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Welsh is a language that does things English doesn’t. It strings consonants together in ways that look impossible on paper and then turns them into something soft on the tongue — Ll sounds like a whispered thl, dd hums like the th in this, w slips in as a vowel. The result is a naming tradition that feels both ancient and totally fresh: names like Cerys and Anwen and Ffion carry centuries of poetry behind them, but to an American ear they sound like they were invented yesterday.
🔍 Curious how popular a name is?
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When referencing popularity, I am referring to baby name data from Social Security Administration database in the United States for 2025, which is the most current year of data available.
Here’s what’s in store –
Names From the Mabinogion and Welsh Mythology
Classic Welsh Names With Real Staying Power
Names Built on the *Gwen* Root (White, Fair, Blessed)
Saints, Scholars, and Medieval Welsh Women
Nature, Plant, and Animal Names
And here’s the strange thing: Welsh girl names are quietly trending on Pinterest right now (search volume on Eira alone has roughly doubled since 2024) while remaining almost entirely absent from the US Social Security top 1,000. You can give your daughter a name with a thousand years of literary heritage and still be the only one at preschool with it.
This list is heavy on the truly Welsh — names rooted in the language itself, not the Anglicized “Celtic-flavored” inventions that flood most lists. You’ll find names from the Mabinogion (the medieval Welsh story cycle), names tied to the landscape, names that mean snow and song and silver and dawn. A few are well-known, most aren’t. All of them are real.
A small pronunciation note before we begin: Ll is roughly thl (place your tongue as if to say L and blow), Dd is a soft th like in that, Ch is the guttural sound in Bach, and W is usually oo. Y can be uh or ee depending on placement. Once you have those four, almost every name on this list becomes pronounceable.
Names From the Mabinogion and Welsh Mythology
The Mabinogion is the great medieval collection of Welsh stories — older than Chaucer, weirder than Arthuriana, full of women who turn into owls and goddesses made of flowers. These names carry that whole atmosphere.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Great queen”
- Popularity: #1310
The bird-summoning sovereign of the First Branch, immortalized by Fleetwood Mac and still rare in the US top 1000.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Blessed raven”
- Popularity: Rare
A tragic queen of the Second Branch; somber, beautiful, and increasingly visible on UK birth lists.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Silver wheel”
- Popularity: Rare
A lunar goddess from the Fourth Branch; pronounced roughly *ar-YAN-rhod*, with the silver of moonlight built into it.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Flower face”
- Popularity: Rare
The woman conjured from oak, broom, and meadowsweet blossoms; later turned into an owl as punishment.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Modest, demure”
- Popularity: Rare
A virgin footholder to King Math; understated and almost never used outside Wales.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Token of love”
- Popularity: Rare
A maiden fought over by two suitors every May Day in the old tales.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “White footprint”
- Popularity: Rare
The giant’s daughter from *Culhwch ac Olwen*; white trefoil flowers grew wherever she walked.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Maiden”
- Popularity: Rare
The Welsh form of Igraine, mother of Arthur — sharper and stonier than its Anglicized cousin.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Fair phantom”
- Popularity: Rare
The original Guinevere, before the French softened her into something more polite.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Beautiful, fair”
- Popularity: Rare
Tegau Gold-Breast was a legendary chaste lady of Arthur’s court; obscure and lovely.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Fair, lovely”
- Popularity: Rare
One of Arthur’s mistresses in the Triads of Britain; barely two syllables, very current-sounding.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “She who is gazed upon”
- Popularity: Rare
The native Welsh form of Isolde, restored to its original consonants.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Pure, blessed one”
- Popularity: Rare
The Welsh patron saint of lovers — January 25 is her feast day, Wales’s answer to Valentine’s.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Nesting place”
- Popularity: Rare
A medieval Welsh princess whose abduction triggered a war; tiny and ancient.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Fair, flaxen”
- Popularity: Rare
A 12th-century warrior princess who led an army into battle; pronounced *gwen-THLEE-an*.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Salt marsh”
- Popularity: Rare
The mourning princess of the medieval poem *Canu Heledd*; rough-edged and devastating.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Mother goddess”
- Popularity: Rare
The mother of Mabon; the Welsh divine mother, sister to the British Matrona.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Chief beauty”
- Popularity: Rare
Mother of Branwen; almost extinct as a given name, ripe for revival.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Daughter of Gwyn”
- Popularity: Rare
The daughter-in-law of Rhiannon in the Third Branch; spiky and unusual.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Water”
- Popularity: Rare
Tied to the river Dyfi; soft and elemental.
