Cornwall: home of fantastic dramatic coastlines, beach holidays, pasties, cream teas and breath-taking scenery. Right at the southern tip of the British mainland, Cornwall has for centuries had its own distinct heritage and culture, and even its own language.
Celtic languages are split into two branches: Goidelic and Brythonic. Irish, Scots and Manx Gaelic are all Goidelic Celtic languages; Welsh, Cornish and Breton are Brythonic languages. Wales and Cornwall not only share a common linguistical heritage, they also share much of their ancient lore, mythology and even names. Welsh Arthurian legends often take place in Dumnonia (the ancient Kingdom which is now Cornwall and Devon) and several early medieval Welsh or Breton saints settled in Cornwall, leaving their names on the Cornish landscape.
The Cornish language was spoken locally up to the 18th century. It gradually began to decline and, though it is now spoken by less than 1% of the population, it still plays an important part of Cornwall's identity. It has been gradually revived since the 1980s and with it came the introduction of several vocabulary and nature words used as names e.g Elowen "elm" and Derowen "oak."
Boys:
Arthek (ARDTH-ek)— An old Cornish name derived from the Celtic arto "bear." It is equivalent to the Welsh Arthwg.
Arthyen (ARTH-yen) — The Cornish form of the Old Welsh name Arthen (Arthien), derived from the Celtic arto "bear" and geno "born."
Austol (OST-əl) — The name of a Breton saint who came to Cornwall. His name is commemorated in the town St Austell. Little is known of his life, despite his parish being one of the largest in Cornwall.
Benesek (ben-EZ-ek) — An old Cornish form of Benedict, derived from the Latin benedictus "blessed."
Branok (BRAN-ək) — Old Cornish name derived from the Celtic brano "raven, crow."
Bryok, Breok, Brioc (bree-OK) — A Welsh saint who is commemorated in St. Breock. His name is a shortened form of Briafael derived from the Celtic brig "mighty" and mael "prince."
Cadan (CAD-ən) — Both an old Cornish and old Welsh name derived from the Celtic cad "battle."
Cador (CAD-or) — An ancient ruler of Cornwall who, according to Arthurian legend, was the guardian of Guinevere.
Carantok (ca-RAN-ok) —A Welsh saint who is commemorated in the village of Crantock. His name derives from the Celtic karant "friend."
Casek (CAZ-ək) — A form of Cadok, itself the Cornish cognate of the Welsh Cadog "battle." St. Cadog the Wise was one of the greatest of the Welsh Saints.
Casworon (caz-WOR-ən) — An old Cornish name, likely from the Celtic cad "battle" and kawaro "hero."
Clemo (KLEM-ō) — The Cornish diminutive of Clement/Clemence.
Clesek (CLEZ-ək) — An old Cornish name derived from the Cornish clos "fame."
Corentyn (ko-REN-tin) — St Corentin was the first bishop of Quimper. The Cornish form is Corentyn, and can be found commemorated in the parish of Cury. The latinised form was Corentinus, whereas Kaourent / Kaourantin is the Breton. There is a popular belief that the name comes from the Breton word for "hurricane." The Welsh word for hurricane is corwynt, and the Cornish is korwez. Daniel Giraudon lists korventenn as one of the Breton words for whirlwind and mentions the prevalent folk beliefs that connected whirlwinds with sorcery and the clergy. According to G.D.German, the Cor element is also found in other early Breton names including Coruueten in 867 and Coriou in 1084. Ultimately this may derive from the Proto-Celtic element *kor meaning "army, troop" which is also proposed to be the origin of the term for whirlwind (as Koroll is the Breton name for a group circle dance -- much like a whirlwind).
Costentyn (kos-TEN-tin) — The Cornish form of Constantine, meaning "constant, standing firm."
De, Day (DAY) — A Cornish saint commemorated at St Day.
Edern (ED-ern) — The Welsh, Cornish and Breton form of the Latin Aeturnus "eternal." It was borne by the father of the legendary 5th century leader Cunedda.
