What are the British general impressions of the name Meredith?

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Ok_Aioli3897@reddit

Never heard of it in England. The only time I have heard it was watching Grey's anatomy

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Due_Craft4096@reddit

Its Welsh, with Irish links. Celtic. Means 'great lord' or 'sea protector'

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Due_Craft4096@reddit

Makes me think of an old lady. But I gather it can be a mans name in Wales.

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Norman_debris@reddit

Sounds very American to me, simply because I've heard it in plenty of American films and shows, but never met a single Brit with that name.

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DoKtor2quid@reddit

It's a Welsh name. The Americans love Welsh names but hack them to within a hair's breadth of it's original meaning or pronunciation, unfortunately.

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Norman_debris@reddit

Such a boring complaint.

The pronunciation of Meredith is perfectly acceptable in American or English accents. Do you have a similar problem with Arthur or Damien?

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It's a Welsh name, a first name, and every American or English person I have ever heard say it pronounces it wrong. It's truly painful being Welsh and hearing our names being massacred just because people think they sound cool, without understanding the origins and Welsh pronunciation.

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Shoogled@reddit

As with most (all?) Welsh words, the emphasis goes on the penultimate syllable. So, correctly, it’s MerEDith, not MERedith as it’s usually said in the rest of the uk.

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DoKtor2quid@reddit

OOOh we're getting downvoted by all the Welsh-haters! They like to appropriate our culture when it suits them but don't like us to mention it.
In answer to your question, Welsh words place emphasis on the second-to-last (penultimate) syllable, so it's pronounced meh-RED-ith.

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Shoogled@reddit

Yes I’m bemused by the downvote. I suspect it’s thro ignorance.

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Specialeyes9000@reddit

How should it be pronounced?

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DoKtor2quid@reddit

Meh-RED-ith

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ToriaLyons@reddit

I'm Welsh and you've made me rethink how I pronounce it. Is it Muh-RED-dith or Mehr-reh-DITH?

(I often get stuck on Theresa too.)

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Impossible_Theme_148@reddit

There is also an issue - if Meredith is the anglicised name, it can also have an anglicised pronunciation

So is it pronounced wrong? Or is it pronounced differently?

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Mental_Body_5496@reddit

I thought the latter so im confused

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Unlucky-Public-2947@reddit

Anglicised from Maredudd.

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ElfBlossom17@reddit

It's uncommon as a first name here in the UK but a fairly common Welsh originating name where the emphasis is on on the me-RED-ith rather than mere-dith.

I think it's a nice name for a girl

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DoKtor2quid@reddit

It's not uncommon in Wales. And it's a Welsh name.

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SteelRat70@reddit

I think Meredith is a lovely name. Certainly unusual in the UK and in some respects that makes it nicer.

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DoKtor2quid@reddit

It's Welsh, and it's not unusual in Wales.

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enwda@reddit

Meredith is a misspelling of a traditional welsh male name, Meredydd

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Fun_Gas_7777@reddit

Its pretty. A bit old fashioned, but old fashioned names seem to be coming back in fashioned now

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blueskyjamie@reddit

About 65 years old, and a bit of confused old lady, “oh no Meredith,not again!”

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thewearisomeMachine@reddit

Very old-fashioned, so if I saw the name written down, I would probably assume it’s either an octogenarian or a Hong-Konger/Singaporean with a ‘classic’ first name.

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MwnciMul@reddit

It probably comes from Meredydd, which is a boys name. I know a few, usually shortened to Mered. Dont know a single Meredith (woman)

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MwnciMul@reddit

Pronounced - M - as in Man E - as in bEd or rEd never ever as in mE R - as in Red, always with a roll E - see above D - as in DaD Y - as u in Under never as in Yellow Dd - (it’s one letter) always pronounced as th in THe

Stress on the MerEDydd, hence the accent when shortening

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Draigwyrdd@reddit

Meredith is an American woman's name. Maredudd is a Welsh man's name.

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TSC-99@reddit

Very old fashioned

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copypastespecialist@reddit

Old woman or Rodney from stargate atlantis

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endospire@reddit

Grays Anatomy

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becca413g@reddit

Nice name but makes me think of grandmas.

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kestrelita@reddit

I used to know a 10 year old called Meredith, she was home schooled and was very quirky.

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DatGuyGandhi@reddit

Grew up in North Wales but don't think I ever knew anybody called Meredith. First thing that came to mind is the US Office

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CandyPink69@reddit

Just makes me think of a middle aged American on Benzos ‘you want me to go there with the husband? I can go there!!! The rumourrrsss and the nastiness’ 😂

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ResplendentBear@reddit

"I'm a bitch, I'm a lover, I'm a squirrel, I'm your brother"

I may not be spot on with the lyrics.

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vexedvi@reddit

I've taught one Meredith- rare but cool as far as I'm concerned

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Vivid_Indication6487@reddit

I rate it

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beckydevildhild666@reddit

Makes me think of Mormons, so American and religious

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lavayuki@reddit

Never heard of it before, sounds kind of old fashioned. I work in healthcare and having met thousands of patients over the years and encountered names from all over, not once have I met someone with that name so I suspect it's super rare. I do live in England though, not sure about Wales.

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sjintje@reddit

For some reason, just quite weird and unnatural, I don't know why, as there are plenty of weird names these days.

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MoonmoonMamman@reddit

I love it

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Sea_Photograph_3998@reddit

Brash, likes to get drunk, smokes cigars, kinky

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BillyJoeDubuluw@reddit

It’s frequently mispronounced and it’s a generally “older” name nowadays… There are more Meredith’s out there choosing care homes than picking their GCSE’s…

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erinoco@reddit

Until about a century ago, it was a name much more commonly given to boys rather than girls. (Shirley is another example of a name which has "transitioned".)

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arfur-sixpence@reddit

For me "Meredith" goes with "and Drew" and is an upmarket brand of biscuits.

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Immorals1@reddit

Bit of an old fashioned name that I associate with retirement homes

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alrighttreacle11@reddit

I'm a bitch I'm a mother

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Funky_Owl_Turnip@reddit

Came here to say the same thing!

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123Catskill@reddit

I don’t think the UK had reached a consensus on this one.

For what it’s worth my impression is that Meredith is a bit of an old fashioned name.

I’ve also never heard it as a last name so I don’t think it’s typical.

But no doubt someone will very soon prove me wrong.

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KatherinesDaddy@reddit

I absolutely love it. My missus is not so keen. I'll keep working on her 😊

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Pulmonologia@reddit

Uptight push bird, probably no fun

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Whocanitbe_@reddit

The office - ‘Meredith your boob is out’

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Oilfreeeggs@reddit

I don’t know anyone called Meredith , it’s a nice name but my mind goes to that’s poor girl that was murdered in Italy

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-myeyeshaveseenyou-@reddit

It was my kids grandmother’s maiden name. Their dad’s uncle and his cousins still have the surname

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Suspicious-Bug6588@reddit

It's kind of archaic, something your 90-year-old nan would be called

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Otherwise_Koala4289@reddit

It makes me think of Grey's Anatomy. I don't think I've ever met anyone called Meredith.

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optimo_mas_fina@reddit

My mind goes to grays anatomy..

I don't know anybody called meridith..

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RainbowReindeer@reddit

It pains me to admit that I immediately think of Taylor swifts cat

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RiskItForAChocHobnob@reddit

It makes me think of Grey's Anatomy, which is who Taylor Swift named the cat after

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