Snow, Sky, and Weather Names
Welsh has a vocabulary for weather that puts English to shame. These are names drawn from the elements themselves — most are short, all are unmistakably Welsh.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Snow”
- Popularity: #2385
Pronounced *AY-ra*; trending hard on Pinterest baby boards since 2023 and still outside the US top 1000.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Snowdrop”
- Popularity: Rare
The flower that pushes through frost in late winter; a more literal cousin to Eira.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Star”
- Popularity: #4631
The number-one Welsh-language name in Wales for most of the 2010s; clean, modern, easy to say.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Sunshine, sunlight”
- Popularity: Rare
Literally *sun* + *blessed*; pronounced *HAYL-wen*.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Summer”
- Popularity: Rare
A single syllable that lands like a held breath.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Dawn”
- Popularity: Rare
Pronounced *gwa-oor*; the moment just before sunrise.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Moonlight”
- Popularity: Rare
Quiet, mythic, and pronounceable as *THLOO-an*.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Fair summer”
- Popularity: Rare
Combines *summer* and *blessed*; warm without being sweet.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Breeze”
- Popularity: Rare
A soft, gusty name; *OW-el*.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Bright, beautiful”
- Popularity: Rare
Carries the same *eir-* (silver/bright) root that runs through many Welsh names.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Warmth of the sun”
- Popularity: Rare
Genuinely uncommon; a quiet alternative to the Sun-name trend.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Rain”
- Popularity: Rare
Single-syllable, a little unusual as a given name, but used.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Shower”
- Popularity: Rare
More word than name, but appears occasionally; pronounced *KAH-wod*.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Moon-fair”
- Popularity: Rare
Pronounced *THLAY-wen*; rare and lunar.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Hill”
- Popularity: #2098
Increasingly unisex; clipped and grounded.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Salty marsh”
- Popularity: Rare
Also a princess’s name; bleak landscape and ancient grief both.
- Origin: Welsh, Irish overlap
- Meaning: “Bright, radiant”
- Popularity: #672
Two letters, big sound; widely used in Wales.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Gray”
- Popularity: Rare
Used historically; pronounced *THLOO-id*.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Idol, image”
- Popularity: Rare
Sometimes connected to *enaid*, the Welsh word for soul.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Stars”
- Popularity: Rare
The plural of Seren; uncommon but real.
Classic Welsh Names With Real Staying Power
These are names you might recognize — the ones that have crossed borders, been spelled a dozen ways, and somehow stayed Welsh at the root.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Love”
- Popularity: #11379
From *caru*, to love; pop singer Cerys Matthews put it on the map outside Wales.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Foxglove”
- Popularity: Rare
The double-F is correct; pronounced *FEE-on*. Floral and very modern in Wales.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Very fair, very beautiful”
- Popularity: #10318
The intensifier *an-* plus *gwen*; gentle but not soft.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Love”
- Popularity: #4669
The more common spelling of Cerys; Catherine Zeta-Jones named her daughter this.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “White breast, fair-bosomed”
- Popularity: #10539
The Welsh form of Branwen; popular in mid-century Wales.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “White, fair, blessed”
- Popularity: #698
The root word inside half the names on this list; complete on its own.