Enyon (EN-yən) — The name of a legendary ruler of Cornwall. It derives from the Latin Annianus "belonging to the gens of Annius."
Gerens, Gerren — St Gerren was an ancient king of Cornwall who is remember in the place name Gerrans. The name is the Cornish equivalent of Geraint.
Goron (GOR-ən) — St Goron was a Celtic saint who gave his name to Gorran. The name derives from the Celtic kawaro "hero."
Gryffyn (GRIF-ən) — A Cornish form of the Welsh name Gruffudd/Griffith derived from iudd "lord."
Gwalather (gwal-LATH-ə) — An old Cornish name, from the same source as the Welsh gwaladr "leader."
Hedrek, Hedrok (HED-rək) — Derived from the Celtic hedr "bold".
Jago (JAY-gō) — The Cornish form of James.
Jory (JOR-ee) — The Cornish form of George.
Jowan (JŌ-wən) — The Cornish form of John.
Kenal (KEN-əl) — An old Cornish name derived from the ancient British Cunosaglas "generous chief".
Keneder (ken-ED-ur) — An old Cornish name derived from the ancient British Cunosetros "bold chief".
Kenver (KEN-və) — An old Cornish name derived from the ancient British Cunmorus "great chief".
Kitto (KIT-ō) — Used as a Cornish diminutive of Christopher. However, it may originally have been the Cornish form of the Welsh Griffith / Gruffudd, most likely via the Welsh petform Guto (GIT-ō).
Locryn (LOK-rin) — The Cornish form of Locrinus, a legendary king of Britain.
Lowen (LŌ-en) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "joyful."
Madern (MAD-ərn) — A saint from Wales who is commemorated in Madron near Penzance. His name most likely derives from mad "fortunate, lucky."
Massen — The Cornish form of Maximus "greatest" via the Welsh Macsen.
Meryasek (meri-YAZ-ək) The Cornish form of Meriadoc, the legendary founder of Brittany, which most likely means "sea lord."
Peran, Perran, Piran — St Piran is the patron saint of Cornwall. His name is the Cornish form of the Irish Ciaran "little dark one."
Pasco, Pascow (PASK-ō) — Literally meaning "Easter" in Cornish. Pasco(w) was a name given to children born at eastertime.
Rewan, Ruan, Ruman — A West Country saint. The name is of uncertain etymology, however the name was used in medieval Cornwall.
Santo (SAN-tō) — A Cornish diminutive of Alexander.
Treeve, Treave — A place name derived from the Cornish 'tre' or 'trevow' meaning "farmstead, dwelling, town, village, home."
Girls:
Beaten (BEE-tən) — The Cornish medieval form of Beatrix.
Bennath (BEN-əth) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "a blessing"
Berlewen (bur-LEW-en) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "Venus"
Bersaba — The Cornish medieval form of Bathsheba.
Beryan (BERI-yan) — St. Beryan (Buriana) was an Irish princess who travelled to Cornwall with St Piran and was renowned for her healing abilities.
Bryluen (bree-LOO-ən) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "rose."
Caja (CAY-jə) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "daisy."
Chesten — The Cornish form of Christine.
Conwenna — The wife of a legendary king of Cornwall. Her name possibly derives from the Celtic kwon "hound" and windo "white, bright, fair, blessed."
Delen (DEL-ən) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "petal." Delennyk "little petal" is a diminutive form.
Demelza (dem-EL-zə) — A Cornish place name made famous by the heroine in Winston Graham's "Poldark" series.
Derowen (de-ROW-en) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "oak"
Derwa — A Cornish saint who is commemorated in Menadarva. Her name is possibly related to the old Welsh derw "oak."
Doryty — The Cornish form of Dorothy.
Ebrel — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "April."
Elestren (el-LEST-ren) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "iris."
Elowen (el-LŌ-en) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "elm."
Emblyn — The Cornish form of Emmeline.
