Welsh Name Generator
Welsh given names and ap patronymics built from real Welsh elements, each fragment given with its actual meaning.
2,931,150 combinations
Male, female and neutral welsh names, each with a matching welsh last name and the meaning of every element shown.
- Melfad ap Carfach
Mel honey + fad lucky
ap Car son of love + fach small
son of love, the small
- Ffionddu ferch Talgoch
Ffion foxglove + ddu black
ferch Tal daughter of brow + goch red
daughter of brow, the red
- Gwaunsych Price
Gwaun moorland + sych dry
Price descended from Rhys
- Madiesin ap Morfelyn
Mad fortunate + iesin radiant
ap Mor son of sea + felyn yellow
son of sea, the yellow
- Tonfyw ferch Haffelyn
Ton wave + fyw alive
ferch Haf daughter of summer + felyn yellow
daughter of summer, the yellow
- Ynysgul Pugh
Ynys island + gul narrow
Pugh descended from Huw
- Llanfynydd ap Gwynfad
Llan church enclosure + fynydd upland
ap Gwyn son of blessing + fad lucky
son of blessing, the lucky
- Gwenfun ferch Neffach
Gwen white + fun sweetheart
ferch Nef daughter of heaven + fach small
daughter of heaven, the small
- Blaenbell Benyon
Blaen headwater + bell far
Benyon descended from Einion
- Tirdir ab Arthgain
Tir land + dir ground
ab Arth son of bear + gain fine
son of bear, the fine
- Maingaer ferch Arthdeg
Main slender + gaer stronghold
ferch Arth daughter of bear + deg comely
daughter of bear, the comely
- Morfaisel Pugh
Morfa salt marsh + isel low
Pugh descended from Huw
- Nantlwyn ap Cadwyllt
Nant brook + lwyn grove
ap Cad son of battle + wyllt wild
son of battle, the wild
- Ystwythwawr ferch Nefgoch
Ystwyth supple + wawr daybreak
ferch Nef daughter of heaven + goch red
daughter of heaven, the red
- Alltdawel Bevan
Allt wooded slope + dawel quiet
Bevan descended from Ieuan
- Hafdir ap Cynwalch
Haf summer + dir ground
ap Cyn son of chief + walch falcon
son of chief, the falcon
- Tangaer ferch Cynwyn
Tan fire + gaer stronghold
ferch Cyn daughter of chief + wyn white
daughter of chief, the white
- Cefnddu Beddoe
Cefn back ridge + ddu black
Beddoe descended from Bedo
- Tallwyn ab Onngoch
Tal brow + lwyn grove
ab Onn son of ash + goch red
son of ash, the red
- Tegferch ferch Owainfelyn
Teg comely + ferch daughter
ferch Owain daughter of Owain + felyn yellow
daughter of Owain, the yellow
- Brynoer Broderick
Bryn hill + oer cold
Broderick descended from Rhydderch
- Craiggastell ap Hafwr
Craig cliff + gastell castle
ap Haf son of summer + wr man
son of summer, the man
- Gwenwedd ferch Blaiddiesin
Gwen white + wedd form
ferch Blaidd daughter of wolf + iesin radiant
daughter of wolf, the radiant
- Maenlym Broderick
Maen stone + lym sharp
Broderick descended from Rhydderch
Need a name that means something in particular? Build one from its meaning.
How Welsh names are built
¶Welsh names are transparent compounds: the halves are ordinary words and a Welsh speaker still hears them. Cad battle plus gwaladr leader gives Cadwaladr. Tal brow plus iesin radiant gives Taliesin, the radiant brow. Blod flower plus wen gives Blodwen. The commonest element of all is gwyn, meaning white, fair and blessed at once; it takes the feminine form gwen, which is why Gwyn is a man and Gwen a woman, and why Eurwyn and Eurwen are a matched pair.
Until the sixteenth century Wales used a patronymic, not a surname. Ap means son of and becomes ab before a vowel, so Rhys ap Gruffudd is Rhys son of Gruffudd and Owain ab Urien is Owain son of Urien. A woman was ferch, daughter of. When English law pressed fixed surnames on Wales, the particle fused to the father's name: ap Hywel became Powell, ap Rhys became Price and Preece, ab Owain became Bowen, ab Ieuan became Bevan, ap Richard Pritchard, ap Huw Pugh.
Because so few father-names went into that fusion, Wales ended with a very small surname pool and a very large stock of place names to compensate. Llan is a church enclosure and takes a saint after it, as in Llandudno. Aber is a river mouth, cwm a valley, pen a head or summit, tre a homestead, ynys an island. Consonants soften in second position, which is why coch red appears as Goch and du black as Ddu in a byname.
