Welsh Names for Girls

Celyn, which starts with the hard K sound and rhymes with Helen, is a Top 100 name in Wales although largely unknown outside that tiny, beautiful country. It is usually a masculine name.

Simple and pretty and user-friendly, the Welsh Sian was used by U2's Dave "the Edge" Evans for his daughter. In Welsh, it is also spelled Siân.

Linda begat Lynn which gave way to Lynette, which peaked in the late 1960s. Lynette has been off the Top 1000 for a couple decades now, and the Lynn variations finding the most favor are those that put the "lyn" part at the end: Evelyn, Madelyn, Brooklyn.

Tailored Tegan comes from a Welsh saint's name. Teagan is just a little bit different, from an Irish surname. The ea spelling is much more popular.

Gwendolen, an ancient Welsh favorite, retired decades ago in favor of the short form Gwen, but now, as in the case all across the naming board, the nickname has faded and the more distinguished original is up for reappraisal.

Evan is a boys' favorite that has been given the feminine touch by talented actress Evan Rachel Wood. If you want to move beyond Eva and Evelyn and like unisex names, this may be a good bet for you (though like Evan Rachel Wood, you may want a feminine name in the middle name position to clarify matters). Evanna is also another alternative.

Tanwen is a far more singular and colorful alternative to Bronwen.

The delicate and haunting Welsh Rhonwen is still a rarity in the U.S., where her English version Rowena is better known, but would be a lovely choice for any parent in search of a name that was both unusual and traditional, classically feminine yet strong.

If you're looking for an unusual alternative to all those Rose names, Rhoswen might be a good choice. This name has the soft sounds we've come to love from the Welsh language but is still not as familiar as Bronwen and Rhiannon.

Olwen is a Welsh favorite, the name of a legendary princess in what is believed to have been the earliest Arthurian romance, and in fact one of the first recorded examples of Welsh prose.

This is the most popular Welsh form of Agnes. Variants include Annest and Nest. There was an eleventh century Nest who was known as 'Helen of Wales' for her beauty and the problems it caused.

American parents are just becoming aware of Welsh names like this one, similar to Carys, which was chosen by Welsh-born Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Popular in Wales, but likely to be mispronounced as Ryan here.

Striking name of a legendary princess and a Welsh river that feels both moody and modern.

Intriguing Old Welsh name being revived there, but would have major pronunciation problems here.

Less than ten percent of the babies named Rhys are girls, whereas Reese is given five times more often to girls than to boys, thanks to Ms. Witherspoon. It's a sleek and attractive name, but one that benefits from two accepted spellings that help clarify its gender identity.

"Help Me, Rhonda. sang the Beach Boys -- help me convince my parents not to give me this sixties name.

Tolkien may have been inspired by this unisex name of a Celtic goddess of war. Welsh poet Dylan Thomas named his daughter the variation Aeronwy. With goddess names so hot for baby girls, this ethereal choice is one to consider.

Penrose – an ancient place-name and surname derived from several villages in Cornwall, Wales, and the Welsh border country of England – would make for an even more unexpected alternative to quirky nature name Primrose. Intuitive nicknames Penny or Rosie make it feel more wearable.

The Gwendoline form may introduce pronunciation confusion -- does that last syllable rhyme with wine or win or when? We vote Gwendolen as not only the most proper but the clearest spelling, followed by Gwendolyn, with Gwendoline a distant third.