- Origin: Welsh diminutive of Margaret
- Meaning: “Pearl”
- Popularity: #761
Welsh in origin even though it feels universal now.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Slender, fair”
- Popularity: Rare
The native Welsh form of Rowena; sleek and old.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Bountiful”
- Popularity: #13918
Also the name of a Welsh river and a 5th-century saint.
- Origin: Welsh form of Mary
- Meaning: “Bitter”
- Popularity: #3609
Sweet-sounding despite the literal meaning.
- Origin: Welsh form of Laura
- Meaning: “Laurel-crowned”
- Popularity: Rare
Pronounced *LOW-ree*.
- Origin: Welsh form of Janet
- Meaning: “God is gracious”
- Popularity: Rare
Pronounced *SHON-ed*.
- Origin: Welsh diminutive of Elizabeth
- Meaning: “God is my oath”
- Popularity: Rare
A Welsh schoolyard staple.
- Origin: Welsh form of Catherine
- Meaning: “Pure”
- Popularity: Rare
Three-letter swap, totally transformed.
- Origin: Welsh form of Margaret
- Meaning: “Pearl”
- Popularity: Rare
Short and sharp.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Much loved”
- Popularity: Rare
Pronounced *ang-HAR-ad*; literary, ancient, and worn like silver.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Pure, holy”
- Popularity: #11809
Mid-century classic in Wales.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Happiness, blessed”
- Popularity: #1788
Gwyneth Paltrow’s Welsh-Pennsylvanian heritage gave it American visibility.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “My fine, rare one”
- Popularity: Rare
Pronounced *muh-VAN-wee*; the title of a beloved Welsh love song.
- Origin: Welsh form of Jane
- Meaning: “God is gracious”
- Popularity: #8841
Pronounced *SHAN*.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Maiden”
- Popularity: #10882
Sometimes confused with Rhiannon; a separate, simpler name.
Names Built on the *Gwen* Root (White, Fair, Blessed)
Gwen is the busiest morpheme in the Welsh naming book — it can mean white, fair, holy, or blessed, and it grafts onto almost anything. Here’s a generous helping.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Fair, flaxen”
- Popularity: Rare
Princess Gwenllian led troops against the Normans in 1136; lyrical.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “White ring, white bow”
- Popularity: #393
The English-friendly form of Gwendolen, with rich literary use.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Blessed Mary”
- Popularity: Rare
A devotional name combining *gwen* + *Mair*.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Wheat”
- Popularity: #15945
Pronounced like Gwyneth but with an entirely different meaning — agrarian and bright.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Fair, blessed little one”
- Popularity: Rare
A diminutive that sounds older than its base.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Blessed reconciliation”
- Popularity: Rare
The original Welsh form of Winifred — a 7th-century saint and martyr.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Fair pool”
- Popularity: Rare
A modern coinage combining *gwen* + *llyn* (lake); occasionally heard now.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “White breast, fair hill”
- Popularity: Rare
Lyrical and uncommon.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Swallow”
- Popularity: Rare
The bird; brisk and rare.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Little fair one”
- Popularity: Rare
A medieval given name that’s making a slow comeback.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Fair, blessed”
- Popularity: Rare
Variant spelling of Gwennan, even rarer.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Fair and good”
- Popularity: #14436
A 20th-century Welsh classic feeling ripe for revival.
– **Gwenllian** — included above; worth repeating because it is consistently the most-asked-about name on Welsh naming forums.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Muse, poetic inspiration”
- Popularity: Rare
Not technically a *gwen* name but lives in the same sonic family; the breath of the bards.
Saints, Scholars, and Medieval Welsh Women
Wales had a remarkable cluster of early Christian female saints — many with names that disappeared from common use centuries ago and are quietly reappearing.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Pure blessed one”
- Popularity: Rare
The 5th-century patron of Welsh lovers; her chapel ruins stand on Llanddwyn Island.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Sweet angel”
- Popularity: Rare
A 6th-century princess who protected a hare from huntsmen; pronounced *meh-LANG-eth*.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Pretty, fair”
- Popularity: #2060
Saint Tegan was an early Welsh holy woman; the name was reanimated by *Doctor Who*.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Lord-like”
- Popularity: Rare
Saint Tudful gave her name to Merthyr Tudful (Merthyr Tydfil).
