Baby names!

Roesy

Reminds me of a family I came across recently. Child's name was 'Eva' but the spelling was 'Ava'. I reckon they changed their minds about her name after they registered her though.

Moonbeam

*mod note*

Ok folks I feel the need to give a warning here.
Yes, there is a correct spelling for every name but through anglicisation,common use and dialects these can differ. What may have originally being the spelling will of course still apply as well.

Sligo1

seosamh1980 wrote: »

That's like saying "My son's name is Richard, spelled ANDREW". There are spellings of words that are accepted for how the letters produce the sound and have become common use over the years, if you change what is known as a common spelling you have to accept it will cause confusion. Putting fadas wherever you fancy is messing with a language. You can't just move umlaut symbols in German to suit what you think the word should look like.

Ok so how does this come about... Michael or Micheal? I know people with both.

People can spell their names how they want. Names are not like words I the dictionary that have correct and incorrect spellings....

ShaShaBear

Sligo1 wrote: »

Ok so how does this come about... Michael or Micheal? I know people with both.

People can spell their names how they want. Names are not like words I the dictionary that have correct and incorrect spellings....

The difference is if you throw a fada into Micheal it becomes Mee-Hall, and not Mike-Al.

It's one thing to alter the spelling a bit to make a name look different, but using a grammatical symbol that completely changes the pronunciation of a word and pretending that it doesn't is different.

Especially when you live in Ireland, where most people know what the fada means and will constantly pronounce the child's name wrong as a result.

Mind you my name is spelt Alisha. I still, to this day, get called Aisling. In fact there is a woman on my course that STILL calls me Aisling. Despite me pointing out to her that, not only is that not my name, but there is no G in it.

Sligo1

My name is pronounced Natalee. Spelt Nathalie...A lot of people spell it Natalie. No one has ever called me Nath-alie....

TBH I don't get the whole fada thing as I never did Irish... But I still think its completely up to the parents how they spell and pronounce their Childs name. No one is gonna convince me otherwise.... TBH... I actually don't see it as a big issue..... So long as the parents are happy.

Pipmae

polydactyl wrote: »

I actually know of a Doctor Maisie and Millie, and their name has never come into their profession.

ElleEm wrote: »

I had a fifty odd year old lecturer in college called Lucy and it just seemed like a silly name for a woman. I know kids called Millie and Maisie and stuff and it's all well and good when they are little, but I can't imagine a Doctor Millie or Professor Maisie. The names are just too child like.

I have a daughter Maisy. She'll probably be a pole dancer with a name like that.:P

SusieBlue

I think the comments about Maisie and Milly etc. being too cutesy are interesting, because both those names have been used for hundreds of years. These names have been common since the 1600s, as both came about because they were nicknames for older names that wouldn't be very popular now.

100-200 years ago there were lots and lots of Maisie's whose full names were May and Margaret and Mary, and lots of Milly's whose full names were Millicent, Emily and Camilla. Mainly in the UK, but even so, these were very common names.

Maisie, Lucy and Milly etc. died out for a couple of generations, because they became uncool and unpopular, and that's why those names are commonly associated with very young kids. Those names are currently experiencing a revival, and they seem new, but they've been around for ages. They are associated with young children because those names only became fashionable again in the last 10-20 years, when in fact, they have been around and been popular for a very long time.

I love Poppy and Elliot. Especially Elliot, its high on our list if we ever have a boy. I love how its sophisticated and classic.

I'm also an advocate of spelling names correctly and traditionally wherever possible. I don't see the point in calling your child (for example) Meghyn instead of Megan, or Logyn instead of Logan just to be different, when the child is going to spend his or her life correcting people. It sounds the same when said aloud so changing the spelling to make it different is totally redundant.

wolfpawnat

Sligo1 wrote: »

My name is pronounced Natalee. Spelt Nathalie...A lot of people spell it Natalie. No one has ever called me Nath-alie....

