Baby names!

uriah

deemark wrote: »

Think it's the other way around, but I've no book to hand - Eileen is the English version of Eibhlín.

The examples you've given are from the beginnings of words, not the same as a 'bh' in the middle of a word. In Munster, you pronounce ní raibh as ní 'rev' as opposed to ní 'row'.

For Eibhlís to be "eye-leesh", it would be spelt "Eidhlís".

in leabhar (book)the bh is silent - pronounced 'lour'

And Eibhlís is definitely pronounced 'eye-leash' and has 'bh', not 'dh'.

XxMCRxBabyxX

uriah wrote: »

deemark wrote: »

Think it's the other way around, but I've no book to hand - Eileen is the English version of Eibhlín.

The examples you've given are from the beginnings of words, not the same as a 'bh' in the middle of a word. In Munster, you pronounce ní raibh as ní 'rev' as opposed to ní 'row'.

For Eibhlís to be "eye-leesh", it would be spelt "Eidhlís".

in leabhar (book)the bh is silent - pronounced 'lour'

And Eibhlís is definitely pronounced 'eye-leash' and has 'bh', not 'dh'.

Lads I've looked it up myself and both names are pronounced both ways depending on who's saying it. Can we just leave the debate? It's going around in circles!

LordSutch

Moonbeam wrote: »

I guess it is Caoilfhionn;)
I think it is the hardest irish name to pronouce.

Agreed, so I am always amazed when parents choose such a name for their baby, Why? well primarily for travelling/work purposes really, imagine working anywhere outside the the Republic & trying to convey the pronunciaiton & spelling of your name on a daily basis, and I mean a daily basis, for life! PS; Come to think of it, I suspect that Caoilfhionn even causes a few headaches here at home, I guess many would be stumped by this name . . .

XxMCRxBabyxX

LordSutch wrote: »

Moonbeam wrote: »

I guess it is Caoilfhionn;)
I think it is the hardest irish name to pronouce.

Agreed, so I am always amazed when parents choose such a name for their baby, Why? well primarily for travelling/work purposes really, imagine working anywhere outside the the Republic & trying to convey the pronunciaiton & spelling of your name on a daily basis, and I mean a daily basis, for life! PS; Come to think of it, I suspect that Caoilfhionn even causes a few headaches here at home, I guess many would be stumped by this name . . .

But what I'm trying to say us for most people with those names it means nothing to them to have to explain it. It ends up being a second nature.

I love my name. And I grew up in Botswana in it! even here in Ireland most people struggle to pronounce it, and it is a gaeilge name. I don't care that people struggle with it. I just laugh tbh. I have never once wished for a different name.

Teach your child to be proud of their name and they'll never have a problem with sometimes needing to explain it

Oral Slang

LordSutch wrote: »

Agreed, so I am always amazed when parents choose such a name for their baby, Why? well primarily for travelling/work purposes really, imagine working anywhere outside the the Republic & trying to convey the pronunciaiton & spelling of your name on a daily basis, and I mean a daily basis, for life! PS; Come to think of it, I suspect that Caoilfhionn even causes a few headaches here at home, I guess many would be stumped by this name . . .

I think it's a gorgeous name & only my otherhalf vetoed it I'd love to name our baby it. That said I think it's become too popular - like Saidhbh, Saoirse, Aoibhe etc. All the names I loved are now normal everyday names.

I have more trouble with irish people trying to get their heads around my name than I do with foreign people. I wouldn't mind but my name only has 5 letters, no silent ones & it's pronounced exactly how it is spelt, but as people haven't heard it before they always struggle. Wasn't too keen on having to spell it & explain it as a kid, but now love having a different name and am glad my parents didn't pick a normal, everyday name.

implausible

XxMCRxBabyxX wrote: »

Lads I've looked it up myself and both names are pronounced both ways depending on who's saying it. Can we just leave the debate? It's going around in circles!

Ok, ok! I'm putting it down to Munster pronunciations.

LordSutch wrote: »

Agreed, so I am always amazed when parents choose such a name for their baby, Why? well primarily for travelling/work purposes really, imagine working anywhere outside the the Republic & trying to convey the pronunciaiton & spelling of your name on a daily basis, and I mean a daily basis, for life!

I teach a lot of Polish students and have come across names from Cameroon, Latvia, South Africa etc. Do you seriously think that any of those parents sat down and said "well, we may have to emigrate at some stage, so we better name him something that can be pronounced in Ireland, like Tom?" Sure, while we're at it, why not get rid of all traditional names to suit the rest of the world and everyone can be called John and Mary?:rolleyes:

XxMCRxBabyxX wrote: »

But what I'm trying to say us for most people with those names it means nothing to them to have to explain it. It ends up being a second nature.

Teach your child to be proud of their name and they'll never have a problem with sometimes needing to explain it

Exactly!

Moonbeam

LordSutch wrote: »

Agreed, so I am always amazed when parents choose such a name for their baby, Why? well primarily for travelling/work purposes really, imagine working anywhere outside the the Republic & trying to convey the pronunciaiton & spelling of your name on a daily basis, and I mean a daily basis, for life! PS; Come to think of it, I suspect that Caoilfhionn even causes a few headaches here at home, I guess many would be stumped by this name . . .