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Lord”
- Popularity: Rare
Anglicized form of Tudful; quirky and place-rich.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Nun”
- Popularity: Rare
Saint Non was the mother of Saint David, patron of Wales; one syllable, deeply old.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Fair and lovely”
- Popularity: Rare
A 5th-century saint and daughter of Brychan; pronounced *KINE-wen*.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Chief blessed”
- Popularity: Rare
Another of Brychan’s holy daughters.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Country, sovereignty”
- Popularity: Rare
A medieval Welsh queen and saint; spelled here in the original.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Sacred fire” or “white fire”
- Popularity: Rare
A 5th-century saint, daughter of Brychan.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Blessed Tudur”
- Popularity: Rare
One of the lesser-known daughters of Brychan.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Fair, beautiful”
- Popularity: #974
A 5th-century holy woman; one syllable, fierce.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Nun”
- Popularity: Rare
A monastic vocation name; pronounced *THLAY-an*.
- Origin: Cornish/Welsh
- Meaning: “Fire-soul”
- Popularity: Rare
A Celtic saint; sounds extraordinary in English.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Lord-hewer”
- Popularity: Rare
Medieval, severe, rare even in Wales.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Beloved”
- Popularity: Rare
A medieval form of Avice that the Normans borrowed; brittle and pretty.
- Origin: Welsh form of Magdalene
- Meaning: “Of Magdala”
- Popularity: Rare
The Welsh take on Madeline.
- Origin: Welsh form of Margaret
- Meaning: “Pearl”
- Popularity: Rare
A common medieval Welsh given name.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Beloved day”
- Popularity: Rare
The unrequited love of the medieval poet Dafydd ap Gwilym.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Sea modesty”
- Popularity: Rare
Dafydd ap Gwilym’s other muse — his entire body of love poetry orbits these two women.
Nature, Plant, and Animal Names
Welsh-language nature names go beyond the obvious flower-and-tree set. These pull from the specific flora and fauna of the Welsh countryside.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Primrose”
- Popularity: Rare
Pronounced *bree-AH-then*; the bright yellow flower of Welsh hedgerows.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Silver, bright”
- Popularity: Rare
Also weather-tinged; doubles as nature shorthand for shining water.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Bird”
- Popularity: Rare
Simply the word for bird; used as a name in modern Wales.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Beautiful brightness” or “orchid”
- Popularity: Rare
The orchid; rich and ornate.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Lily”
- Popularity: #3028
The Welsh spelling; same name, different feel.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Strawberries”
- Popularity: Rare
Plural fruit-noun used affectionately as a nickname.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Broom flower”
- Popularity: Rare
One of Blodeuwedd’s three flowers; bristly and beautiful.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Meadowsweet”
- Popularity: Rare
Another of Blodeuwedd’s botanical pieces.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Branch”
- Popularity: Rare
Tree-rooted; pronounced *KANG-en*.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Tree”
- Popularity: Rare
More word than common name, but occasionally used.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Blueness, freshness”
- Popularity: Rare
Like the color of a glacial pool.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Nightingale”
- Popularity: Rare
Single bright syllable; rising in popularity in Wales.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Swan”
- Popularity: Rare
Pronounced *AL-arkh*; austere and lovely.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Lord, worthy”
- Popularity: Rare
Sometimes given the gloss “ivy-bound”; pretty either way.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Snow-white”
- Popularity: Rare
Pronounced *AYR-wen*; pure winter.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Snowdrop”
- Popularity: Rare
Also above under weather, but it belongs equally with the flowers.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Rose”
- Popularity: Rare
Pronounced *HROS-in*; the Welsh take on the universal flower.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Willow”
- Popularity: Rare
Tree-named, almost minimalist.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Ash tree”
- Popularity: Rare
Old, hard, beautiful.
