Welsh Name Generator
Welsh given names and ap patronymics built from real Welsh elements, each fragment given with its actual meaning.
2,059,200 combinations in this form
- Melfad Ap Cynfach
Mel honey + fad lucky
honey lucky
Ap Cyn son of chief + fach small
son of chief, the small
- Ffionddu Ab Aurgoch
Ffion foxglove + ddu black
foxglove black
Ab Aur son of gold + goch red
son of gold, the red
- Gwaunsych Ap Brangain
Gwaun moorland + sych dry
moorland dry
Ap Bran son of raven + gain fine
son of raven, the fine
- Tirbont Ap Gwynfad
Tir land + bont bridge
land bridge
Ap Gwyn son of blessing + fad lucky
son of blessing, the lucky
- Tesnigu Ap Nefbren
Tesni sun's warmth + gu dear
sun's warmth dear
Ap Nef son of heaven + bren king
son of heaven, the king
- Llanbont Ap Haffad
Llan church enclosure + bont bridge
church enclosure bridge
Ap Haf son of summer + fad lucky
son of summer, the lucky
- Haffyw Ap Tegfach
Haf summer + fyw alive
summer alive
Ap Teg son of fairness + fach small
son of fairness, the small
- Bronfro Ferch Cadfelyn
Bron hillside + fro vale
hillside vale
Ferch Cad daughter of battle + felyn yellow
daughter of battle, the yellow
- Eglwysfelin Ap Taldeg
Eglwys church + felin watermill
church watermill
Ap Tal son of brow + deg comely
son of brow, the comely
- Onnfach Ap Nefwr
Onn ash + fach small
ash small
Ap Nef son of heaven + wr man
son of heaven, the man
- Eiragarth Ab Arthwalch
Eira snow + garth ridge
snow ridge
Ab Arth son of bear + walch falcon
son of bear, the falcon
- Caesych Ferch Rhiyn
Cae field + sych dry
field dry
Ferch Rhi daughter of ruler + yn younger
daughter of ruler, the younger
- Nantfyr Ap Blaiddfach
Nant brook + fyr short
brook short
Ap Blaidd son of wolf + fach small
son of wolf, the small
- Gwawrgariad Ap Henddu
Gwawr dawn + gariad beloved
dawn beloved
Ap Hen son of elder + ddu black
son of elder, the black
- Sarngaer Ab Aurfach
Sarn causeway + gaer stronghold
causeway stronghold
Ab Aur son of gold + fach small
son of gold, the small
- Blaiddfyr Ap Brandeg
Blaidd wolf + fyr short
wolf short
Ap Bran son of raven + deg comely
son of raven, the comely
- Tegdawel Ferch Cadgoch
Teg comely + dawel quiet
comely quiet
Ferch Cad daughter of battle + goch red
daughter of battle, the red
- Sarnwen Ferch Morfelyn
Sarn causeway + wen white
causeway white
Ferch Mor daughter of sea + felyn yellow
daughter of sea, the yellow
- Caewalch Ferch Rhiddu
Cae field + walch falcon
field falcon
Ferch Rhi daughter of ruler + ddu black
daughter of ruler, the black
- Ynysserch Ap Tarwhir
Ynys island + serch affection
island affection
Ap Tarw son of bull + hir tall
son of bull, the tall
- Ystradfyr Ap Cardeg
Ystrad valley floor + fyr short
valley floor short
Ap Car son of love + deg comely
son of love, the comely
- Glynborth Ap Llewwyn
Glyn valley + borth harbour
valley harbour
Ap Llew son of lion + wyn white
son of lion, the white
- Tesnigu Ap Moriesin
Tesni sun's warmth + gu dear
sun's warmth dear
Ap Mor son of sea + iesin radiant
son of sea, the radiant
- Twynfach Ap Madgain
Twyn hillock + fach small
hillock small
Ap Mad son of fortune + gain fine
son of fortune, the fine
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. Blodyn flower plus gwen 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 Bronwen and Eurwyn 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.
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 and Eurwen, Bronwen and Bronwyn are the same names in different genders. In compounds the feminine 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.