Some of you may have wondered what the funny piggy names in my signature mean. They are actually Welsh.
This came about when my newly bereaved middle aged lady Dizzy fell in love with freshly neutered young Llewelyn, who had been rescued from a wildlife place in Midwales in 2007 and been then transferred to a Midlands rescue, where I took Dizzy for a round of dating.
Since my husband is Welsh, he wanted me to keep the name and - what was rather harder to achieve - with the proper Welsh pronounciation! Dizzy's death in 2009 coincided with the opportunity to make my long term dream to have a group of guinea pigs come true, so Llewi's new wives all got a Welsh name with a suitable meaning and it has snowballed from there.
I usually try my best to come up with a suitable name for each new adopted piggy, either for its looks or personality. You may find some themes, though. For guinea pigs with a well established name, I try to find a similar sounding Welsh name. Often I let the rescue choose their preferred Welsh names from a shortlist of suitable names, not just the piggies I am adopting! Some of my piggies have been named in memory of a previous piggy that is very special to me.
Here are all the Tribe piggies mentioned in my signature in the order I adopted them.
2009
Llewelyn: Celtic gods Lugh and Belenus (fire + light); pronounced Tkhloo-EH-lin. My very capable Tribe patriarch without whose steady paws on the reins I could never have built up a such a great group! RIP 2011
Rescued neglected from an enclosure in Midwales he was sharing with other guinea pigs, rabbits and chicken.
Nerys: Lady (with a huge figure!), teddy. Hasn't yet met a calorie she can pass by! Now 8 years old. [RIP 2016]
Nia: Bright, pronounced Nee-ah (Nerys' energetic sister and sometime top lady of the Tribe), RIP 2014
The sisters were unwanted, unhandled ex-children's pets with razor-sharp baby claws.
Taffy: Beloved (because she needed it after being bred nonstop in horrible conditions for a year), aby, RIP 2014 aged 6 years. The oldest or one of the oldest survivors from that huge rodent rescue action that even made it onto tv later on. Very much beloved and respected by all her mates. She suffered from congenital cataracts not long after she reached adulthood.
Telyn: Harp, pronounced Tellin; Taffy's last rescue-born aby daughter. She had an ear-piercing wheek and a very loud voice, and simply couldn't shut up. Sadly died young from heart failure caused by uncontrolled inbreeding. RIP 2011
Telyn is the little aby in my avatar.
Cariad: Darling - which she was! A coronet. Pronounced Car-yadd. RIP 2014.
Not the brightest, but sweet natured. Wouldn't leave the cage for a week because of a new darker fleece in front of it. I had to lift her out for her dinners...
Ceri: Love, her stunning cousin. Name sounds similar to Kerrie. Last minute addition after the rescue lady decided to not keep her for herself but wanted to make sure she would not be bred from. A friendly girl that got on with everypig. RIP 2014
2010
Fflur: Flowers, pronounced Fleer; crested. 4 year old no longer wanted bereaved sow Flower, RIP in emergency op 2010 after only two very happy months with the Tribe. Llewelyn's last big love.
Ffion: Spoken Fee-on. Foxglove, named in memory of Fflur; huge personality that loved to sit at my feet in the kitchen while I was cutting up the piggy veg. No longer wanted with no information of her background. Came into rescue with three daughters(?), but died very young and unexpectedly from sudden acute heart failure. RIP 2010, aged 1 year (?).
Ffowlyn: Chicken/Fowl for her half-long chicken tail; pronounced Fowlin. An aby/long-hair cross. Ffion's remaining daughter (?) and Telyn's best friend. RIP 2013
This came about when my newly bereaved middle aged lady Dizzy fell in love with freshly neutered young Llewelyn, who had been rescued from a wildlife place in Midwales in 2007 and been then transferred to a Midlands rescue, where I took Dizzy for a round of dating.
Since my husband is Welsh, he wanted me to keep the name and - what was rather harder to achieve - with the proper Welsh pronounciation! Dizzy's death in 2009 coincided with the opportunity to make my long term dream to have a group of guinea pigs come true, so Llewi's new wives all got a Welsh name with a suitable meaning and it has snowballed from there.
I usually try my best to come up with a suitable name for each new adopted piggy, either for its looks or personality. You may find some themes, though. For guinea pigs with a well established name, I try to find a similar sounding Welsh name. Often I let the rescue choose their preferred Welsh names from a shortlist of suitable names, not just the piggies I am adopting! Some of my piggies have been named in memory of a previous piggy that is very special to me.
Here are all the Tribe piggies mentioned in my signature in the order I adopted them.
2009
Llewelyn: Celtic gods Lugh and Belenus (fire + light); pronounced Tkhloo-EH-lin. My very capable Tribe patriarch without whose steady paws on the reins I could never have built up a such a great group! RIP 2011
Rescued neglected from an enclosure in Midwales he was sharing with other guinea pigs, rabbits and chicken.
Nerys: Lady (with a huge figure!), teddy. Hasn't yet met a calorie she can pass by! Now 8 years old. [RIP 2016]
Nia: Bright, pronounced Nee-ah (Nerys' energetic sister and sometime top lady of the Tribe), RIP 2014
The sisters were unwanted, unhandled ex-children's pets with razor-sharp baby claws.
Taffy: Beloved (because she needed it after being bred nonstop in horrible conditions for a year), aby, RIP 2014 aged 6 years. The oldest or one of the oldest survivors from that huge rodent rescue action that even made it onto tv later on. Very much beloved and respected by all her mates. She suffered from congenital cataracts not long after she reached adulthood.
Telyn: Harp, pronounced Tellin; Taffy's last rescue-born aby daughter. She had an ear-piercing wheek and a very loud voice, and simply couldn't shut up. Sadly died young from heart failure caused by uncontrolled inbreeding. RIP 2011
Telyn is the little aby in my avatar.
Cariad: Darling - which she was! A coronet. Pronounced Car-yadd. RIP 2014.
Not the brightest, but sweet natured. Wouldn't leave the cage for a week because of a new darker fleece in front of it. I had to lift her out for her dinners...
Ceri: Love, her stunning cousin. Name sounds similar to Kerrie. Last minute addition after the rescue lady decided to not keep her for herself but wanted to make sure she would not be bred from. A friendly girl that got on with everypig. RIP 2014
2010
Fflur: Flowers, pronounced Fleer; crested. 4 year old no longer wanted bereaved sow Flower, RIP in emergency op 2010 after only two very happy months with the Tribe. Llewelyn's last big love.
Ffion: Spoken Fee-on. Foxglove, named in memory of Fflur; huge personality that loved to sit at my feet in the kitchen while I was cutting up the piggy veg. No longer wanted with no information of her background. Came into rescue with three daughters(?), but died very young and unexpectedly from sudden acute heart failure. RIP 2010, aged 1 year (?).
Ffowlyn: Chicken/Fowl for her half-long chicken tail; pronounced Fowlin. An aby/long-hair cross. Ffion's remaining daughter (?) and Telyn's best friend. RIP 2013
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