TBH I don't get the whole fada thing as I never did Irish... But I still think its completely up to the parents how they spell and pronounce their Childs name. No one is gonna convince me otherwise.... TBH... I actually don't see it as a big issue..... So long as the parents are happy.

I have no h and I am supposed to be Nat-a-lee. But in Cork I get called Nat-lee. Pain in the tushy.

January

wolfpawnat wrote: »

I have no h and I am supposed to be Nat-a-lee. But in Cork I get called Nat-lee. Pain in the tushy.

This side of Dublin you'd be "Nah-leeeeee" :P

We have Clara picked for a girl this time (although I'm not in love with it, himself loves it...), I like Aoife too.

Luke or Ciaran for a boy.

MurdyWurdy

I like Clara, it's pretty. I know three girls that had babies the same month as me who called them Clara so I think it's making a comeback!

I'm not pregnant or planning another one for a bit but my husband has already said if we have a girl next he wants to name her after his Mum who died when he was young. She had a very pretty name and I think it's a nice thing to do but I'm not sure about giving a baby the same name as someone who died (I.e she would have the same surname as well). I feel like I can't say no though. All hypothetical at this stage but he's brought it up a few times recently. Hmm....

Sligo1

wolfpawnat wrote: »

I have no h and I am supposed to be Nat-a-lee. But in Cork I get called Nat-lee. Pain in the tushy.

Lol... I get nat-lee a lot aswell! Drove my mum crazy when I was younger...

wolfpawnat

Sligo1 wrote: »

Lol... I get nat-lee a lot aswell! Drove my mum crazy when I was younger...

My partner says it joking because he knows it drives me mad. Most people just call me Nat now.

Sligo1

wolfpawnat wrote: »

My partner says it joking because he knows it drives me mad. Most people just call me Nat now.

Yup it's nat for me aswell .... Someone called me Nath once.... It just sounded wrong....

vitani

MurdyWurdy wrote: »

I'm not pregnant or planning another one for a bit but my husband has already said if we have a girl next he wants to name her after his Mum who died when he was young. She had a very pretty name and I think it's a nice thing to do but I'm not sure about giving a baby the same name as someone who died (I.e she would have the same surname as well). I feel like I can't say no though. All hypothetical at this stage but he's brought it up a few times recently. Hmm....

Would he settle for a middle name? My middle name is a version of my grandmother's first name and my daughter's middle name is a version of my mother's. I loved having that connection to my grandmother but I also liked having my own identity too.

MurdyWurdy

vitani wrote: »

Would he settle for a middle name? My middle name is a version of my grandmother's first name and my daughter's middle name is a version of my mother's. I loved having that connection to my grandmother but I also liked having my own identity too.

That's the thing, I feel like the baby should have their own identity.

I have a 5 month old boy and the plan was to use it as a middle name for him (if he had been a girl) but now hubby has progressed to wanting it for a first name.

wolfpawnat

vitani wrote: »

Would he settle for a middle name? My middle name is a version of my grandmother's first name and my daughter's middle name is a version of my mother's. I loved having that connection to my grandmother but I also liked having my own identity too.

My son has the same name as he grandfather. First and Last. We like it but that is a personal thing. Middle names are good too, our daughter has her grandmothers (same side) name as one of her middle names.

vitani

wolfpawnat wrote: »

My son has the same name as he grandfather. First and Last. We like it but that is a personal thing. Middle names are good too, our daughter has her grandmothers (same side) name as one of her middle names.

That's very true. And it's funny how quickly children grow to suit their names. My daughter's name wasn't even on my shortlist until a week before she was born - it was a name I wasn't particularly keen on at all but it wouldn't leave my head and now, I can't imagine her being called anything different.

Chattastrophe!

January wrote: »

This side of Dublin you'd be "Nah-leeeeee" :P

We have Clara picked for a girl this time (although I'm not in love with it, himself loves it...), I like Aoife too.

