Category Archives: news

Maredudd


History of the Name Maredudd

The Maredudd name is the masculine form of the Welsh name and surname, Meredith. This interesting yet rare name was often used by high authorities in Wales, mostly princes and kings.
Some of the famous figures possessing this name included Maredudd ab Owain (king of Wales in the 10th century), Maredudd ap Gruffydd (prince in Southwest Wales), Maredudd ap Bleddyn (king of eastern Wales) and many more.

What was the meaning of this unique name?

Because Maredudd is a derivative of Meredith, the meaning of Maredudd is generally determined to be “great chief.” Other possible meanings, for the male derivative of Meredith, include “great lord” or even “sea lord.”

Popularity

The popularity of Maredudd was at its peak from the 11th century up into 13th century Wales. This was roughly in the days of the time period where the language, Middle Welsh, was prevalent, which were the years between 1150-1300s. In the present day, Maredudd is a quite a rare name.

Variations of the Name

Maredud, with one ending ‘d’ instead of two, was a common alternate spelling of the name. Much earlier variants of this name include “Mredydd” and “Meredydd.”

Useful Resources

Mindful Revision GIF

Llywelyn

The Boy’s Name Llywelyn

Once you find that you are expecting a baby there are many decisions to make. One of the biggest is what to name your baby. Baby names are very difficult to decide upon. If you live in Wales or are of Welsh origin you might want a Welsh name. There are many Welsh names from history that you may choose from.

Origin of the Name Llywelyn

The Llywelyn name is of Welsh origin, and evolved from the British name Lugubelinos. There are various spellings of the name Llywelyn, but this version was made popular by Llywelyn The Great(Llywelyn Ap Iorwerth). Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (Llywelyn the Last) is also a famous historical figure.

Meaning and Popularity of the Name

The meaning of Llywelyn is “Like A Lion”. It could also have been derived from the Welsh name Lleu meaning “shining one.” The popularity of Llywelyn isn’t high. It wasn’t in on the list of top one hundred names in Wales in 2013. The name Lewis is also closely associated with the name Llwelyn. This is possibly because the name Llywelyn can be hard to pronounce for non Welsh speakers.

Useful Resources

  • See other Welsh boy’s names just like Llywelyn on our website.

Trefor

Meaning of Trefor

The Trefor name has a Welsh origin that has a couple of different meanings. The meaning of Trefor is “large village,” or “goodly town.” The popularity of Trefor is not nearly as popular as it once was.

A common nickname for Trefor is Tref.

Popularity

The name Trefor did not even rank in the top one thousand on the list of the most popular baby names and did not make the top 100 baby boys names in Wales in 2013. It is possible that if a parent were to name their child Trefor that it could make a comeback.

How to Pronounce Trefor

Trefor is pronounced as “T-re-for.” If you are saying the name Trefor, it sounds similar to the American name Trevor. Parents could use the name Trefor as a more unique spelling for Trevor.

Famous People with the Welsh Name

Several famous people have had the name Trefor. Trefor Davies, the English cricket player, Trefor Evans, a Welsh rugby player, and Trefor Proud a famous make-up artist. Parents can use the name Trefor to incorporate an old world name into a newer world social scene. Using the name Trefor is a great way to ensure that your child has a very unique name that no one else will have.

Useful Resources

Arthur

Arthur – Meaning and Origins

The meaning of Arthur is unknown. Though some speculate that it derives from two Celtic words, artos(bear) and viros(man). Many are split on where the name Arthur is originally from. Some say it is Celtic while others say it is Roman.

Popularity

Arthur’s popularity began in England during the Middle Ages. But since then popularity of the name has died down drastically. The name failed to be in the top 100 boys name in Wales in 2012. The name Arthur is very popular in Belgium and France as it made the top 10 for boy names in both countries.

Famous people with the name Arthur include

King Arthur: A British king in the Arthurian legend who during the Middle Ages helped defend off invading Saxons.