- Origin: Welsh, plural form
- Meaning: “Primroses”
- Popularity: Rare
A poetic plural variant.
Short and Modern Welsh Names
For parents drawn to short, snappy names that still feel rooted, Welsh offers an unusually rich set of one- and two-syllable options.
- Origin: Welsh form of Mary
- Meaning: “Bitter”
- Popularity: #3609
Easy on every American tongue.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Bright, radiant”
- Popularity: #672
Two letters, instant.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Bringer of good news”
- Popularity: #187
Sometimes spelled Lîa; minimalist.
- Origin: Welsh and Italian overlap
- Meaning: “Mine”
- Popularity: #5
Often used in modern Wales.
- Origin: Welsh and Hebrew
- Meaning: “Bright, shining”
- Popularity: #1713
Compact.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “To love”
- Popularity: #5815
From the verb *caru*; warm.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Pretty”
- Popularity: #2060
One of the most pickup-friendly Welsh names in the US.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Laurel”
- Popularity: Rare
Two syllables, all softness.
– **Nia** — listed again for completeness; pairs especially well with longer middle names.
- Origin: Welsh form of Sarah
- Meaning: “Princess”
- Popularity: #188
A subtle Welsh variant.
- Origin: Welsh and Scandinavian crossover
- Meaning: “Pearl”
- Popularity: #855
Used in modern Welsh families.
– **Mali** — included for the same reason; Welsh parents love how it pairs.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Lily”
- Popularity: #3028
The way it’s spelled in Welsh.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Sing” or “song fragment”
- Popularity: Rare
Tiny and odd.
- Origin: Welsh spelling of Lucy
- Meaning: “Light”
- Popularity: Rare
The Welsh phonetic respelling, increasingly common.
- Origin: Welsh form of Mabel
- Meaning: “Lovable”
- Popularity: Rare
Pronounced *MAB-lee*.
- Origin: Welsh diminutive of Elizabeth
- Meaning: “God is my oath”
- Popularity: Rare
Pet-name simplicity.
– **Megs** — Diminutive of Megan; used as a given name on its own in some Welsh families.
- Origin: Old Welsh/Old English overlap
- Meaning: “Queen”
- Popularity: Rare
Single syllable, royal.
- Origin: Welsh diminutive of Mimosa or Miriam
- Meaning: “Strict, severe”
- Popularity: Rare
Sharp and small.
Place-Inspired and Landscape Names
Wales is geography first and country second — its mountains, rivers, and valleys are named in a language older than English, and many of those place-names work beautifully as given names.
– **Eirian** — also a river name; the *Afon Eirian* runs through Anglesey.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Quiet one”
- Popularity: Rare
The river that runs through Swansea.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Chief one”
- Popularity: Rare
A river in the South Wales valleys; usually masculine but used for girls.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Reedy”
- Popularity: Rare
The river and town in North Wales; pronounced *KON-wee*.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Fair, beautiful”
- Popularity: Rare
Bala Lake’s Welsh name is *Llyn Tegid*.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Valley”
- Popularity: #13128
Unisex, with a quiet gravity.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Loving”
- Popularity: #7827
Also a river and parish name.
- Origin: Welsh, from Latin Mona
- Meaning: “Noble, of Anglesey”
- Popularity: #2224
The ancient Roman name for Anglesey.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “The countryside”
- Popularity: Rare
A Welsh county name; rare as a girl’s name but used.
