Name of the Week: Cariad

Origin:

Cariad is a Welsh vocabulary name. The Welsh noun cariad translates as "love, charity, affection" but is also used as an affectionate term of endearment meaning "beloved, sweetheart, darling".

Usage:

The first transcribed record for in the England and Wales Birth Index was registered for a Cariad Johnson in 1890. Interestingly, the birth was registered in Dorset, not Wales, but little Cariad Johnson was the third born of English-born Music Hall Showman, Samuel Johnson, and Welsh-born Agnes. She and her siblings were part of a family brass band known as the Bramusas:  "Active from 1904 to 1921, performing at various venues around the country. An "all-British family of juvenile musicians". The original Bramusa Family Band consisted of the father, mother, four eldest daughters and two sons - four cornets, horn, euphonium, tuba and percussion. They were billed as the "Seven Bramusas" from 1906 with the children (including the youngest, fifth, daughter) as performers. Performed their extravaganza "Music Afloat" in Sheffield in 1908. The youngest daughter, the drummer, was ten years old in 1909. The family consisted of Samuel Frank Johnson (b. 1861), his wife Agnes Ann (b. 1863), and children Gertrude Esther (b. 1887), Theodore Ystwith (b. 1889), Cariad (b. 1890), Elsie Deborah (b. 1892), Marnesuel “Nessie” (b. 1894), Thomas Charles (b. 1897), Clara Agnes (b. 1898), and Douglas Berkeley (b. 1900) and Annie Miriam "Mimi" (b. 1906)."* But Miss Johnson was a rarity (much like her sister Marnesuel!). The next Cariad—Cariad Isabella Greenway—was not born until 1906 in Yorkshire.  Between this period, however, there are a handful of registrations in Wales for the name Cariadwen. which appears to have been occasionally used in literature as a variant spelling for the mythological Welsh goddess Ceridwen.*   Birth records for Cariad in the England and Wales Birth Index: 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 1980s: 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 1 birth 1 birth 1 birth 1 birth 1 birth 0 births 3 births 1 birth 13 births 32 births Cariad wasn't consistently used until the 1970s, and it still remained uncommon.  In 1996, Cariad ranked #2683 with 5 births in England and Wales. It grew in use after this but has never broken into the top 1000. To date, it peaked at #1416 with 23 births in 2016.  In 2018, Cariad ranked #1977 with 14 births.  This, of course, is partly because the stats for England and Wales have been combined together. A different picture emerges when we look at Wales alone: 2010: 2011: 2012: 2013: 2014: 2015: 2016: 2017: #477 (4 births) #338 (7 births) #242 (11 births) -- No data-- #326 (7 births) #514 (4 births) #169 (17 births) #277 (9 births)

Famous Bearers:

Contemporary: * Cariad Lloyd (born 1982), a British comedian, actress, writer, and podcaster. Other: * Cariad Cywir, a Welsh folk song that focuses on somebody experiencing unrequited love. * Cariad Lake, a small lake in northeastern Ontario, Canada.

Variants:

Cariadad, Cariadwen

Pronunciation:

KA-ree-ad [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Cari, Cadi, Caro, Adi

Sibling Names:

Mabli     Gwenno     Celyn     Anwen     Betsan     Eleri  Griff     Sonny     Emrys     Idris     Bodhi      Chester

Name Lists:

No Frills Feminine: Dauntless -'d/t' Endings

 

If you like Cariad you may also like:   Kerensa, Mared, Awen, Carys, Eseld, Cadi, Alaw, Elliw, Amoret, Astrid

Thanks to Elisha for requesting this name.