Because of its relatively small population, Wales has sent fewer immigrants to the US than Ireland and Scotland have–a mere 100,000 between 1820 and 1976–so that  Welsh names are not as well known here as the other Celts. Which is a shame, because  it’s a lilting, rhythmic language, offering lots of fresh and beguiling choices.

Like the Irish, the Welsh have only rediscovered some of the rich resources of their own language and culture in the past century. Ater the Welsh language was suppressed for hundreds of years, baby namers are now digging back into their native history and myth, traditional literature and legends for inspirational namesakes of ancient heroes, princes and other royalty, for example increasing the popularity of names like the mythological Rhiannon.

Unlike the Irish names, Welsh choices present far fewer pronunciation challenges–their spelling is much closer to phonetic. Also note that the yn ending is usually masculine (even though, for example, Gwyn might sound feminine to us), and the en ending, as in Gwen, is for the most part feminine.

Here, a selection of some rich Welsh possibilities:

GIRLS

ADWYN
AELWEN
AERON/AERONA
ALYS
ANWEN
AURON (AYR-on)
BEDELIA
BETHAN
BRANWEN
BRIALLEN
BRONWEN
BRYN (unisex)
CERYS
DELYTH/DILYS
EIRA (AY-ra)
ELERI (el-AYR-ee)
ELEN/ELIN
ENID
FFION, FFIONA
FFLUR (FLEER)–Welsh word for flower)
GLADYS
GLENYS
GWENDOLEN
GWENNO (a nickname-name for Gwen names)
GWYN/GWYNETH
IOLA (YO-la)
KENDALL (unisex)
LLIO (LHEE-oh)
LOWRI
MAIR
MARGED
MEGAN
MELERI (mel-AYR-ee)
MYFANWY
NERYS
NIA

NESTA
OLWEN
RHIANNON (ree-AHN-un)
RHONWEN
SIAN (SHAN)–Welsh form of Jane
TEGAN
TELERI (the-AYR-ee)
WINIFRED

BOYS

ALUN
ALWYN
ANEIRIN (an-EYE-rin)
ARVEL
BEVAN/BEVIN
BRYN
CADWELLEN
DAFYDD (DAY-veth)
DEWI
DRYSTAN
DYLAN
ELIAN
ELLIS
SMYR
EVAN
GARETH
GRIFFIN
GRIFFITH
GWILYM (GWIL-um)
GWYN
HUW/HEW/HUGH
IAON (ee-oo-an)
IOLO (YOH-lo)
JEVAN
KYNAN
LLEU
LLEWELLYN
LLOYD
MADDOX
MARCH
MORGAN
NYE
PADRIG (PAHD-rig)
PARRY
RHYS
SIAM (SHAM)–Welsh form of James
SIARL (SHARL)–Welsh form of Charles
SIOR (SHOR)–Welsh form of George
SULIEN (SIL-yen)
TALIESIN (tahl-YES-in)
TEILO (TAY-lo)
TUDOR
VAUGHAN

There’s a lively discussion going on over at our message boards on what names have gone out of style and will probably never come back.  On the permanent Out List, by consensus, are:

BERTHA

BEULAH

BRUNHILDA (was this ever in, I mean since the 11th century?)

CLORIS

DORCAS

DORIS

EUNICE

GAY

HESTER

HILDA

HORTENSE — Enjoys the shortest entry in The Baby Name Bible: “No.”

IRMA

RHODA

SELMA

VERNA

boys

CLETUS

DWAYNE (This reminds me of a very funny line from the Pioneer Woman: “I didn’t even know his name; I just hoped it wasn’t Dwayne.”)

EBENEZER

HORTON

HUBERT

LEROY

MORRIS

NORBERT

WILBUR

We’re with you so far, name lovers, and can even understand why you disagree on whether some choices belong on the Out-Forever List.  One person sees Gertrude as cute, like little Drew Barrymore in ET, while another says it reminds her forever of the word girdle.  Myrtle is fresh and flower-like to one visitor, terminally dowdy to another.  And Grover is adorable to one message boardie, doomed to Sesame Street purgatory by another.

And Linda! ?! Let’s not even go there.

We’ve learned the hard way that there are very few names you can categorically declare out of style forever.  Today’s Shirley — terminally dated name — is tomorrow’s Ida or Arthur: born-again hottie.

Here some names that we once declared dead forever (or forever-ish) only to see them rise again.

girls

AUGUSTA

ESTELLE

ESTHER

FLORENCE

FRIEDA

IDA

LENORE

MILDRED

MURIEL

PEARL

VERA

ZELDA

boys

BERNARD

EDGAR

EDWIN

ERNEST

FRANKLIN

HARVEY

JULIUS

MARTIN

RAYMOND

VICTOR

VINCENT

WARREN

WOLFGANG

Are there any besides the ones already identified by the message board devotees that we’d still call as out forever?  Gladys.  Myrna.  Phyllis, Shirley, Wanda.  Arnold and Dewey, Egbert and Elmer, Hyman and Melvin.  Which I guess pretty much guarantees that they’ll come back into style any day now.