– **Carys** — also means “love” but doubles as a near-homophone for Welsh river names.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Dark river”
- Popularity: Rare
The Tywi runs through Carmarthenshire.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Of Dyfed”
- Popularity: Rare
The southwestern Welsh kingdom of the Mabinogion.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Of Gwynedd”
- Popularity: Rare
The northwest Welsh kingdom; ambitious and historical.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Fellow-countrymen”
- Popularity: Rare
The Welsh word for Wales itself; occasionally used.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Island”
- Popularity: Rare
Pronounced *UH-nis*; clipped and elemental.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Grove, copse”
- Popularity: Rare
Pronounced *THLOO-in*.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Bright” + “white”
- Popularity: Rare
A mountain range in north Wales.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Land of eagles”
- Popularity: Rare
The Welsh name for Snowdonia.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Seat, chair”
- Popularity: Rare
As in Cader Idris, the great mountain of central Wales.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Fair, blessed”
- Popularity: Rare
A diminutive associated with Saint Wenna and her sisters.
Lesser-Known Welsh Names Worth Discovering
A final cluster of rarities — names you’ll almost never see on American lists, all of them real.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Victory”
- Popularity: Rare
The Welsh form of Boudicca; pronounced *BITH-ig*.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Peace-hostage”
- Popularity: Rare
A medieval name meaning the bond that secures peace.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Linnet”
- Popularity: Rare
A small songbird; pronounced *THLEE-nos*.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Nest” or “nesting place”
- Popularity: Rare
A historical princess’s name; spare and lovely.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Pearl”
- Popularity: Rare
A poetic alternative to Margaret.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Golden”
- Popularity: Rare
From *aur*, gold.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “White footprint”
- Popularity: Rare
A diminutive of Olwen.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Fair poetry”
- Popularity: Rare
The witch-goddess who brewed the cauldron of inspiration; pronounced *ker-ID-wen*.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Gentle, kind”
- Popularity: Rare
A real adjective used as a given name; calming.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Bright, beloved”
- Popularity: Rare
The subject of one of the most famous medieval Welsh love elegies.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Blue, green-blue”
- Popularity: Rare
Colorful and obscure.
- Origin: Welsh form of Rebecca
- Meaning: “Bound”
- Popularity: Rare
Brisk.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Loud” or “fame”
- Popularity: #8206
Short and uncommon.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Restoration”
- Popularity: Rare
Sometimes used for girls.
- Origin: Welsh-influenced English
- Meaning: “Vine”
- Popularity: #9816
Often grouped with Welsh names because of usage patterns in Wales.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Jewel”
- Popularity: Rare
Three soft sounds; pronounced *GLINE*.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Rainbow”
- Popularity: Rare
Hopeful and colorful; pronounced *EN-vis*.
– **Aures** — also above; bears mentioning twice given how rare it is.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Great Marlais”
- Popularity: Rare
A river name and the middle name Dylan Thomas was born with.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Fair, beautiful”
- Popularity: Rare
Medieval; barely seen.
- Origin: Welsh feminine of Iolo
- Meaning: “Worthy, lordly”
- Popularity: #11461
Small and unusual.
– **Lleucu** — already noted; the medieval elegy “Marwnad Lleucu Llwyd” cemented it.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Beautiful spring”
- Popularity: Rare
Subject of another famous medieval Welsh poem.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Golden link”
- Popularity: Rare
Compound name suggesting a chain of gold.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Idol”
- Popularity: Rare
One of King Arthur’s serving maidens in Welsh legend.
– **Tegyd** — Variant of Tegid; ancient and rare.
– **Cwenllian** — Archaic spelling of Gwenllian; sometimes used to mark heritage.
- Origin: Cornish/Welsh overlap
- Meaning: “Modest”
- Popularity: Rare
Hovering between two Celtic languages.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Very good”
- Popularity: Rare
Occasionally used for girls.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: “Gold-colored”
- Popularity: Rare
A compound of *aur* + *lliw*.
How to Choose a Name From This List
Start by reading them out loud — Welsh is a language built to be spoken, and a name that looks intimidating on paper will often feel obvious in your mouth after three tries. Ll and Dd take a minute, and that’s fine; learning them is part of the offer.
Think about the first-name-and-middle-name rhythm carefully. Welsh names tend to land on the first or second syllable with a soft tail, so they pair beautifully with longer Anglo middle names (Anwen Margaret, Eira Caroline) but can sound choppy with very short ones. Test the full name aloud before committing.
