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Welsh Names

Nameberry
By Nameberry
Updated Thu Nov 30 2023
Welsh names have attracted new interest in recent years, both within Wales and beyond. Some Welsh baby names are being newly discovered by parents throughout the English-speaking world, with choices such as Bryn, Owen, Maddox, Dylan, and Evan climbing the international popularity lists.

Welsh names in the US Top 1000 for girls include Brynn, Gwendolyn, Morgan, Reese, and Tegan. For boys, Welsh names in the US Top 1000 include Dawson, Ellis, Evan, Maddox, and Owen. In Wales, popular names include Megan, Meredith, Dylan, and Rhys.

In Lord of the Rings, the Welsh girls' name Arwen sparked a fashion for wen-ending names, while previously unknown Welsh baby names such as Carys, Seren, and Bowen are achieving more widespread use. A beautiful yet tiny country, Wales has its own distinctive language and culture and a lovely roster of its own baby names.

Here, our complete list of Welsh names for girls and Welsh names for boys. The top names below rank among the current US Top 1000 Baby Names and are ordered by popularity. Unique names rank below the Top 1000 and are listed alphabetically.
  1. Owen

    • Origin:

      Welsh

    • Meaning:

      "young warrior; well-born"

    • Description:

      Owen, a resonant Celtic name, has ranked among the Top 100 boys' names in the US for 20 years and is now at its highest point ever.
  2. Dylan

    • Origin:

      Welsh

    • Meaning:

      "son of the sea"

    • Description:

      Dylan still feels poetic and romantic after years of popularity. It still ranks highly on the charts, among the top boy names starting with D, so if you choose it, be aware that yours may not be the only Dylan in his class.
  3. Gael

    • Origin:

      Breton

    • Meaning:

      "Gaelic"

    • Description:

      This cross-cultural name, found in Wales, Brittany, and Spain, is a surprise star in the U.S in recent years, largely thanks to actor Gael Garcia Bernal. Also written as Gaël, it's a popular choice across Spain, Mexico, Chile, Uruguay, and France, and the US.
  4. Dawson

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "son of David"

    • Description:

      Dawson was scarcely heard as a first name before the debut of Dawson's Creek in 1998, at which point it leaped up more than 550 places in one year. The character Dawson Leery, played by James Van Der Beek, was a teen favorite until the show's demise in 2003.
  5. Evan

    • Origin:

      Welsh variation of John

    • Meaning:

      "God is gracious"

    • Description:

      Evan has a mellow nice-guy image that has kept it popular, while it has been widely used in Wales since the nineteenth century. And interestingly—and surprisingly—enough, Evan charts highly for boys in France.
  6. Reese

    • Origin:

      Welsh

    • Meaning:

      "ardor"

    • Description:

      The sassy, steel magnolia appeal of Oscar-winning Reese (born Laura Jeanne—Reese is her mother's maiden name) Witherspoon has single-handedly propelled this formerly boys’ name into girls' popularity.
  7. Maddox

    • Origin:

      Welsh

    • Meaning:

      "son of Madoc"

    • Description:

      Maddox, a previously obscure Welsh family name with a powerfully masculine image, suddenly came into the spotlight when Angelina Jolie chose it for her son in 2003. By the following year it was in the middle of the Top 1000, and it has risen since.
  8. Ellis

    • Origin:

      English surname derived from Elijah or Elias or Welsh

    • Meaning:

      "my God is Yahweh; benevolent"

    • Description:

      Ellis is a former Old Man Name turned gender-neutral choice for the 21st century. It's one of the less used names in the currently popular El-family, unless you're in the UK, where it's a Top 100 choice.
  9. Bowen

    • Origin:

      Welsh, Chinese

    • Meaning:

      "son of Owen; wave of writing, wave of literature"

    • Description:

      Bowen is a Celtic surname representing two separate Celtic strains, one Welsh and one Irish, and entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2011.
  10. Morgan

    • Origin:

      Welsh

    • Meaning:

      "sea-born, sea-song or sea-circle"

    • Description:

