I've invested in a book of Celtic first names, looking for new favourites :-) Here are some interesting ones that do not appear on BtN.
Girls
Aela (pr'd AY-la) - A Breton name, fem. form of Ael, a minor saint's name.
Aleine (pr’d a-LAYNE) – a form of
Elaine etc., borne in legend by Sir Gawain’s niece, who was in love with Sir
Perceval
Aneira (pr’d a-NYE-ra) – feminine form of
Aneirin
Brannagh (pr'd BRAN-a) - fem. form of
Bran, "raven"
Blayne - Anglicised from a Gaelic name meaning "white".
Brynna (pr’d BRINN-a) – feminine form of
Bryn)
Derryth (pr’d DEH-rith) – derived from derwydd, “druid”
Éire (pr'd AY-ruh, AIR-uh) - Irish goddess from whose name "
Ireland" is derived
Crystabell (pr’d KRISS-ta-bell) - heroine of a medieval legend … Also found it here:
http://www.celticgrounds.com/chapters/encyclopedia/c.html
Fianna (pr’d fee-AN-a) – the name of a band of 3rd-C Irish warriors, whose last leader was the famous
Finn MacCool.
Maiwen (pr’d MYE-win) – combination of Welsh Mai“May”(the month, that is) and wen “pure, blessed”
Morwyn (pr’d MOR-win) – Welsh morwyn “maiden”
Rhianwen (pr’d ree-AN-win) – combination of rhiain “maiden” and wen “pure”
Seirian (pr’d SYE-ree-an) – from Welsh serennu “sparkle”
The book gives good unusual choices, but the etymology it gives is a bit vague. I'm going to do more research on the ones I like, but so far those I've checked have been accurate.
I definitely see Aela, Aneira, Brannagh, Blayne, Derryth, Éire, Crystabell, Rhianwen and Seirian becoming new additions to my faves list :-)
This message was edited 1/20/2005, 8:27 AM