House Names in Wales
28 House Names in Welsh
House names in Wales, in the Welsh language are part of a very distinctive, cultural and linguistic heritage. The Welsh language is one of the oldest living languages in Europe and many house names together with the names of farms, features in the countryside and other geographical landmarks form part of this rich heritage.
House names in Wales are often related to the original use of the property, for example the Old Mill, the Bakery or the Vicarage when the original use of the property has long changed into a domestic dwelling. They are also often related to the location or a particular geographic feature such as the location of the property, Glan yr Afon (Riverbank), Glan y Mor (Sea side) or Bryn Heulog (Sunny Hill). Lastly, many houses in Wales are named after a description or even an aspiration such as Heddfan (Peaceful place), Hyfrydle (Beautiful place) or Cludfan or Ty Clud (Cosy place or Cosy house).
MOST POPULAR HOUSE NAMES — CARTREF (HOME IN WELSH) AND BWTHYN (COTTAGE IN WELSH)
In a recent survey carried out for FelinFach, the most popular house names in Wales are Cartref and Bwthyn (and its derivatives). Cartref means ‘home’ in Welsh and Bwthyn is Cottage. The name Bwthyn comes with many variations for example; Y Bwthyn (The Cottage), Y Bwthyn Bach (The small cottage), Y Bwthyn Pren (The Wooden Cottage), Y Bwthyn Gwyn (The White Cottage) or Bwthyn Onnen (Ash Cottage), Bwthyn y Bugail (Shepherd’s Cottage) or Bwthyn Derwen (Oak Cottage) — the variations are almost endless!
WELSH ALPHABET
Firstly, a short explanation!!! The Welsh alphabet is different to the English version. In particular, some letters look like two (Ff, Ll, Rh) but they are one letter in Welsh. As an example, if you were completing a crossword with the word Llan, the Ll would go into one box — Llan is three letters in Welsh. (Click here for more on the Welsh Alphabet)
There can also be some debate as to exactly how many letters are in the Welsh alphabet, principally around the ‘borrowing of letters from English, such as J. We have used the 28 letters of the alphabet excluding the latter J!!
These names are a mix of the common, the beautiful and the unusual some may even be cute Welsh house names. There are many, many alternatives but here is our first version of Welsh house names and their meanings, one for each letter in the Welsh alphabet.
Full article, Click here…
ABOUT FELINFACH
Our company, FelinFach Natural Textiles is located in the heart of the Preseli area of Pembrokeshire near to Boncath. We design Welsh blankets, Welsh woollen blankets and throws which are traditionally woven at Welsh mills. We also design and make natural hand dyed yarn, cotton, silk and wool scarves and other handmade products. We are a proud supporter of the Campaign for Wool, Global Welsh and Wales International.
