Carys

Carys Ann is my name. My parents told me Carys Ann meant God's grace.

I have been told that the name Carys means “beloved” in Welsh. I am Welsh, and my granddaughter was born in Wales (Bangor) and is called Carys.

Carys actually derives from câr which means love in Welsh. Therefore, Carys means love or loved one.

Although Caryn is usually a form of Karen, often Welsh parents connect it to "caru", so it's related to Carys. I love this name! It's so gorgeous -- all of the "caru" names are, IMO. Is it pronounced KA-ris or ka-RIS? I love it either way.

It doesn't mean love in Welsh, it actually means "my loved one". It's a really old fashioned name, the Welsh equivalent of say Edith or Ethel. Ancient almost.

Actually, Carys is a very modern Welsh name, compared to something like Edith, which is over 1000 years old. It's an invented name, based on caru + the -ys ending common in popular names like Dilys and Gladys. According to the British birth records, it was first used in 1903, but was very rare until the late 1940s /early 50s, and hasn't really been popular until relatively recently. In 2010 it was #45 in the Welsh name charts, so, um, yes, sorry first poster, Welsh people do use it and it's not old-fashioned. I think you must be confusing it with Gladys or Dilys or Nerys. [noted -ed]

I wouldn't say this name was related to either Ethel or Edith which, in spite of their Old English roots, are themselves unrelated, as Ethel means "noble" and Edith means "prosperous strife".