We all know how the media likes to jump on every new ‘weird’ starbaby name, predicting dire consequences down the road for the likes of poor little Moxie CrimeFighter, Pilot Inspektor, Bronx Mowgli, and Apple. Well, only time will tell how these kids will actually meet that particular challenge as they grow up, but it might be instructive to look at the previous generation of oddball-named celebrity babes who are now young adults and see how they’ve handled it–which ones think these names have made them feel special and which have felt damaged, how many have held on to their bizarre appellations and how many have dropped them.

CHASTITY BONO. Mom Cher used the name of dad Sonny’s film “Chastity,” but though her daughter has hung onto it, she has said “most of the time it’s been a pain.” Seems when she complained about it, Sonny would say “Be thankful we didn’t name you Dweezil.” Which brings us to:

DWEEZIL ZAPPA. When the hospital refused to  register this name, the birth certificate read Ian Donald Calvin Euclid–the names of Zappa’s then-bandmates. But Dweezil, always called Dweezil, later made it his legal name. Older sister MOON UNIT has frequently insisted that she likes having an unusual name like Moon rather than something more ordinary, and presumably their other siblings AHMET EMUUKHA RODAN and DIVA THIN MUFFIN PIGEEN agree.

PEACHES HONEYBLOSSOM MICHELLE ANGEL VANESSA GELDOF, daughter of rocker-activist Bob, has bemoaned “My weird name has haunted me all my life.”  Wouldn’t be surprised if her sisters FIFI TRIXIEBELLE, PIXIE and HEAVENLY HIRAANI TIGER LILY–exhibitionists all–felt the same way.

SATCHEL FARROW. The son of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen was born Satchel Ronan O’Sullivan Farrow, named for one of his father’s baseball heroes, Satchel Paige. Following a bitter custody battle, he became known as Seamus, and now, having been a prodigy who graduated from college at 15  and become  a human rights activist and journalist, he has settled on the name Ronan Seamus Farrow.  His sister also took three steps, going from DYLAN to ELIZA to MALONE.

ZOWIE BOWIE. Like Satchel-Seamus-Ronan, has had multiple identities. He was born Zowie Duncan Heywood Bowie and, although he says he loves his distinctive moniker, he first called himself Joey Bowie, and then changed his name to Duncan Jones, saying he didn’t want to be in the shadow of famous dad David.

STRAWBERRY SAROYAN. When fruitily-named Apple Martin was born in 2004, the granddaughter of William Saroyan gave a long interview about her name to the New York Times . Since she grew up among kids named Cream, Wonder and Raspberry, she didn’t exactly feel like the odd girl out, and after some ups and downs, now definitely sees the benefits of her unusual name.

TALLULAH BELLE WILLIS, sister of RUMER GLENN and SCOUT LARUE, though still a young teen, has already had dad Bruce announce on the Letterman show that she plans to legally change her name to (nickname) Lula.

So take heed, Ikhyd and Nakoa-Wolf–you might wind up deciding you’d rather be Ike or Nat.

Last week we talked about the la-la part of oo-la-la names, but it seems that a large proportion of currently hot names have the cool oo sound as well. Maybe it’s because the names do share the sound with that c-word (not to mention oomph, and it’s also just a stone’s throw away from cute),  but in any case, as namiacs who parse these trends down to a single syllable, we offer a list to prove our point.

The oo sound can be reached via several vowel routes: oo, u, ou, ew, eu and ue. Here are some examples of oo names that are currently in favor or possible comers:

GIRLS

ANOUK

BIJOU

DOONE/DUNE

DJUNA

FINULA

JULIA

JULIET

JUNE

JUNO

LILOU

LOUISE/LOUISA/LUISA

LUCIA/LUCIANA

LUCIENNE

LUCINDA

LUCY/LUCIE

LOUELLA/LUELLA

LULU

LUNA

OONA/UNA

PRUDENCE

RUBY

RUTH

SUSANNA

TALLULAH

TULIP

UMA

BOYS

BOONE

CLOONEY/CLUNY

CREW

CRUZ

DOUGAL

DREW

ELIJU

JUDAH

JUDE

JULIAN

LEWIS (hot in Scotland and England)

LUC/LUKE

LUCAS

LUCIAN/LUCIANO

REUBEN

ROONE/ROONEY

RUFUS

ZEUS

ZUMA

EITHER

BLEU, BLUE

LUCA

PERU

RUDY

TRUE

Celebrities on both sides of the Atlantic, those with and without Hibernian roots, have long been partial to Irish names for their babies. Here are some of the coolest:

AOIFE (EE-fa) –  Ciarán Hinds
Popular name dating back to a fierce woman warrior in early myth, it as been anglicized as Eva and Ava.

BECKETT – Malcolm MacDowell, Melissa Etheridge, Conan O’Brian, Stella McCartney
An appealing last-name name rich in literary associations, both to the play and film based on the life of Saint Thomas à B. and to the Irish playwright-novelist Samuel B., it’s red hot in Hollywood.