      Morgan has long been a traditional Welsh male name, a variant of the Old Welsh name Morcant, from the Welsh elements mor, meaning "sea" and cant, "circle." The female Morgan is unrelated to the male version—it is a name from Arthurian legend created for Morgan le Fay, King Arthur's half-sister and famed sorceress. Her name comes from Morgen, an Old Welsh name meaning "sea-born," and is related to the Irish name Muirgen.
  11. Gwendolyn

    • Origin:

      Variation of Gwendolen, Welsh

    • Meaning:

      "white ring"

    • Description:

      One spelling variation that's more popular than the original, this somewhat old-fashioned name might be in honor of poet Gwendolyn Brooks, the first African-American to win a Pulitzer prize for poetry, or may be a way to get to the modern short form Gwen.
  12. Brynn

    • Origin:

      Spelling variation of Bryn, Welsh

    • Meaning:

      "hill"

    • Description:

      Brynn outshines the original Welsh Bryn in the popularity stakes. This simple, brisk name might be seen as a combination of Bree and Lynn, an androgynous-sounding choice that especially in this spelling is not truly unisex: Brynn, for boys, is not even in the Top 1000.
  13. Rhys

    • Origin:

      Welsh

    • Meaning:

      "ardor"

    • Description:

      Rugged but gentle, Rhys is the traditional Welsh spelling of this name, which can also be anglicized as Reese or Reece. Up until 2010, Reese was the preferred spelling in the US, perhaps because parents were concerned about mispronunciation. However, Rhys has since taken over for boys and is now used twice as often as Reese.
  14. Gracelynn

    • Origin:

      Combination of Grace and Lynn

    • Meaning:

      "Grace + lake; pretty"

    • Description:

      With Grace mega popular and Gracie on the rise, this modern compound name provides a trendy alternative. With the vibes of Brooklyn and Evelyn and the contemporary feel of Oaklynn and and Emberlynn, Gracelynn is currently in the US Top 400.
  15. Kane

    • Origin:

      Celtic

    • Meaning:

      "warrior"

    • Description:

      A name of multiple identities: a somewhat soap-operatic single-syllable surname, a homonym for the biblical bad boy Cain, and, when found in Japan and Hawaii, it transforms into the two syllable KA-neh. Kane also has multiple meanings: in Welsh, it's "beautiful"; in Japanese, "golden"; and in Hawaiian, "man of the Eastern sky."
  16. Meredith

    • Origin:

      Welsh

    • Meaning:

      "great ruler"

    • Description:

      Meredith is a soft, gentle-sounding name with subtle Welsh roots. Although originally a boys’ name , Meredith is used mainly for girls now.
  17. Morgan

    • Origin:

      Welsh

    • Meaning:

      "sea-born, sea-song or sea-circle"

    • Description:

      Morgan, once split evenly between the sexes, is a strong and attractive Welsh favorite, still a common boys’ name in Wales. Morgan is now more often a girls' name in the U.S. – about 2000 girls were given the name in one recent year, vs. 362 boys – though it's one of the most traditional unisex choices. Morgan was actually a Top 200 pick for boys in Victorian Britain!
  18. Reese

    • Origin:

      Spelling variation of Rhys

    • Description:

      An Anglicized spelling of the Welsh Rhys, this traditional boys' name got a big boost for girls in the early 2000s, thanks to the high-profile Ms. Witherspoon (who was actually born Laura Jeanne Reese, her second middle being her mother's maiden name). This spelling has been on the decline for boys since 2003, possibly for the same reason, but remains a strong, simple choice which might pose fewer spelling and pronunciation issues outside of the UK than the Welsh original.
  19. Jenna

    • Origin:

      English, diminutive of Jennifer

    • Meaning:

      "white shadow, white wave"

    • Description:

      Jenna was first noted on the 1980s TV series Dallas, later associated with one of the First Twin Daughters. Jenna is still being used, but no longer feels much fresher than Jennifer. You can also spell it Jena, but then many people will pronounce it jeen-a, as in Gina.
  20. Trevor

    • Origin:

      Welsh

    • Meaning:

      "from the large village"

    • Description:

      Trevor, a British standard, took a long time to cross the Atlantic, but finally began its rise here in the 1980s. It is now a thoroughly naturalized citizen, though it still retains a touch of Anglo class.

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