Myfanwy

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Girl · Welsh

Myfanwy

Say it: muh-VAN-wee

Try it with your surname

Meaning

Uncertain. Usually analysed as my 'my' plus banwy or manwy 'fine, rare', but the etymology is debated.

Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.

Known from a 14th-century Welsh love poem and from Joseph Parry's 19th-century song 'Myfanwy'.

Its wave through time

No birth counts are recorded for this name in the records loaded here: it has been given to fewer than five babies a year, or not at all, since records began.

Through the ages

Used by

Welsh

Names worth a look

GwladysGirlUncertain; derived either from gwlad 'country, land' or as a Welsh form of Latin Claudia.Early Medieval · forgotten

OlwenGirlFrom ôl 'track, footprint' and gwen 'white'; the tale explains it by white trefoils springing up where she trod.Victorian

IsoldeGirlUncertain. Often linked to a Welsh or Germanic root, but scholars disagree.Middle Ages

GwendolenGirlWelsh; the first element is gwen 'white, fair, blessed', the second is uncertain, perhaps dolen 'ring, loop'.Victorian

BronwenGirlFrom bron 'breast' and gwen 'white, fair'.Victorian

EnidGirlUncertain; possibly linked to enaid 'soul, life'.Victorian · peak 1911 · forgotten

MeghanGirlA fashion of the 1980speak 1985

MeaghanGirlA fashion of the 1980speak 1986

Where this comes from

Well-known works of literature

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.