Endelyn (en-DEL-in) — One of the daughters of Brychan who came to Cornwall and was later made a saint. She is commemorated in St Endellion, the anglised form, or Sen Endelyn in Cornish. Some think she is the same as Brychan's daughter Cynheiddon. It is also possible that her name derives from luen "full" and the intensifying prefix ande-. It may be that she was originally a pagan deity of a well, spring or local river which would make the latter meaning quite appropriate.
Eseld (es-ZELD) — The Cornish form of Isolde.
Ewella (yoo-EL-ə) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "higher, more exalted"
Glanna — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "pure"
Gwennol — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "a swallow"
Hedra — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "October"
Ia — St Ia or Ya (Latinised as Hia and anglicised as Ive) is a the patron of St Ives. Her name may derive from the Welsh ia "ice," or the Proto-Celtic *yewo- "yew."
Jenifry — The Cornish form of Winifred.
Jenifer — The Cornish form of Guinevere, modernised as Jennifer.
Jowanet (jo-AN-et) — The Cornish form of Joan.
Kelynen (kel-LIN-en) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "holly."
Kensa (KEN-za) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "first."
Kerensa (ke-REN-za) — There are many forms of this name including Kerenza, Karenza, Karensa and Carenza. In use since the late 19th century, it derives from the Cornish word for "love."
Keresen, Kerezen (ke-REZ-en) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "cherry."
Kerra — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "dearer."
Lamorna (la-MOR-nə) — The name of a place in Cornwall.
Loveday, Lowdy — Loveday is a medieval name gievn to children born on a "loveday" -- a day when enemies met to settle a dispute. Though not originally Cornish, by the 19th century it was largely confined only to Cornwall and is still in use today. The Cornish colloquial form is Lowdy.
Lowena, Lowenna (lō-WEN-ə) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "joy."
Mabyn (MAB-in) — St Mabyn (Mabena) was a daughter of Brychan who is commemorated in St Mabyn.
Melder — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "honey-sweet."
Melwyn — A modern Cornish compound name meaning "honey-fair."
Melyonen (mel-YON-en) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "violet."
Melyor, Meliora - used from 13th-18th century.
Meraud, Merouda (MEH-rəd) — A medieval Cornish name, possibly a cognate of the Welsh Morfydd, either from mor "sea" or mawr "great" and budd "benefit, profit."
Merryn (MEH-rin) — The name of a place in Cornwall founded by St Merryn. His name most likely derives from the Old Welsh Morien meaning "born of the sea." Though the name is unisex, is is more commonly used for girls.
Metheven (me-THEV-en) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "June."
Morgelyn (mor-GEL-in) — A modern Cornish compound name meaning "sea-holly."
Morvoren (mor-VOR-en) — A modern Cornish compound name meaning "mermaid" - literally "sea maiden."
Morwen, Morwenna (mor-WEN-ə) — A daughter of Brychan who is commemorated at Morwenstow. Her name derived from the Cornish moroin "maiden."
Nessa — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "second."
Pasca, Pascatte — feminine forms of Pasco.
Peswera (pez-WER-ə) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "fourth."
Rosen (ROZ-en) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "rose."
Rosenwyn (roz-EN-win) — A modern Cornish compound name meaning "fair rose."
Senara — A Cornish saint who gave her name to Zennor. It possibly derives from the Celtic seno "old" and waro "hero."
Sowena, Sowenna (so-WEN-ə) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "success."
Splanna — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "brighter."
Steren (STE-rən) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "star."
Talwyn — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "fair brow."
Tamsyn (TAM-zin) — A Cornish diminutive of Thomasina.
Tegen (TEG-ən) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "pretty." The standardised English spellings include Tegan, Teegan, Teigan and Tiegan are are pronounced TEE-gən, rather than the Cornish TEG-ən.
Tregereth (tre-GAIR-əth) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "mercy."
Tressa — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "third."
Trueth (TRU-əth) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "compassion."
Wenna — The old Cornish form of Gwen "white, fair, blessed" and the name of several saints. The more modern Cornish form is Gwenna.
Ysella (ee-ZEL-ə) — A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning "modest."