  • Arthur Miller: A famous American Playwright who wrote “Death of a Salesman”.
  • Arthur Conan Doyle: A famous Scottish author who is best knows for writing Sherlock Holmes stories.
  • Arthur I, Duke of Brittany: Nephew of King John of England and his rival to the throne.

Useful Resources

  • See other Welsh and Celtic boys’ name just like Arthur here
  • Discover the most popular names in Wales at the moment

Darren

Meaning and Origin of Darren

The name Darren did not gain in popularity until the 20th century when the American television show “Bewitched” began to show. Once the show became popular so did the name Darren.

Darren actually means ‘great’ in the Gaelic language. The meaning of Darren says it all. Great. For those that wish their sons to have good strong names, you can’t beat the name Darren.

Popularity

Darren’s popularity as a name remains strong though out the world. Many people feel that the name says it all when they decide to give it to their son. If you look at census charts through out the world Darren’s popularity has remained on a steady rise. It wasn’t until approximately 10 years ago that the popularity of the name hasn’t changed as much.

Possible Name Combinations

Some good combinations when thinking of using Darren as the first name are; Darren Michael, Darren Thomas, Darren Lee, Darren Jacob Alan (that’s right be different and go with three names), how about Darren Philip. Because of the character of the strength Darren, it makes one of the best first names around today.

Useful Resources

Checkout our comprehensive list of Welsh boys’ names

Ceri

Meaning and Origin of the Name Ceri

Ceri is a unisex name which is used more commonalty as a boy’s name. The meaning of Ceri has its origin from the Welsh word, ‘caru’ that meaning “to love”.

Popularity

The name  was not among the 100 most popular baby boys’ names in 2012.

History of the Name Ceri

Ceri (or in English spelt Kerry) is the name of a place in the county of Powys  in Wales. There is also a St. Michael’s Church of Kerry located in the diocese of St. Asaph, which is located in North East Wales.

Famous People with the Name

Some well-known people (especially sports people) have the name Ceri and include:

  • Ceri Jones: A former Harlequin rugby player who is now a Scrum coach at Worcester Warriors, where he also formerly played. 
  • Ceri Sweeney: A union footballer for the Exeter Chiefs and Wales.
  • Ceri Morgan: A retired darts player who reached the world semi-finals in 1982.
  • Ceri Thomas: A British Journalist and media executive. He was appointed as Acting Deputy Director of News in 2012.

Useful Resources

Bleddyn

Meaning of the Boy’s Name Bleddyn

The name Bleddyn means wolf. It is a Welsh boy’s name as well as the name of an 11th-centruy king of medieval Wales. Imagine naming your child after a king whose legacy deemed him to be an endearing and kindhearted king. The meaning of Bleddyn is a wolf’s cub it is pronounced Bleth-in. It is a name that is growing in popularity. There are also several other interpretations surrounding the name Bleddyn, for example, it can mean son of little wolf, strong wolf, or wolf-hero. It was the name of a beloved Welsh king, who left behind an amazing legacy.
When naming your baby boy Bleddyn is considered a fantastic person, who is also young at heart, energetic, gifted, scholarly, clever, and expressive individual. A person named Bleddyn is considered a giving soul, just like the king. Bleddyn is loved by all and cherished by everyone who comes into contact with him.

Famous People with the Name Bleddyn

There are several beloved Welsh rugby players who bore the name Bleddyn, to name a couple Bleddyn Bowen, Bleddyn Taylor, and Bleddyn Williams. A person who has this name is creative, they enjoy spending time in the public eye such as the rugby players and a much-loved king.

Useful Resources

Rhydian

Origin of the name Rhydian

The Rhydian name has Welsh origins. The alternate spelling of this name is Rhidian. The name in English means “red”. The adjective of the male name Rhydian is “crimson”. The synonym of the male names Rhydian and Rhidian is “coch”.

