Message: "Welsh female names that end in "wen""

Welsh female names that end in "wen"

by Kate (guest)

7/31/2003, 8:34 PM

Hello! I would like to inquire about Welsh female names that end in "wen". I always thought that the "wen" ending denoted "white", i.e. Bronwen means "white breast", "white rose" is the meaning for Rhoswen. But I've looked up several other Welsh names ending in "wen" and have gotten meanings such as "most beautiful" for Anwen, "blessed/sacred poetry" for Ceridwen, "beautiful raven" for Branwen. Does the "wen" ending have more than one meaning? Could Branwen also mean "white raven" and Ceridwen also mean "beautiful poetry"? Are these names' meanings open to interpretation or are they set by tradition?

Thank you!

#Welsh

Replies

- Sonia (guest)

12/29/2003, 6:30 PM

wen comes from Gwyn which means fair, white, or pure

- E.J. (guest)

8/6/2003, 4:46 AM

Also, Arianwen is a welsh girls name and it means silver, but very few name sites have heard of it, I haven't found one yrt anyway.

- Merriment MacVindobarrus (guest)

8/1/2003, 7:48 AM

White is the oldest meaning, but fair would be a better translation of the modern meaning, as it encompasses both general colouring - fair-haired etc; and beauty - fair of face. Blessed is probably a meaning acquired when Christianity reached Wales sometime around 400AD (maybe earlier - I haven't looked this stuff up recently).

- Satu (guest) +1

7/31/2003, 10:56 PM

Hi Kate,

In my Celtic Baby Names-book, the suffix -(g)wen is always translated with "shining, holy", but I've seen "white" and "beautiful" in other books as well.
I'm no expert but I'd guess that the original meaning was something like "shining, light, white" which was synonymous with "beautiful" and "holy".

Regards, Satu

- Kate (guest)

8/1/2003, 1:49 PM

Thank you all so much for your answers! I always appreciate the informative responses I receive to my queries. :o) Thanks again!

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