Category Archives: name

Popular Welsh Girls’ Names in 2017

Here are the top six most popular Welsh girls’ Names in 2017: Olivia, Amelia, Ava, Ilsa, Ella and Emily. Olivia has remained consistently popular. Amelia has been very unpopular and began to gain popularity in the 1970s and should be immensely popular in 2020. Ilsa wasn’t on the chart until 2001 where it had an inconsistent increase and slight decreases. Ilsa’s presently the third popular name in Wales. Ava has a low rating and didn’t start gaining consistent favour until the 21st century. Gaining in popularity, it slumped a little in 2014 but picked up. Emily was its highest in 20 years in 1999 and slowly lost momentum although it’s the 5th popular name in Wales.

The origins and meanings. Olivia has a Latin origin that means the olive tree. William Shakespeare’s much-wooed aristocrat in his play, the Twelfth Nights was named Olivia. Amelia’s origin has a Latin and old German origin. Amelia means rival and eager to work. Princess Amelia brought the name England in the 18th century. Ava has a Latin origin that means like a bird. Ava first began in England as Eve in the 12th century. The Welsh version of Ava is Efa. Ilsa is primarily Scottish and means Islay. It’s from Islay Island located in southern Scotland. Emily is a form of Amelia. Many Welsh poets have been named Emily like Emily Jane Pfeiffer.

The Top 10 Baby Girls’ Names

  1. OLIVIA
  2. AMELIA
  3. AVA
  4. ISLA
  5. ELLA
  6. EMILY
  7. SOPHIA
  8. EVIE
  9. MIA
  10. POPPY

The Top Welsh Originating Girls’ Names

Here’s a list of the top 5 names originating from Wales:

  1. Ffion
  2. Seren
  3. Megan
  4. Mali
  5. Lowri

Elliw

Meaning and Origin of the Name Elliw

The name itself came from stories that were told of King Arthur. She was the daughter of Owain ap Daffyd according to the book Archaeologia Cambrensis.

Popularity

The name Elliw has never been popular baby girl’s name in Wales since records began in 1904. Neither has it been ranked in the top one-thousand names in America.

Famous People Called Elliw

Apart from Elliw ferch Owain ap Daffyd there have not been to many famous people with the name Elliw.

  • Elliw Gwawr, is a political correspondent from a Dolgellau in North Wales. There she begins her cooking lessons from her mother and grandmother. After graduating, she moved to Cardiff where she starts her career for the Welsh Language Board. Present day she is the political correspondent for Westminster.
  • Elliw Gwar in addition to having a career started a blog: www.panedachacen.com. Her blog makes it the first Welsh blog about baking.
  • Elliw Alwen is an actress who has done a lot of work in theatre in Wales and beyond.

Useful Resources

Discover the meaning and origin of other Welsh girls’ names on our website.

Mallt

Meaning and Origin of the Name Mallt

Mallt is a feminine Welsh name. It is the Welsh version of Maud or Matilda.

The name Mallt is Germanic in origin and means mighty in battle.

Famous People with the Name

In Welsh mythology, Mallt y Nos, or Matilda of the night, is a crone that rides with Arawn and the hounds of the wild hunt. She drives the hounds with shrieks and wails. In popular culture, Mallt y Nos is a spirit guide in Tom Siddell’s Gunnerkrigg Court and is the code name of a character in C.A. Higgin’s Lightless trilogy.

Popularity

The popularity of Mallt is not high. In 2016 it was not one of the 100 most popular baby girls’ name in Wales and was not in the top 1000 overall. Mallt is not often used as a baby girl name and Matilda is the most commonly used variant.

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Discover the meaning and popularity of other Welsh girls names.

Glain

Meaning and Origin of the Name Glain

The name Glain and origin is in Welsh. In Welsh, the meaning of Glain is a jewel.

Popularity

In 2017, the popularity of Glain is not in ranking for the top 1,000 girl names in Wales. Although, the popularity of Gain was not in the ranking the name is used today.

Famous People or Things Called Glain

Glain Rhys is a female and she is a musical artist. Glain Rhys music is folk and she is from Y Bala. To add, her songs that she writes is in Welsh. Since she sings in Welsh, the meaning of Glain is a jewel.

Another person that is into music is Glain Dafydd. She plays the harp and has won musical awards in Wales. Because of her competing in Wales, Glain Dafydd believes that the harp should be recognised as a professional career. Glain Dafydd won a Bryn Terfel Urdd scholarship.

Glain Neidr has several meanings such as a glass of the serpents,snake-stone, Druid’s egg, and more. The object “sacred stone” is put on a necklace, and Druids in Wales believes that it will bring good fortune and healing powers.

Useful Resources

Discover the meaning and popularity of other Welsh girls’ names.

Eiriana

Meaning and Origin of the Name Eiriana

Eiriana is a variation of the name Eirian.

Eirian is an English, Gaelic and Welsh name.

Popularity

The popularity of Eiriana is low since it is a rare name that is given to baby girls. It is not even listed in the 1000 most popular names for female babies in Wales in 2017.

Similar Names

There are many names that are similar to Eiriana. Some of them are Eirianna, Irianna, Ahorangi and Aranga. This name is most often used in Welsh and the meaning of Eiriana is silver in their language. An interesting fact about the name Eiriana is that people with this name often want to have a loving family or community and love working together with others.

Why Choose the name?

People with this name are often creative and have great imaginations. They tend to be great inspirations to others and desire to achieve their dreams.

How to pronounce Eiriana

How to pronounce Eiriana is AYRiyAENAH with the parts of the name being pronounced as follows: “AY as in “side (S.AY.D)” ; R as in “race (R.EY.S)” ; IY as in “eat (IY.T)” ; AE as in “at (AE.T)” ; N as in “knee (N.IY)” ; AH as in “mud (M.AH.D).”