There is a place in the Gower near Swansea called Llanrhidian which bears the name of the Saint Rhidian.

Meaning of the name Rhydian

Possible meanings of the name include:

In Welsh “Rhyd” means from or of the ford. A ford is a great place to cross a river or stream. It is where the water is shallow enough to safely wade across.

Therefore, Rhydian means, red, crimson, expert of the ford in the English language. Rhydian also means resembling “coch” or red. The Welsh names Rhydian, Rhyd and Rhidian are originally for naming a male. The word “red” signifies passion, beauty, anger, fire and sacrifice.

Other meanings for the Rhydian meaning is one that has passion, one who sacrifices, and man that is handsome. These are the English meanings of the name Rhydian, which has Welsh beginnings and meaning.

Popularity

Rhydian was not currently in the 100 most popular baby boys names in Wales according to data released by the UK government in 2017.

Famous People with the name Rhydian

The Welsh singer Rhydian Roberts
The Welsh singer Rhydian Roberts
  • Rhydian Roberts is a Welsh speaking baritone singer and presenter. He shot to fame after featuring on the television programme the X Factor in 2007. He recorded a studio album called ‘Rhydian’ and became the best selling male solo artist in 2012.
  • Rhydian Vaughan an actor from LLanidloes in mid-Wales.

 

 

 

 

Useful Resources

Huw

Huw Baby Name

Huw is a popular male name especially in Wales. Discover the meaning, origin and popularity of this name.

The some reports indicate that the name Huw is German by origin, there is also another train of thought that suggests that Huw is related to the name Hywel.

Pronunciation

Huw pronunciation is “HEW”, so it is said much like the related names of Hugh and Hue, only with a different spelling. The meaning of Huw is said to be soul, so when someone names their child Huw it can be said they are giving them their soul.

History of the Name

Although the name Huw is German, it is most commonly used in Wales and found throughout the rest of the UK, although the spelling might be different in different areas of the United Kingdom.

Popularity

Huw was not in the top 100 baby names in Wales in 2012.

Famous People Called Huw

There are a small number of famous individuals throughout the history of Wales who have had the name Huw . One individual, Huw Stephens, is a Welsh radio broadcaster on the BBC. Huw Wheldon also served as a BBC broadcaster and eventually an executive in the company, although he has since passed away just over 25 years ago. Third, an other Welsh man, Huw Edwards is a BAFTA award journalist who also works for the BBC, while also producing content in a freelance nature as well.

Summary

For anyone who is looking for a unique and original baby name that is not likely going to be used heavily, Huw is an excellent name that is able to provide a desirable and classy name.

Useful Resources

  • Our comprehensive list of Welsh Boy’s names
  • Expecting a baby and looking for  Great Offers on baby products?

Emyr

Emyr is a charming Welsh boy’s name and is composed of 2 syllables Em-yr and best of all it’s fairly easy for the non-Welsh speaker to pronounce.

Meaning of Emyr

Emyr is a variant of the name Ynyr and it means ‘emperor’ or ‘king’ in Welsh.

Popularity

In the ONS study of baby boys’ names in 2017, Emyr was not in the 100 most popular Welsh names.

Famous People

Here is our list of famous people from Wales with the first name Emyr:

The footballer Emyr Huws
The footballer Emyr Huws

Although the Emyr name is not all that popular, their some men who have made the best out their name.

Welsh Author, poet, and novelist Emyr Humphreys published over twenty novels and was awarded many times for his work. Humphreys also become a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature during his years of writing.

Another familiar name is Emyr Lewis an international Rugby player who obtained forty-one caps between the years of nineteen ninety-one and nineteen ninety-six.

Sir Emyr Jones Perry retired a British Diplomat and is a former British Permanent Representative to the United Nations and NATO.

Emyr Hughes is a Welsh footballer who commenced his career with Swansea City before moving on to Manchester City and Wigan.

Useful Resources