BRODY – Gabrielle Reece & Lance Hamilton
This superstar athlete couple’s choice reflects the new trend towards using Irish surnames like Reagan/Regan and Riley for both sexes: this little Brody is a girl.

CASHEL (Kash-il) – Daniel Day-Lewis & Rebecca Miller
The Irish actor and his American wife chose an unusual Irish place name for their son; it’s also seen as Caisel.

CIARÁN (KEER-in) – Padraig Harrington
The golf star chose an authentic Irish name to match his own.

DARBY – Patrick Dempsey
Disney’s Darby O’Gill and the Little People made this spirited, light-hearted name seem more Irish than it actually is.

DELANEY – Martina McBride
A solid surname that’s now used far more for girls than boys.

DONOVAN – Charisma Carpenter, Noel Gallagher
Another appealing surname, this one has long outgrown its “Mellow Yellow” associations.

FINLEY – Chris O’Donnell, Holly Marie Combs, Lisa Marie Presley
One of the newly popular Fin-family of names, also spelled Finlay (as used by Sadie Frost).

FINN – Christy Turlington & Ed Burns, Jane Leeves, Andrea Catherwood
This is a name with enormous energy and charm, that of the greatest hero of Irish myth, Finn MacCool. Other related cool star-baby names: FLYNN (Elle Macpherson), and FINNIGAN (Eric McCormack of Will & Grace fame), not to mention Julia Roberts’ phabulous Phinnaeus.

FIONA – Jennie Garth
Although this name is a Scottish invention, it has an Irish feel and is commonly found among the Finolas and Fionnualas.

GULLIVER – Gary Oldman, Damian Lewis
This relatively rare Gaelic surname was known primarily through his literary Travels until actor Oldman transformed it into a lively baby-name option.

IRELAND – Kim Basinger & Alec Baldwin
If Ireland isn’t Irish, what is?

JAMES PADRAIG (PAW-drig) – Colin Farrell
Cool combination of classic New Testament name with one of the many authentic versions of the name of Ireland’s patron saint.

JUNO – Will Champion (Coldplay)
The success of the eponymous little-movie-that-could was sure to establish Juno, with its lively image and classic roots, as a potential baby name–and it’s already started on its way.

KIERAN – Julianna Margulies
Irish ‘K’ names are a hot commodity for boys–a category that includes Kieran, Keegan, Keaton and Killian.

LENNON – Patsy Kensit & Liam Gallagher
Naming a child after your cultural or other hero gives him two cool advantages: a name with real meaning and a positive image to reach towards. Another rocker, Zakk Wylde, chose Hendrix as his son’s musical hero name.

LIAM – Calista Flockhart, Tori Spelling
Sprightly and richly textured classic that started as a short form of William.

MAEVE – Chris O’Donnell
An early Irish goddess and queen name, short but strong, now catching on across the pond. The O’Donnells named another of their five children Finley.

MALACHY (MAL-a-kee)  – Cillian Murphy
An Irish version of a biblical name, with an expansive, almost boisterous image.

MILO – Ricki Lake, Camryn Manheim, Liv Tyler, Sherry Stringfield
Jaunty Irish spin on Miles.

QUINLIN – Ben Stiller
A strong surname name usually spelled Quinlan that could make a child feel distinctive while still having the easy to handle nickname of Quinn.

QUINN – Sharon Stone
“The mighty Quinn” is a unisex name that’s strong for both genders.

RAFFERTY – Sadie Frost & Jude Law
One of the coolest of the Irish surnames, with a raffish quality all its own.

ROAN – Sharon Stone
A strong, red-haired choice.

RÓISIN (Roh-sheen) – Sinéad O’Connor
An authentic selection for a little Irish rose.

RONAN – Rebecca Miller & Daniel Day-Lewis
Compelling, legendary name of ten Celtic saints.

ROWAN – Brooke Shields
This friendly Irish surname was almost unheard of as a girl’s name before Brooke Shields made the gender switch; now it shows lots of potential as a likable, unisex choice.

SAOIRSE ROISIN (SEER-sha Roh-sheen) – Courtney Kennedy
Meaning “liberty,” Saoirse has been used since the 1920s as a statement of freedom.

SHEA – Kevin James
Common surname that projects spirit and substance; can also be seen as a short form of Seamus.

SULLIVAN – Patrick Dempsey
A jaunty Irish surname name with a real twinkle in its eye, used for the twin of Darby.

TALLULAH – Patrick Dempsey, Simon LeBon, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Damon Dash, Demi Moore & Bruce Willis
The then Willises almost single-handedly launched the cool starbaby name concept when they chose SCOUT and RUMER as well as the more user-friendly Tallulah for their girls. This Anglicization of Tuilelaith is now being picked up on by other celeb parents.

For more Irish celebrity baby names, plus Irish names of all flavors, check out our new book Cool Irish Names for Babies.