Celtic names
I've invested in a book of Celtic first names, looking for new favourites :-) Here are some interesting ones that do not appear on BtN.
Girls
Aela (pr'd AY-la) - A Breton name, fem. form of Ael, a minor saint's name.
Aleine (pr’d a-LAYNE) – a form of Elaine etc., borne in legend by Sir Gawain’s niece, who was in love with Sir Perceval
Aneira (pr’d a-NYE-ra) – feminine form of Aneirin
Brannagh (pr'd BRAN-a) - fem. form of Bran, "raven"
Blayne - Anglicised from a Gaelic name meaning "white".
Brynna (pr’d BRINN-a) – feminine form of Bryn)
Derryth (pr’d DEH-rith) – derived from derwydd, “druid”
Éire (pr'd AY-ruh, AIR-uh) - Irish goddess from whose name "Ireland" is derived
Crystabell (pr’d KRISS-ta-bell) - heroine of a medieval legend … Also found it here: http://www.celticgrounds.com/chapters/encyclopedia/c.html
Fianna (pr’d fee-AN-a) – the name of a band of 3rd-C Irish warriors, whose last leader was the famous Finn MacCool.
Maiwen (pr’d MYE-win) – combination of Welsh Mai“May”(the month, that is) and wen “pure, blessed”
Morwyn (pr’d MOR-win) – Welsh morwyn “maiden”
Rhianwen (pr’d ree-AN-win) – combination of rhiain “maiden” and wen “pure”
Seirian (pr’d SYE-ree-an) – from Welsh serennu “sparkle”
The book gives good unusual choices, but the etymology it gives is a bit vague. I'm going to do more research on the ones I like, but so far those I've checked have been accurate.
I definitely see Aela, Aneira, Brannagh, Blayne, Derryth, Éire, Crystabell, Rhianwen and Seirian becoming new additions to my faves list :-)
Girls
Aela (pr'd AY-la) - A Breton name, fem. form of Ael, a minor saint's name.
Aleine (pr’d a-LAYNE) – a form of Elaine etc., borne in legend by Sir Gawain’s niece, who was in love with Sir Perceval
Aneira (pr’d a-NYE-ra) – feminine form of Aneirin
Brannagh (pr'd BRAN-a) - fem. form of Bran, "raven"
Blayne - Anglicised from a Gaelic name meaning "white".
Brynna (pr’d BRINN-a) – feminine form of Bryn)
Derryth (pr’d DEH-rith) – derived from derwydd, “druid”
Éire (pr'd AY-ruh, AIR-uh) - Irish goddess from whose name "Ireland" is derived
Crystabell (pr’d KRISS-ta-bell) - heroine of a medieval legend … Also found it here: http://www.celticgrounds.com/chapters/encyclopedia/c.html
Fianna (pr’d fee-AN-a) – the name of a band of 3rd-C Irish warriors, whose last leader was the famous Finn MacCool.
Maiwen (pr’d MYE-win) – combination of Welsh Mai“May”(the month, that is) and wen “pure, blessed”
Morwyn (pr’d MOR-win) – Welsh morwyn “maiden”
Rhianwen (pr’d ree-AN-win) – combination of rhiain “maiden” and wen “pure”
Seirian (pr’d SYE-ree-an) – from Welsh serennu “sparkle”
The book gives good unusual choices, but the etymology it gives is a bit vague. I'm going to do more research on the ones I like, but so far those I've checked have been accurate.
I definitely see Aela, Aneira, Brannagh, Blayne, Derryth, Éire, Crystabell, Rhianwen and Seirian becoming new additions to my faves list :-)
This message was edited 1/20/2005, 8:27 AM
Replies
Yes, Go the Celtic names!
Girls
Aela - Ayla would be easier to read and pronounce. ive got ale-a as pronounciation.
Brannagh - i'd expect a guy.
Blayne - too much like male Blaine.
Brynna - i like this one, but it's becoming too popular.
Fianna - a bit different to Fiona, including meaning.
Rhianwen - seen this one before and like it. Bit different to the usual Rhiannon, Branwen, Bronwen's.
Seirian - i think i like it.
I really like:
Caoilfhinn (aka Kaylin or Keelin) slender and fair. but it really does look messy and no one would pronoun it.
Anchoret - variant of Angharad meaning greatly loved. but again people wouldn't pronounce it an-hor-et, and anchor-et sounds too harsh.
Piaras (m) - rock - Peter. but again people wouldn't pronounce or spell it correctly.
Girls
Aela - Ayla would be easier to read and pronounce. ive got ale-a as pronounciation.
Brannagh - i'd expect a guy.
Blayne - too much like male Blaine.
Brynna - i like this one, but it's becoming too popular.
Fianna - a bit different to Fiona, including meaning.
Rhianwen - seen this one before and like it. Bit different to the usual Rhiannon, Branwen, Bronwen's.
Seirian - i think i like it.
I really like:
Caoilfhinn (aka Kaylin or Keelin) slender and fair. but it really does look messy and no one would pronoun it.
Anchoret - variant of Angharad meaning greatly loved. but again people wouldn't pronounce it an-hor-et, and anchor-et sounds too harsh.
Piaras (m) - rock - Peter. but again people wouldn't pronounce or spell it correctly.
I like Blayne:)
I love Celtic names and saw a few new ones here that are great...
Girls
Aela - This is gorgeous. Very similar to Isla, my favorite girl's name.