I disagree.
We should be proud to have irish names.
People in other countries use native names,why should we be any different?

LordSutch

Moonbeam wrote: »

I disagree.
We should be proud to have irish names.
People in other countries use native names,why should we be any different?

I'm afraid that you are jumping to conclusions there Moonbeam, I never said that I wasn't proud of Irish names, indeed I love Most (but not all) Irish names. I agreed with you Moonbeam that Caoilfhionn was hard to pronounce, indeed I suspect that its pronunciation is impenetrable to many people (and not just foreigners), along with names like Saidhbh & Aoibhe.

GerardKeating

Moonbeam wrote: »

haha:)
It is a lovely name.

Caolán for a boy.
Cormac,Oisin and Cillian are our other favourites.
He hates Cillian and there are already enough Cormacs and Oisin is gone due to it being really popular at the moment.

Saoirse is historically both a male and female name.
Seoirse is the irish for George.
Sorcha is a girls name.

I like Caolán, we are expecting next thursday and this just went to the top of the list.

getz

if my brother asked me to name his new baby,if it was a girl i would call her denice,if it is a boy i would call him the nephew

Oral Slang

GerardKeating wrote: »

I like Caolán, we are expecting next thursday and this just went to the top of the list.

My friends have a Caolán, I think it's a gorgeous name.

chillywilly

getz wrote: »

if my brother asked me to name his new baby,if it was a girl i would call her denice,if it is a boy i would call him the nephew

Don't call the girl Dennis!!!

jelly4

Hi all,

I'm pregnant at the moment and have a boys name picked. Just wondering if anyone has any opinions on the girls names I had in mind.

Lilia
Amara
Caitlin

Really glad the hubby picked a boys name ages ago!!

The Big Red Button

jelly4 wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm pregnant at the moment and have a boys name picked. Just wondering if anyone has any opinions on the girls names I had in mind.

Lilia
Amara
Caitlin

Really glad the hubby picked a boys name ages ago!!

Oh God, Amara would sound just awful in a certain accent! Just imagine, Ay-maaaaaaaaa-raaaaaa. Not nice!

Lilia will be mispronounced forever (Lila, Lily, etc.)

I'm not sure how you'd prounounce Caitlin? Caught-linn? Is it different to Cáitlín (prounounced Cawtch-leen)?

jelly4

chatterpillar wrote: »

Oh God, Amara would sound just awful in a certain accent! Just imagine, Ay-maaaaaaaaa-raaaaaa. Not nice!

Lilia will be mispronounced forever (Lila, Lily, etc.)

I'm not sure how you'd prounounce Caitlin? Caught-linn? Is it different to Cáitlín (prounounced Cawtch-leen)?

Haha! You make a very good point about Amara!! Didn't think of it that way.
Might strike that one off the list as it would drive me insane!!!

Wouldn't mind Lilia being mispronounced... I like that its a bit different.

Caitlin would be just plain old Kate-Lynn.

Oral Slang

jelly4 wrote: »

Haha! You make a very good point about Amara!! Didn't think of it that way.
Might strike that one off the list as it would drive me insane!!!

Wouldn't mind Lilia being mispronounced... I like that its a bit different.

Caitlin would be just plain old Kate-Lynn.

I wouldn't spell it that way then, because Caitlin is pronounced Cawtch-Lynn if you leave the fada off. No use using the irish spelling & then pronouncing the name wrongly. The poor child would be forever trying to tell people how to mispronounce her name!

Lilia sounds pretty though!

The Big Red Button

jelly4 wrote: »

Haha! You make a very good point about Amara!! Didn't think of it that way.
Might strike that one off the list as it would drive me insane!!!

Wouldn't mind Lilia being mispronounced... I like that its a bit different.

Caitlin would be just plain old Kate-Lynn.

Lilia is very pretty alright.

Would you not just spell Kate-Lynn that way, if you're going to pronounce it like that? Would make more sense?

Aesopfibbed

I have a very simple american anglicised name, I hate it, and hate the way it is pronounced outside Ireland, that is when people read it, when I say my name without spelling it there are many variations to the spellings I get, mostly incorrect... From working overseas for years I say go with unusual, different and preferably unique to your heritage and background.

So what does anyone think of Cushla for a girl and for the Irish speakers looking for the versions of Reidin, with or without fada's??

Da Shins Kelly

Babies is a long way off for me (if it ever does happen, still not sure it's something I want). However, if I did ever have a son, I would be torn between Senan, Fionn, and Atticus. The first two names I really like the sound of, but the last one is meaningful as I'm a great lover of books and Atticus Finch (To Kill A Mockingbird) is possibly the greatest hero in literature.

If I ever had a daughter, I think I'd name her Etta after Etta James, one of my favourite singers.

I'm not a big fan of the whole 're-use all the names in the family' thing.