Consider how often your daughter will need to spell it. Ffion, Sian, Myfanwy — these are lifelong-spell-it-out names in the US, and that’s a real thing to weigh. Some parents lean in (the spelling becomes part of the story). Others choose a simpler Welsh form like Megan or Bethan or Tegan that travels without explanation.
Look at the meaning honestly. Welsh names tend to be deeply literal — Eira means snow, Cerys means love, Branwen means blessed raven — and that literalism becomes part of your daughter’s self-introduction for the rest of her life. Pick a meaning you’d be glad to tell a curious stranger about.
Finally: don’t dismiss the obscure ones. Some of the most stunning names on this list — Heledd, Lleucu, Generys — are nearly extinct even in Wales. Giving one of them to a baby in 2026 is a small act of preservation, and the only thing rarer than the name itself will be your daughter.
Name Art for Your Favorite
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I pronounce Welsh *Ll* and *Dd*?
*Ll* is a voiceless lateral fricative — place your tongue as if to say *L* and blow air around it; it comes out like a breathy *thl*. *Dd* is the voiced *th* in *this* or *that*. Once you have those two, names like Llinos (THLEE-nos) and Heledd (HEL-eth) become natural.
Are Welsh names common in the United States?
Not really, which is part of their appeal. Outside of Megan and a handful of crossover names like Bronwen or Gwyneth, most genuinely Welsh names sit well outside the US top 1000. Eira, Cerys, Ffion, and Anwen are trending steadily upward on Pinterest but remain rare in American classrooms.
What’s the difference between a Welsh name and a “Celtic” name?
Celtic is an umbrella that covers Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Cornish, Breton, and Manx — six distinct languages, not one. A name like Bronwen is specifically Welsh; Bridget is Irish; Iona is Scottish. They share roots millennia back but diverged long ago. The list above sticks to the Welsh branch.
Is it cultural appropriation to use a Welsh name if I’m not Welsh?
Welsh communities have historically been welcoming about name use — Wales is a small nation with a growing diaspora, and seeing the language travel is generally seen as a good thing. The respectful approach is to learn the pronunciation, know what the name means, and be ready to share that story when people ask. Don’t rewrite the spelling to be “easier” — that erases what makes the name Welsh in the first place.
Which Welsh girl names are easiest for Americans?
Megan, Tegan, Carys, Nia, Lowri, Mali, Anwen, and Seren are the friendliest crossovers — short, phonetically transparent, and rarely mispronounced. If you want something more distinctively Welsh without becoming a daily explainer, those are the strong picks.
What does the *gwen* root mean, and why is it in so many names?
*Gwen* in Welsh means white, fair, holy, or blessed all at once — the senses overlap. It softens to *-wen* when it’s the second part of a name (Anwen, Branwen, Bronwen, Olwen) and stays *Gwen-* when it leads (Gwendolyn, Gwenllian). It’s the most productive root in Welsh given names, the way *Marie* once was in French.
Are there Welsh names that work for siblings of any background?
Plenty. Pairings that travel well across mixed-name sibling sets: Eira and Iris, Cerys and Cora, Anwen and Adeline, Seren and Selene, Bronwen and Beatrice. Welsh names tend to be soft on the ear and short on syllables, so they slot into most sibling groups without dominating.
Final Thoughts
The best argument for a Welsh name is also the simplest: there are around three thousand languages spoken in the world today, and Welsh sounds like exactly one of them. Naming a daughter Eira or Lleucu or Branwen hands her something that no automatic spell-checker has cataloged yet — a sound, a story, and a slow-burn introduction to a literary tradition older than England. Take your time, say them out loud, and trust the one that keeps coming back to you.
Read next;
🎀 40+ *Best* Girl Names That Start with G
🎀 49+ *Beautiful* Girl Names That Start with H
🎀 42+ *Beautiful* Baby Girl Names That Start With D
✨ Love these names? Create free printable nursery art for any name →
