"You Can Tell a Lot About a Culture ..."

"... by its language." It is true.

I am interested in the Welsh culture and language. I know a bit about Wales, but certainly not a ton. However, if I knew nothing about Wales whatsoever, the past few days of "research" I've done regarding words and names would have told me a lot.

1). Wales is located near the water. This is obvious when one looks at the sheer amount of words and names that have to do with water. Llyr means sea, llyn means lake, the suffix wy means river, rhys supposedly (according to some sites, but not my Welsh-English dictionary) means stream, dŵr means water. Likewise, SO many Welsh names have to do with water or the ocean. Morien means "sea-born" (and most other names with "mor" have something to do with the sea; Morgan, Morwen, etc), Dylan means "of the sea/ocean," Guinevere means "white wave," Merin also has to do with the sea, Cemlyn means "bent lake," Glyndwr means "valley of water," Merlin means "sea fort," and so on. Definitely not a surprise that Wales is surrounded by water on three sides.

2) The people of Wales probably were (and are) fair skinned. The words gwyn (masculine form) and gwen (feminine form) mean white, and used in names they can mean white, fair, or blessed. Though obviously the following names are only a sampling of Welsh names, notice the reoccurring theme of "white." Branwen means "white raven," Bronwen means "white-breasted," Guinevere (or Gwenevere) means "white wave," Morwen is "white sea," Lilwen means "white lily," Lynwen is "white vale," Meinwen means "slender and fair," Olwen is "white footprint," Prydwyn means "white complexion," Rhonwyn means "white lance," Sulwen means "white sun," Tangwyn means "white peace," Tanwen means "white fire," and Gweneth "white or fair." There are also a few names to do with red-hair; Rhydderch meaning "reddish-brown," and Griffin/Griffith meaning "reddish." What I was looking for in my "research" was a name that mean "dark-haired," or "dark" (not as in skin, but as in as opposed to fair and light). I could not find any. Apparently the Welsh were pretty fair-skinned.

Anyway, I know that this probably doesn't interest anyone but me, but I found it surprising how much information the names alone of a culture/language could hint at.