Aneira - I like the sound of it better than the look of it, if that makes sense. But right off it looks made up.
Brannagh - A little too surname-y and masculine for my tastes, but I love the sound of it.
Brynna - I've always liked this one, but prefer Brenna. Now seems a bit too trendy for me though.
Derryth - Never heard this one, a little too masculine for me but intriguing nonetheless.
Éire - I LOVE this. I've never seen that pronunciation, but I love it.
Fianna - Never seen this one before either, but it's cute. :)
Maiwen - Nice
Morwyn - Ok but it reminds me too much of the word "morbid"
Seirian - Another new one, I like this too.
Girls
Aela - This is gorgeous. Very similar to Isla, my favorite girl's name.
Aneira - I like the sound of it better than the look of it, if that makes sense. But right off it looks made up.
Brannagh - A little too surname-y and masculine for my tastes, but I love the sound of it.
Brynna - I've always liked this one, but prefer Brenna. Now seems a bit too trendy for me though.
Derryth - Never heard this one, a little too masculine for me but intriguing nonetheless.
Éire - I LOVE this. I've never seen that pronunciation, but I love it.
Fianna - Never seen this one before either, but it's cute. :)
Maiwen - Nice
Morwyn - Ok but it reminds me too much of the word "morbid"
Seirian - Another new one, I like this too.
Aela~ Too close to Ayla, the scary-perfect main character of Jean Auel's books. No thanks.
Aleine~ It looks pretty, but it'll be a pain to spell--and I would pronunce it ah-LEEN or ah-LEN before a-LAYN.
Aneira~ It sounds pretty, but it looks like the word "aneurysm" to me.
Brannagh~ It doesn't seem feminine at all to me, but that's because I can only think of Kenneth Brannagh as Iago when I hear it--not a great image.
Blayne~ Since I've always considered the similar Blaine a boy's name (an icky surnamey soap opera wannabe boy's name, but a boy's name), I really can't see it on a girl.
Brynna~ I like it a lot more than Bryn on a girl, I'll say that. :) Bryn's a cool boy's name, and this is really pretty.
Derryth~ Not especially impressed with it--it doesn't contain any especially pleasing sounds to my ear.
Éire~ Too place namey for me, but I think it's pretty pronunced AIR-ah.
Crystabell~ I like Christabel a LOT more--she wouldn't have nearly as many problems with people misspelling her name. This reminds me of Crysta, the main character in Fern Gulley, though, which is cool. Best on a character, I think.
Fianna~ I like it. Pretty, nice sound. If it didn't sound to me like a heroine from a bad fantasy novel, I'd put it on my To Think About list.
Maiwen~ I like the meaning a lot! That said, it doesn't really flow when I say it--and it sounds kind of like a little kid saying Myron.
Morwyn~ Doesn't sound at all pretty to me, but I see nothing particularly bad about it.
Rhianwen~ It's all right. Not my style, but it shouldn't cause too much trouble. People might mistake it for Rhiannon, though.
Seirian~ Pretty meaning, if a bit fluffy. :) I don't like how it sounds, but I like how it looks a LOT.
Array
Aleine~ It looks pretty, but it'll be a pain to spell--and I would pronunce it ah-LEEN or ah-LEN before a-LAYN.
Aneira~ It sounds pretty, but it looks like the word "aneurysm" to me.
Brannagh~ It doesn't seem feminine at all to me, but that's because I can only think of Kenneth Brannagh as Iago when I hear it--not a great image.
Blayne~ Since I've always considered the similar Blaine a boy's name (an icky surnamey soap opera wannabe boy's name, but a boy's name), I really can't see it on a girl.
Brynna~ I like it a lot more than Bryn on a girl, I'll say that. :) Bryn's a cool boy's name, and this is really pretty.
Derryth~ Not especially impressed with it--it doesn't contain any especially pleasing sounds to my ear.
Éire~ Too place namey for me, but I think it's pretty pronunced AIR-ah.
Crystabell~ I like Christabel a LOT more--she wouldn't have nearly as many problems with people misspelling her name. This reminds me of Crysta, the main character in Fern Gulley, though, which is cool. Best on a character, I think.
Fianna~ I like it. Pretty, nice sound. If it didn't sound to me like a heroine from a bad fantasy novel, I'd put it on my To Think About list.
Maiwen~ I like the meaning a lot! That said, it doesn't really flow when I say it--and it sounds kind of like a little kid saying Myron.
Morwyn~ Doesn't sound at all pretty to me, but I see nothing particularly bad about it.
Rhianwen~ It's all right. Not my style, but it shouldn't cause too much trouble. People might mistake it for Rhiannon, though.
Seirian~ Pretty meaning, if a bit fluffy. :) I don't like how it sounds, but I like how it looks a LOT.
Array
I like:
Aleine - prefer Elaine though
Éire
Crystabell - prefer Kristabella or Christabella
Fianna - prefer Fiamma
Rhianwen - I used to know somone with this name when I lived in Wales, I like Rhiannon also
alice x
Aleine - prefer Elaine though
Éire
Crystabell - prefer Kristabella or Christabella
Fianna - prefer Fiamma
Rhianwen - I used to know somone with this name when I lived in Wales, I like Rhiannon also
alice x
I like:
Aela
Aleine
Brannagh
Brynna
Éire
Maiwen
Rhianwen
Seirian
Aela
Aleine
Brannagh
Brynna
Éire
Maiwen
Rhianwen
Seirian