Useful Resources

Discover the meaning and origin of other Welsh girls’ names.

Branwen

The Meaning and Origin of Branwen

The meaning of Branwen is derived from the old Welsh words “bran” and “gwen”. “Bran” means “raven” while “gwen” means “fair”, “white”, or “blessed”. Therefore this name could be translated as “fair raven”, “white raven”, or “blessed raven”.

History of the Name

Branwen ferch Llŷr
The Two Kings

The name Branwen is a name that is found often in the romantic myths of Wales. First documented in a famous medieval romance tale. As recounted in Branwen Ferch Ll r, Branwen was a daughter of Llyr who was betrothed to Matholwch, the kind of Ireland. After a while, she was made to work as a scullery wench and beaten every day, in revenge for an insult that was done by her half-brother Efnisien to the king’s horses. This provoked a brutal war that represents one of the finest sets of heroic tales in the entirety of Welsh legend.

Some have equated Branwen to the Irish myths of Deirdre, in the fact that she is the same kind of tragic heroine whose mistreatment sparks a titanic battle before dying of a broken heart upon seeing the horrible aftermath of war.

Another famous person with the name of Branwen is television presenter Branwen Gwyn. Born in Cardiff, she has worked with S4C since 1999 on a wide variety of programs. These include the network’s flagship children’s program “Planed Plant”. The popularity of Branwen outside of Wales has never been particularly high

Popularity

Branwen was not in the top 100 baby girls names in Wales in 2017.

Useful Resources

Discover the meaning and origin of other Welsh girls’ names.

Cothi

The Name Cothi and its Meaning

The name Cothi is Welsh, and it comes from a river named Afon Cothi. The meaning of Cothi is nothing more than the place where the river sits, but it is more of the feeling that you get when you are in this place.

The popularity of Cothi has never been high, but it is something that a lot of people should consider for their kids because it is a name that has lovely sound when you pronounce it.

south Wales in South Wales
Afon Cothi a river in South Wales

The name has Welsh origins but the best part of this name is that you can use it as a middle name if you want.

It’s most recognised in Welsh media circles as a surname as in the case of Shân Cothi who is a Welsh classical singer, a presenter and an actress. Shân Cothi comes from Carmarthenshire in West Wales like the Afon Cothi.

Myfi

Myfi, Meaning Origin and Popularity

The name Myfi is a cute Welsh girl’s name that actually looks rather modern. It is the shortened version of the name Myfanwy. Myfanwy means “my little lovely one” which corresponds to the meaning of Myfi. How you pronounce Myfi is different in different countries, but the English translation is Mee fee in English and UK English My Fee. Myfi is a great name to use because it is more of an original name than others.

Popularity

The popularity of Myfi is not in the top 100 most popular names, so if you are looking to go against the grain here is a great opportunity.

There have been several notable people named Myfanwy the long version of Myfi. Myfanwy Becker is a living South African Artist whose art is collected by private and corporate individuals. She is also an art teacher. Myfanwy Horne was an Australian journalist who was also a writer and editor before passing away in 2007. Myfanwy Piper was a British art critic and opera librettist.

Myfi is a cute unusual name for a baby girl. Naming your baby Myfi would definitely open up a lovely discussion on pronunciation. A link to Wi-Fi may just enter the conversation.

Useful Resources

Discover the meaning and popularity of other Welsh girls’ names.

Ffraid

Ffraid And The Name’s Meaning

Ffraid is the Welsh form of Bridget, and it has been used by Sant Ffraid for centuries. This is one of the most interesting names that you might find because it has many derivations. You might run across this name as Llansantffraed, and that alone could be something to consider when naming children or studying names.

The Precedent

Saint Ffraid's_Church
Saint Ffraid’s_Church

The precedent for using this name comes from Saint Ffraid who is venerated all over Wales, and you will find that it turns up in other compound names that might interest you. You simply need to see if this name fits into the names you wanted to choose for your kid, and you might find that the name has a certain lilt that you need.

The Name Pronunciation

The name is pronounced just how it looks, and it will sound pretty nice coming across your lips because of how it was written. This name has extra consonants that might make it hard to understand at first, but it could become a solid middle name in your family.

Conclusion

Plan to use the name when you want to help bring some of your history and heritage into the naming of your kids.

Useful Resources

Discover the meaning and popularity of other Welsh girls’ names.

Gladys

Gladys A Royal Flower

The Singer Gladys Knight
The Singer Gladys Knight

Gladys is a Welsh name. Gladys is also the gladiolus flower. It is associated with royalty because it also means princess. It is a form of the name Claudia.

The name Gladys was not amongst the most popular names in Wales. This is according to the current government statistics. Gladys is a known as a royal flower, in the eyes of many. The meaning of Gladys is, indeed, royal and holds the beauty of a flower.

Popularity: 1920 was the Year of Gladys

The popularity of Gladys was at its peak in the year 1920. This was, at one time, in the top 1000 names given. Many babies born in the year 1920 were given the name Gladys. There were, approximately, 8,819 occurrences in 1920.

The Gladys Trend

The trends of naming a baby Gladys has been slowly going down. This name continues to lose popularity. Gladys will most likely continue to drop amongst baby names, according to the trends. The popularity of Gladys, currently, is very low.

Famous People

There are a few famous people called Gladys including:

Gladys Knight – an American singer and songwriter known as “Empress of Soul”
Gladys Cooper – an English actress who was active between 1905–71

Why Choose the Name Gladys

Gladys is a very distinctive name even though it continues to become less popular. This name appears to be drifting away. Time will tell if Gladys has a strong future amongst the other royal flowers. Gladys will remain distinctive name regardless of the current trends.

Useful Resouces

Discover the meaning and origin of other Welsh girls’ names.