Cornish Baby Names

Angliziced form of the Cornish name Ia. According to legend, the Cornish saint Ia was an Irish princess who sailed across the sea to Cornwall on a leaf. She was martyred and buried at the spot where the church of St Ives (called Porth Ia - "St Ia’s cove" - in Cornish) now stands. Ive may be an anglicized form of her name or a variant of the masculine Ivo or Yves, "yew".

Sounds like Willow, but is in fact a Cornish saint name borne by a 6th century hermit. It may be related to Wella, the Cornish form of William.

Morgelyn is a Cornish compound name derived from the Welsh mor, meaning "sea" and kelyn, "holly." Sea holly is another name for the Eryngium plant, which showcases prickly purple blooms, making Morgelyn a botanical name.

Penryn is the name of a parish in Cornwall, the peninsula in the southwest of England.

Kew is an offbeat name of a saint from Cornwall with boyish appeal.

An ancient British saint's name, of uncertain origin but possibly connected to Peter. He has left a legacy in place names, churches and monuments in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany.

Just one letter off from Corentin, but an entirely different name — the Cornish variation stresses the middle syllable, while the French stresses the last. And in America, where both versions are unknown, people are likely going to guess that the emphasis belongs on the first syllable.

Cornish form of Griffin

Similar to the Welsh form Dafydd, Daveth is a softer alternative for the perennial boys' name David. The long "Ah" sound also minimises the chance of the name being shortened to Dave, for those eager to avoid the ubiquitous nickname.

St. Keverne is a town on Cornwall's Lizard Peninsula and also the name of an ancient saint. While the name is virtually unused for children in the modern world, it could be a Kevin update and has contemporary possibilities.

Lowdy is a friendly variation of the traditional Cornish name Loveday. In medieval England, a loveday was when adversaries would meet to settle their dispute peacefully. Babies born during such days were sometimes dubbed Loveday in honor.

The original Cornish name for the town better known today as Tintagel. With its Arthurian heritage, this makes a good choice for those fond of the legends of Lancelot, Guinevere and King Arthur.

This is a name from ancient Britain: St Adwen was one of many fifth-century Welsh saints of whom little more is known than their name. It survives in St Adwen's Church (also known as Adwena or Adwenna) in the village of Advent in Cornwall. The origin looks like gwen ("fair, blessed") plus possibly a prefix meaning "again". Alternatively, it could be related to the Welsh word addwyn, meaning "fine". Although rare, Adwen has a pleasing simplicity, and the stylish Ad- sound gives it potential as an alternative to names like Ada and Adelyn.

An English surname and occasional first name deriving from the same root as Baldwin, "bold or brave friend".

Lerryn is a Cornish place name for both the River Lerryn and the village that borders it. The name belonged first to the river, which was named in the 13th century. Lerryn literally translates to "flood."

This Cornish variant of Isolde is rare even in the UK - but that's part of its charm. Like Isolde, Eseld is generally thought to mean "ice battle", a meaning sure to be pleasing to a little girl in this age of all things "Frozen".

A Cornish vocabulary bird, meaning the swallow bird, used in modern times.

So many people love Jack but worry about its popularity. If you count yourself amongst these people, this rare but intuitive Cornish version of the name might be a choice worth consideration.

Cornish form of Guinevere. Saint Miniver was one of the many holy daughters of King Brychan. Also found as Minver, Menvra, Menfre and more.

A Welsh saint who is the namesake of the village of St Breock in Cornwall, and is also venerated in Brittany. The name is a diminutive of Briafael ("mighty prince"). Variants include: Breock, Bryok, Brioc, Briec, Brieuc, Briog.