Heledd Owen is a drummer in the Welsh post-punk band Adwaith.
― Anonymous User 5/15/2024
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I love the name Heledd so much! It is Welsh (and I love the Welsh language and have been learning it for a few years), is the name of Heledd, princess of Powys who was already mentioned by other commenters, whose character I like a lot, I like that this name has such a long tradition. It sounds so sweet and, moreover, sounds very similar to Helen, which is a long-standing favourite of mine. I love the idea of nicknaming it to Heli like another commenter mentioned.
According to the story of Heledd, a princess of Powys, she was very despondent after the defeat and death of her father and brothers in battle against the Mercians in the mid-8th. Century. So she chose to call herself "Heledd" (the pit of salt) to express her grief and hopelessness. This also comes out in the beautiful poems that make up the "Y Canu Heledd" (The Song of Heledd) that she is said to have written and which comprise one of the earliest extant folios of Welsh poetry.But a word of caution; some of my Welsh-speaking friends doubt the "pit of salt" story and simply believe that it is a name from ancient Welsh whose meaning is utterly lost. But it's a great name (pronounced "Heleth") and is still used in the Welsh-speaking communities here in Wales.Anyway, the poems are genuine; whoever wrote them.
Heledd has been linked to 'hallt', Welsh for salt or salty, but this is pure conjecture. That said, it's a beautiful name, assosciated with the exiled (and rather angsty!) heroine of the 7th century poem "Canu Heledd" (Song of Heledd).