Welsh Baby Names
Names of Welsh origin. Welsh gave English some of its oldest legendary names — Arthur's court is full of them — and keeps producing new ones American parents pick up.
| Save name | Name & meaning | History 1926–2025, yearly counts; individually scaled | Babies 2025 · rank | 5-year rank movement | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pearl, through Margaret | 301#889 | Down 249 rank positions in five years | 1990 | ||
Toward the tide | 6,208#41 | Up 1 rank positions in five years | 2001 | ||
God is gracious | 2,412#153 | Down 48 rank positions in five years | 2007 | ||
Possibly country; alternatively a Welsh form of Claudia | 49#3,224 | Down 931 rank positions in five years | 1920 | ||
Famous friend (Old English); Welsh Merfyn meaning uncertain | 385#699 | Down 92 rank positions in five years | 1928 | ||
Welsh form of Owain; also Irish Eoghan | 7,190#31 | Down 9 rank positions in five years | 2016 | ||
Probably a blend of Rhoda and Linda; possibly influenced by Rhondda | 19#6,276 | Up 2,565 rank positions in five years | 1965 | ||
Big village | 400#680 | Down 273 rank positions in five years | 1998 | ||
God is gracious, through John | 2,240#163 | Down 10 rank positions in five years | 2004 | ||
Possibly white ring, through Gwendolen | 848#360 | Up 18 rank positions in five years | 1953 | ||
Possibly holy, fair and good; alternatively connected with valley | 20#5,986 | Down 775 rank positions in five years | 1950 | ||
English K-name shortening; also Arthurian Cai and northern European Kai | 37#3,945 | Down 368 rank positions in five years | 1942 | ||
Pearl, through Megan | 102#1,906 | Down 1,026 rank positions in five years | 1985 | ||
Possibly great lord | 656#469 | Up 116 rank positions in five years | 1980 | ||
My God is Yahweh; kind or benevolent in its Welsh tradition | 1,417#243 | Up 83 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Possibly blessed with an uncertain second element | 284#923 | Up 181 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Image or likeness; lake in the Lynn family | 66#2,633 | Down 336 rank positions in five years | 1965 | ||
Possibly beloved; the origin is uncertain | 209#1,051 | Down 82 rank positions in five years | 1982 | ||
Short form of Oliver, Olivia, or Olive | 80#2,294 | Down 319 rank positions in five years | 1919 | ||
Pearl | —Unranked | — | 1990 | ||
Hill or mound | 767#407 | Down 74 rank positions in five years | 2011 | ||
Beautiful in Yiddish; English origin uncertain | 25#5,212 | Down 582 rank positions in five years | 1984 | ||
Darling in Welsh; descendant of Tadhgán in the Irish surname | 894#341 | Down 149 rank positions in five years | 2016 | ||
Short form of Oliver, Olivia, or Olive | 207#1,058 | Up 99 rank positions in five years | 1919 | ||
Toward the tide | 338#808 | Down 311 rank positions in five years | 2017 | ||
Welsh legendary name; meaning disputed | 210#1,119 | Up 38 rank positions in five years | 1999 | ||
Variant of Lynette; Arthurian name family | 17#6,719 | Up 375 rank positions in five years | 1964 | ||
Possibly ardour or enthusiasm | 778#412 | Up 7 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Pearl | —Unranked | — | 1986 | ||
Variant of Mervyn; deeper meaning uncertain | 58#2,377 | Down 37 rank positions in five years | 1920 | ||
Possibly old man, through Gareth | 8#9,179 | Down 4,426 rank positions in five years | 1954 | ||
Spirit, life; purity | 30#4,585 | Down 5 rank positions in five years | 1920 | ||
Hill, mound | 94#2,021 | Down 258 rank positions in five years | 2011 | ||
My God is Yahweh; kind or benevolent in its Welsh tradition | 415#682 | Down 64 rank positions in five years | 2021 | ||
Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition | 80#2,297 | Down 1,062 rank positions in five years | 2011 | ||
Possibly white; fair, through Gwyneth | 114#1,771 | Down 329 rank positions in five years | 2013 | ||
Darling in Welsh; descendant of Tadhgán in the Irish surname | 104#1,631 | Down 285 rank positions in five years | 2009 | ||
Joy + peace, through Winifred | 70#2,540 | Up 550 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition | 391#694 | Up 134 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
God is gracious | 50#3,176 | Down 1,067 rank positions in five years | 1991 | ||
White phantom | 295#899 | Up 112 rank positions in five years | 2022 | ||
Possibly old man | 46#2,775 | Down 106 rank positions in five years | 2016 | ||
Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition | 6#14,211 | Down 6,424 rank positions in five years | 1970 | ||
Possibly great lord | —Unranked | — | 1920 | ||
English K-name shortening; also Arthurian Cai and northern European Kai | 10#7,947 | Down 147 rank positions in five years | 1934 | ||
Good + sight, through Hywel | 12#6,943 | Down 857 rank positions in five years | 1920 | ||
Possibly pearl, through Megan | —Unranked | — | 1979 | ||
White-breasted, through Bronwen | 37#3,915 | Down 458 rank positions in five years | 1964 | ||
Variant of Llewelyn | 16#5,747 | Up 746 rank positions in five years | 1916 | ||
Literal meaning not recorded; Welsh origin | —Unranked | — | 1985 |
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Sources & methodology
Meaning summaries use Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) and referenced name histories. Each name’s detail page includes its sources.
Names are included when their documented origin matches Welsh. The list shows up to 100 names for each sex, ordered by current popularity. Origin records are derived from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); coverage reflects documented records, not every name in the language. Rankings and counts come from official SSA birth records. “—” means fewer than five published applications for that sex and year.