The name comes directly from the Welsh word meaning, “comely; fair; beautiful.”
The names has had rare but steady usage in Wales, being given to at least 3 babies per year.
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The name is of uncertain meaning, it is possibly a feminine form of the Welsh male name, Lleu (bright, light), or composed of the Welsh element, lleu (bright; light) and cu (dear), or derived from the Welsh lleuad (moon).
It was often synchronized with the name Lucy.
It is the name of a heroine in the 14th-century Welsh poem by Llywelyn Goch ap Meurig Hen, Marwnad Lleucu Llwyd, it is said to have been written for his deceased lover of the same name.
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The name comes directly from the Welsh word for “snowdrop,” a type of flower known as galanthus. The word itself is composed of the Welsh words, eira (snow) & llys (vegetable; herb).
The galanthus flower is known to flower in February.
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The name comes directly from the Welsh word for the linnet or finch bird.
The name came first into use in Wales in the 1880s. It is sometimes listed as a unisex names on other sites, but I have not come across any records of this being used on males in my own research. It was likely a name that came into use when Welsh revivalism became popular in the late 1800s, however, its use could have hypothetically been used in Medieval or pre-Christian Wales, I just cannot locate records indicating such.
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The name comes directly from the Welsh word for bird. It was first recorded as a female given-name in 1900 when Welsh revivalism came to the fore.
It is most notably the name of a large hill in Wales known as Craig yr Aderyn (bird rock) in Snowdownia national park, where birds are known to nest. It is also the name of several Welsh literary works.
An offshoot is Deryn.
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The name is composed of the Anglo-Saxon words cuþ “famous” and beohrt “bright.” It is notably borne by St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, a 7th-century English saint who is revered as the patron saint of Northumbria. Even after the Protestant Reformation, he remained a popular figure in Northern England, the Cathedral of Durham is where he lies entered.
It is the progenitor of the eponymous English surname.
Common short forms are Cuddy & Cuth.
Other forms include:
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The name is composed of the Welsh elements, iôr (lord) and berth (fair; handsome). It is traditionally used as a Welsh form of Edward, though the names are not related.
It is an ancient Welsh name that is found in the Mabinogion and as borne by several Medieval Welsh kings.
A traditional diminutive form, which is also used as an independent given-name, is Iolo (YOH-lo).
Another diminutive form is Iolyn (YOH-lin).
An anglicized form is Yorath.
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The name is composed of the Welsh elements, arian (silver) but in modern Welsh has taken on the meaning of “cash; money; finances; valuables,” and gwen (white, holy) and gwyn (white, holy).
This is recorded as the name of an 5th-century Welsh saint, one of the daughters of St. Brychan.
The name is borne by Australian actress, Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood (b.1987).
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The name is derived from the Welsh word glesni (blueness; verdure).
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The name is composed of the Welsh elements ol “footprint, track” and gwen “white, fair, blessed.”
The name is borne in Welsh mythology by the beautiful daughter of the giant Ysbaddaden. Her story appears in Culhwch and Olwen in the Mabinogion. Olwen’s father is cursed to die if she ever marries, so when Culhwch asks to marry Olwen, Ybaddaden makes Culhwch go through 10 impossible tasks. Culhwch is eventually helped by his cousin King Arthur and succeeds, Ybaddaden dies and Culhwch is able to marry Olwen. According to legend, Olwen was so gentle and sweet that flowers or clovers would grow in her footprints.
The name also appears in an early 20th-century love story, Einion & Olwen, in which Einion must travel to the otherworld to rescue his lady love, Olwen.
The name has been relatively common in the U.K. since the early 20th-century.
Other forms are Olwyn & Olwin.
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