This feels like a silly thing to ask, since I am from a Welsh-American family, but I am transgender and changing my name, do you think it would be acceptable for me to use a Welsh name? My family has lost almost everything of our culture and language over the years, and my father and I are trying to get that back, and I wanted to do this both because the name is beautiful and I love it, and also as a âfuck youâ to the forced assimilation. I really hope this isnât an irritating thing for me to ask, I just wanted a second opinion that wasnât from another American before I committed to anything. Iâd hate to make an ass out of myself with something so important.
Hello- sorry for the delay in replying.
There's nothing to say you couldn't adopt a Welsh name if you wanted to- plenty of people have Welsh names without being Welsh (e.g. there are many Megans and Morgans inside and outside Wales). I personally wouldn't have an issue with it.
That being said, there's a few things to keep in mind when it comes to Welsh names (and Celtic names in general).
Welsh names (and other Celtic names) are often misspelled for aesthetic reasons and this often rankles (especially amongst Welsh speakers). E.g. if someone took the name Angharad and spelled it Anjarad, that'd probably rub people the wrong way (especially since the letter J isn't technically a Welsh letter- but it is used in loan words).
Another thing to look out for is gendered names. Some names in Welsh are non-gender specific- I know plenty of Morgans who are boys and plenty who are girls. But other Welsh names are used exclusively by one gender. E.g. Cerys is a feminine name, while Bleddyn is a masculine name. You could theoretically use a masculine name while being on the feminine side of the gender spectrum, or a feminine name while being on the masculine side of the spectrum (or if you're on neither end of the spectrum, either)- however, you may get misgendered more often due to how gendered the names are. This is true of Welsh but its true of English and other languages as well.
Thats about all I can think of right now, so good luck- I hope this has helped in some way!
