand, but it does lose some poetry in translation.

An appellation that couldn't be more Ivy League or sound less Welsh. The name of the University is taken from the surname of college benefactor Elihu Yale. In the movie Manhattan, Yale Pollack is the name of Woody Allen's best friend. The Hebrew Yael is not related.

Tanwyn is a modern Welsh name that can work for either sex depending on the spelling -- wyn is the traditional boys' spelling, while wen as in Tanwen is the girls' version.

Famous bearers include surfer Tanwyn Travers and the hero of a Victorian Welsh legend titled Envy Burns Itself.

There aren't many Glendas under forty.

This is the original form of the ancient name also spelled Llewelyn. In ancient Wales, it was borne by two princes who for a time united their countrymen in North Wales and led opposition to the power of the Norman barons in the south. Llywelyn ap Iorwerth was the greatest of the Welsh rulers of the Middle Ages. This is a popular patriotic name, with nicknames Llelo and Llew, which is also Welsh for 'lion.'

This surname borne by several early Welsh leaders has a lot of energy.

Long gone to the girls.

An alternative spelling of Tristan, and also the modern Welsh form of the legendary hero's name.

Common in Wales, but would really stand out here. One of the middle names of Stella McCartney's daughter Reiley; Dilys Powell was a well-known British film critic, Professor Dilys Derwent a Harry Potter character., a witch who worked as a Healer at St. Mungo's Hospital, and was a celebrated Headmistress of Hogwarts School..

Some names referring to expensive things -- Tiffany, Armani, Porsche -- are in fact declasse, but Price transcends that label with its simplicity and strength.

Lleucu is often considered the Welsh equivalent of Lucy, as it shares the same meaning of "light", and a similar sound. (Lwsi and Liwsi are the phonetic Welsh spellings of Lucy.) It's a statement choice even within Wales, and the spelling/pronunciation would make it extremely bold in other countries.

Cadell is a surname that is unlikely to win many supporters, except perhaps from parents looking for an alternative to Caden. But while Cadell is more distinctive, that L ending is weaker and less appealing than Caden's strong N.

Taliesin is a name an architecture-minded parent could love, because of its close association with Frank Lloyd Wright.

This familiar but never popular Welsh surname name might be a good Sean alternative-- and we're starting to hear some berrybuzz about it. Vaughn is an alternate spelling.

Why bother to invent a new name or spelling when there are intriguing oddities like this in existence. Also in the Welsh encyclopedia of names: Ffion, Ffiona, and Ffraid, the Welsh form of Brigid.

Too close to the name of a bodily fluid.