Ceinwen
Ceinwen Origin and Meaning
Strong and intriguing with a touch of mystique, Ceinwen is a rare Welsh name, which has been used sparsely and sporadically in Wales since the '90s, peaking in 2017 when it was given to 7 babies (meaning it ranked alongside Birdie, Romi, and Annabeth in the same year).
The name was notably borne by a 5th century saint, holy woman, and hermitess who travelled through South Wales and Cornwall, though her name is also recorded as Keyne, Keane, Cenedion, and Keyna. Derived from cain (not the Biblical kind) and gwyn, it means "lovely" and "blessed, fair".
Ceinwen is said with a hard C, though the pronunciation of the first syllable might vary slightly according to region. In South Wales, it would typically be KINE-wehn (rhyming with "fine" or "mine"), while is North Wales, it can be KAYN-wehn (rhyming with "cane" or "pain").
Sometimes spelled as Ceinwyn, the name has appeared in Bernard Cornwell's The Warlord Chronicles and in Richard Llewellyn's novel, How Green Was My Valley.