Moonbeam

Aesopfibbed wrote: »

I have a very simple american anglicised name, I hate it, and hate the way it is pronounced outside Ireland, that is when people read it, when I say my name without spelling it there are many variations to the spellings I get, mostly incorrect... From working overseas for years I say go with unusual, different and preferably unique to your heritage and background.

So what does anyone think of Cushla for a girl and for the Irish speakers looking for the versions of Reidin, with or without fada's??

I have never come across the name Reidin and can't find any reference to it..do you know what it means or how it is pronounced?

Oral Slang

Moonbeam wrote: »

I have never come across the name Reidin and can't find any reference to it..do you know what it means or how it is pronounced?

No I haven't ever heard of it either.

Don't really like Cushla to be honest, a really cliched irish word that you never really hear in ireland (similar to Leprechauns haha), although if you aren't living in Ireland it may be ok. Would compare it to names like Cailín & Alannah. Can't understand people in Ireland using those names at all.

jelly4

Oral Slang wrote: »

I wouldn't spell it that way then, because Caitlin is pronounced Cawtch-Lynn if you leave the fada off. No use using the irish spelling & then pronouncing the name wrongly. The poor child would be forever trying to tell people how to mispronounce her name!

Lilia sounds pretty though!

Hi Oral Slang,

Where should I put the fada in order to pronounce Caitlin as Kate-Lynn?
The reason I would rather use the Irish spelling is because Caitlin would be after my grandmother / Kathleen.

ElleEm

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

Babies is a long way off for me (if it ever does happen, still not sure it's something I want). However, if I did ever have a son, I would be torn between Senan, Fionn, and Atticus. The first two names I really like the sound of, but the last one is meaningful as I'm a great lover of books and Atticus Finch (To Kill A Mockingbird) is possibly the greatest hero in literature.

If I ever had a daughter, I think I'd name her Etta after Etta James, one of my favourite singers.

I'm not a big fan of the whole 're-use all the names in the family' thing.

That's only the second time I've heard someone mention "Senan" as a possible name but it wouldn't have went with their surname. Too many N's.

Atticus is a bit out there, would you consider Finch as a first name. I love wierd and wonderful names!

Das Kitty

jelly4 wrote: »

Hi Oral Slang,

Where should I put the fada in order to pronounce Caitlin as Kate-Lynn?
The reason I would rather use the Irish spelling is because Caitlin would be after my grandmother / Kathleen.

Caitlin in America is pronounced Kate-Lynn, I'm a fluent Irish speaker and if I see it spelled like that with no fadas I say Kate-Lynn

Caitlín is Cotch-Leen
Cáitlín is Cawtch-Leen

To make a "lynn" type sound in Irish you spell it "lann", it is slightly different but barely perceptible.

I'm racking my brains to figure out how you'd make a "kate" sound in Irish.

I'd stick with Caitlin if I were you, it's an American version of Caitlín that's pronounced Kate-Lynn.

jelly4

Das Kitty wrote: »

Caitlin in America is pronounced Kate-Lynn, I'm a fluent Irish speaker and if I see it spelled like that with no fadas I say Kate-Lynn

Caitlín is Cotch-Leen
Cáitlín is Cawtch-Leen

To make a "lynn" type sound in Irish you spell it "lann", it is slightly different but barely perceptible.

I'm racking my brains to figure out how you'd make a "kate" sound in Irish.

I'd stick with Caitlin if I were you, it's an American version of Caitlín that's pronounced Kate-Lynn.

Thanks Das Kitty!

Da Shins Kelly

ElleEm wrote: »

That's only the second time I've heard someone mention "Senan" as a possible name but it wouldn't have went with their surname. Too many N's.

Atticus is a bit out there, would you consider Finch as a first name. I love wierd and wonderful names!

I like unusual names too. I don't think I'd like Finch as a first name though. I really like Atticus because it actually means something to me. In Latin it actually means "from Athens", which was meant to mean that the individual was "fair and equal", as all Athenians were supposed to be. I like that meaning, and also then that it is the name of one of my favourite characters in a book.

My name means nothing, so I'd love to be able to tell a child that their name actually has a story and some meaning.

Oral Slang

jelly4 wrote: »

Oral Slang wrote: »

I wouldn't spell it that way then, because Caitlin is pronounced Cawtch-Lynn if you leave the fada off. No use using the irish spelling & then pronouncing the name wrongly. The poor child would be forever trying to tell people how to mispronounce her name!

Lilia sounds pretty though!

Hi Oral Slang,

Where should I put the fada in order to pronounce Caitlin as Kate-Lynn?
The reason I would rather use the Irish spelling is because Caitlin would be after my grandmother / Kathleen.

Nowhere, because Cait with or without a fada simply does not sound the same as Kate. If you're living in america maybe it'll work but in Ireland I'd suggest spelling it Katelynn if thats how you want it pronounced.

koxy

I love the name Caitlin and would pronounce it as Katelynn if I seen it anywhere. Seen as it is likely to cause confusion though I think I would prefer to spell it using a K (Kaitlyn).

wmpdd3

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=74005499&postcount=221

LordSutch

Anyone know how the name 'Bebhinn' is pronounced?