More welsh names
Male welsh names
- Rhosig ap Nefiesin moor little
- Llynfyw ap Rhifael lake alive
- Rhuddfro ap Cynhir red vale
- Goffaen ap Llewlwyd smith boulder
- Caerfyr ap Gofyn fort short
- Madlyn ap Tarwwr fortunate pool
- Cainfelyn ap Maelyn lovely yellow
- Rhydfaen ab Ynyrfelyn ford boulder
- Gofhir ab Ynyrwr smith long
- Hirfelin ap Llewwr tall mill
- Maenfro ap Madgoch stone vale
- Cynborth ap Cainwyn chief harbour
- Llechfyw ap Morbren slate alive
- Brynlyn ab Arthudd hill pool
- Mordir ap Gofhir sea ground
- Glasdref ap Tarwdeg blue-green steading
- Prenudd ap Gwyndeg tree lord
- Sarnig ap Rhibren causeway little
Female welsh names
- Derwenwen ferch Owainfelyn oak blessed
- Delhardd ferch Owaindeg pretty handsome
- Gwenserch ferch Gofyn white affection
- Rhedyngu ferch Ynyrwyllt fern dear
- Awelgarth ferch Arthwyn breeze ridge
- Ystwythlwyd ferch Owainlas supple grey
- Rhedyniesin ferch Cainwr fern radiant
- Heulborth ferch Maelbren sun harbour
- Meldawel ferch Ynyrlas honey quiet
- Nefwedd ferch Gofig heaven form
- Enfysfach ferch Madfael rainbow small
- Tesniserch ferch Tallwyd sun's warmth affection
- Nefgarth ferch Rhilas heaven ridge
- Carheulog ferch Tarwudd love sunny
- Tonfryn ferch Blaiddu wave knoll
- Morfro ferch Morddu sea vale
- Tegnant ferch Goffad comely brook
- Rhianlwyd ferch Onnlwyd damsel grey
Neutral welsh names
- Blaenagored Parry headwater open
- Pwllgrug Prosser pool heather
- Llechlydan Price slate broad
- Mynyddgarw Bethell mountain rough
- Glyngrug Bevan glen heather
- Llynuchel Bowen lake high
- Doluchaf Benyon meadow upper
- Maenlym Prosser stone sharp
- Llechgul Price slate narrow
- Hafodryd Prosser summer farm crossing
- Llwynfaen Bevan grove boulder
- Afonhir Pugh river long
- Sarnaur Benyon causeway golden
- Coedlwyn Powell wood copse
- Cwmbell Bowen valley far
- Bannewydd Price peak new
- Dollym Preece meadow sharp
- Llanwen Pritchard church enclosure white
Questions
What does ap mean in Welsh names?
It means son of. Rhys ap Gruffudd is Rhys, son of Gruffudd. Before a vowel it becomes ab, as in Owain ab Urien, and a daughter takes ferch instead: Angharad ferch Owain. The particle changed every generation, so it named a father rather than a family, exactly as the Norse and Gaelic systems did.
Why do so many Welsh surnames sound the same?
Fixed surnames arrived late and came from a handful of first names in fashion at the time, so Jones, Williams, Davies, Evans, Thomas and Roberts cover a large share of the country. The old ap forms survive underneath them: Powell is ap Hywel, Price is ap Rhys, Bevan is ab Ieuan, Bowen is ab Owain and Parry is ap Harry.
Is Gwyn a boy's or a girl's name?
Gwyn is masculine and Gwen is its feminine form; both come from the same word, meaning white, fair and blessed. Welsh adjectives inflect for gender, so the pattern repeats: Eurwyn is a man's name and Eurwen a woman's. Bronwyn is not the masculine of Bronwen but an anglicised spelling of the same feminine name. In compounds the wen ending is the usual sign that a name belongs to a woman.
How do you pronounce ll and dd in Welsh names?
Ll is a voiceless l: put your tongue in position for l and breathe out around it, which is why Llywelyn defeats English speakers. Dd is the th of this, so Gruffudd ends like the middle of brother. W and y are vowels, so cwm is coom and bryn is brin. Nothing in Welsh spelling is silent.
What are traditional Welsh girls' names?
Gwen, Angharad, Bronwen, Ceridwen, Eira, Ffion, Gwenllian, Heulwen, Nerys, Olwen, Rhiannon and Seren are all in use. Most are still readable words: Eira is snow, Seren is star, Heulwen is sunshine, Ffion is foxglove, Olwen is white footprint. Endings in wen mark the feminine form of the gwyn element.