She’s an intriguing Welsh choice, but how would she wear in the US?
Thanks to Sarah for suggesting Myfanwy as Name of the Day.
Welsh names are undeniably appealing. There’s Carys and Rhys, Bronwen and Caradoc, Dilys and Gwyn. Some of these work well in English.
Myfanwy is more of a challenge. From the Welsh annwyl – dear – she means something like my dearest or my beloved.
To an American eye, the pronunciation is far from obvious. And even when you have a phonetic guide, mi VAN wee or muh VAHN wee doesn’t roll off the tongue.
But if you can get past that hurdle, there’s quite a bit of history to Myfanwy.
Joseph Parry composed a popular song titled Myfanwy back in 1875. It’s still performed today. The choice of name could’ve been Parry’s – he had a childhood sweetheart by the name – but was probably inspired by a fourteenth century poem.
Hywel ap Einion is forgotten to time, save for his love poem. He had a thing for Myfanwy, a well-born young woman living in the Dinas Bran Castle. Hywel tucked his missives into an oak tree. While the story varies, the pair apparently never made a love connection. (He described Myfanwy as fairer thou, and colder too, than new fall’n snow on Aran’s brow.)
Hywel might’ve had his heart broken, but the tale of unrequited love has inspired others over the centuries. The most notable example took place at the 1858 Llangollen Eisteddfod. Poet John Ceiriog Hughes nabbed the festival’s Silver Crown for his work inspired by Hywel – “Myfanwy Fychan.”
It’s hard to imagine poems as blockbusters in our day, but back in 1858, “Myfanwy Fychan” was just that – not only a literary achievement, but a point of national pride, too.
The name has been bestowed occassionally over the years, including:
- Myfanwy Piper, a 20th century opera librettist known for her work on The Turn of the Screw;
- Welsh writer Eluned Morgan was born aboard a ship en route to South America’s Patagonia region. The ship was named Myfanwy;
- Welsh poet Dylan Thomas named the dressmaker in Under Milk Wood Myfanwy;
- Doctor Who’s sci-fi spin-off Torchwood features a pterandon. The sheep-eating flying dino is kept as a pet. The cast nicknamed her Myfanwy – and the writers later adopted the name.
The likely nickname choice for a real life Myfanwy is Miffy. It’s a charming short form, and brings to mind the cute little bunny created by Dick Bruna in the 1950s and now appearing on Noggin.
Of course, the bunny has nothing to do with Myfanwy. Bruna is Dutch. Miffy is an approximation of Nijntje – a babytalk version of the Dutch word for little rabbit.
Overall, Myfanwy is an intriguing Welsh heritage choice. But it is tough to overlook the challenges of spelling and pronouncing Myfanwy. In fact, when the Joseph Parry song is performed, it was once common to swap out Myfanwy for the equally dramatic – but not at all Welsh – Arabella.
My only association with this name is the TV show “Little Britain” which features extremely crude humor. It is a sketch show and there is a recurring character called Myfanwy. She’s a Welsh character (no surprise there) and the name, therefore, seems quintessentially Welsh to me. I’m not sure if anyone else has caught Little Britain (it is sometimes played on BBCAMerica). In any case, that aside, the name sounds OK, but isn’t a favorite. And honestly kind of reminds me of “my fanny” – but with Welsh heritage it could be a cool choice. It is more interesting than the Gwen-based and Wyn/wen-based names.
Myfanwy is very pretty, and she definitely has a sound that’s all her own!
While it doesn’t fit my style of “uncommon but familiar,” I’d applaud the parents who were willing to use it.
You realize now that I’ll have the Miffy song stuck in my head all evening? “Miffy, sweet little bunny/ Miffy, smart little bunny…” Aargh!
I was quite enjoying the thought of a Myfanwy — that is, until I read JNE’s comment about “my fanny” and now the name’s ruined for me! It was a very short-lived dream.
I’m sorry to hear that – it was not my intention… just an opinion from a slightly (or maybe more than that) warped mind.
I think Myfanwy is quite appealing. It has a sweet, delicate sound. While I’d never use it myself, I think it would be an awesome choice on someone else’s child.
Sorry for the bunny theme song, Emmy Jo! If it is any consolation, the song has been lodged in my brain all week. (It was recently replaced when someone sent me a link the the old 3d Base video for “Pop Goes the Weasel.” Don’t you just LOVE YouTube?)
And the “my fanny” thing is an inevitable downside to the name. I had a Great Aunt Fanny – short for Philomena, I think. It’s always sounded sort of sweet and retro to my ear. But no, I wouldn’t do that to my child. Philomena, though … that’s a pretty choice.
“Another bourbon and coke, please, Myfwanwy”
Yeah, I think of Little Britain too. Nice name though. Love the nicknames – Miffy, Myf, Annie if you really felt like fitting in. One of my favourite radio/TV presenters, Myf Warhust, is called Myfwanwy. I’d probably consider it if it wasn’t so culturally innappropriate for me (I don’t have a drop of Welsh blood at all).
Every time I used to see this name on BTN, I would giggle. I couldn’t imagine how it was pronounced, and it looked SO much like “My fanny.” (I knew an American girl named Fanny, actually; she was not given trouble.) It’s grown on me, though. It’s interesting and pretty, and I think I finally have the pronunciation down. I think there’s a BTNer named it. I don’t think I’ll ever like it enough to consider using it, but I’ve reconciled myself to the idea of other people using it, although I don’t think it’ll shoot into popularity any time soon.
So a little story here… My middle name is Myfanwy, and when my classmates found out, one of the boys quipped, “Hey, are you rubbin’ my fanny?” much to the delight of everyone but myself, of course! So if you choose Myfanwy for a middle name, do be sure to give your daughter some other first name besides Robin. (I’m laughing now, but in middle school it really wasn’t very amusing.)
Coming from a Celtic background the name is very appealing to me. I’d suggest a listen to an ’80s song by Myfanwy sung by David Essex. (Its on youtube). To my ears its a beautiful interpretation of an ever so slightly naughty John Betjeman poem of the same name. Paradoxically it conjures up images of something quintessentially English and 1950s Home Counties.
A Welsh single ‘f’ sounds like an English ‘v’ so it doesn’t really sound much like ‘my fanny’. I’ve known someone to be called Van for short.
Marianne Abergavenny.