Luke or Ciaran for a boy.

I love Clara, that was my no. 1 choice for a girl until one of the guys at work used it for his daughter ... and then we found out we were having a boy anyways. My other girl names would be Alice and Amelia.

Sligo1

Amelia is a beautiful name.

Blingy

Sligo1 wrote: »

Amelia is a beautiful name.

Really like this name too

implausible

Sligo1 wrote: »

My name is pronounced Natalee. Spelt Nathalie...A lot of people spell it Natalie. No one has ever called me Nath-alie....

TBH I don't get the whole fada thing as I never did Irish... But I still think its completely up to the parents how they spell and pronounce their Childs name. No one is gonna convince me otherwise.... TBH... I actually don't see it as a big issue..... So long as the parents are happy.

That's the problem, a lot of people don't know what a fada does, they just think it should be in a word to make it look Irish.

At least when you know you haven't any Irish, you probably would have the sense to check the spelling of a name you'd intend to stick on a person for life. I wouldn't dream of not checking, for instance, the spelling of a Polish name if I was going to use one. It reminds me of people who get tattoos in foreign scripts and never check if they mean what they intended:eek:

Fwiw: A fada changes the pronunciation of a vowel and adds more vowel sounds to the language (in English, you just combine the vowels in a variety or confusing ways: way/weigh)

The easiest example is féar/fear.
'Féar' is the Irish for grass and is pronounced 'fair.'
'Fear' is the Irish for man and is pronounced 'far.'
Two completely different words, with different meanings and different pronunciations.

(Míchéal: Me-hale, Mícheál: Me-hall)

Here endeth the lesson....

I must admit it annoys me when people stick random fadas into a name. It makes me think that the parents want to appear cultured and Irish, but not enough to check the spelling.

pwurple

Sligo1 wrote: »

.... I still think its a parents perogative... And others will just have to get used to it.... I don't think anyone is going to think they appear illiterate.... Only perhaps judgemental people who don't have enough to worry about.... The others will prob just say... "o ok, I'll know for next time...".

I dunno sligo.. It's confusing for people.

A pal of mine recently called her little fella Cathal. Lovely name I thought when I saw her text. But she wants it pronounced like 'Kat-Heel' (or Kay-Heel, I can't actually remember it right) rather than what I'd be used to (Ka-Hal). I'll admit I am finding it slightly hard to remember the pronunciation when I see them... So I'm stuck with 'hi there little fella!' instead of using his name in case I muck it up.

seosamh1980

pwurple wrote: »

I dunno sligo.. It's confusing for people.

A pal of mine recently called her little fella Cathal. Lovely name I thought when I saw her text. But she wants it pronounced like 'Kat-Heel' (or Kay-Heel, I can't actually remember it right) rather than what I'd be used to (Ka-Hal). I'll admit I am finding it slightly hard to remember the pronunciation when I see them... So I'm stuck with 'hi there little fella!' instead of using his name in case I muck it up.

She's already mucked it up lol

Sligo1

pwurple wrote: »

I dunno sligo.. It's confusing for people.

A pal of mine recently called her little fella Cathal. Lovely name I thought when I saw her text. But she wants it pronounced like 'Kat-Heel' (or Kay-Heel, I can't actually remember it right) rather than what I'd be used to (Ka-Hal). I'll admit I am finding it slightly hard to remember the pronunciation when I see them... So I'm stuck with 'hi there little fella!' instead of using his name in case I muck it up.

I have to say I do agree with what you're saying... There's no doubt that some of the names spelt differently sound a bit odd (IMHO)... Or the changing of pronounciation of otherwise common names will confuse people (and IMO again sound a bit odd)... Lol. But I still do think that's up to the parents if thats what they want to do....

SusieBlue

Sligo1 wrote: »

I have to say I do agree with what you're saying... There's no doubt that some of the names spelt differently sound a bit odd (IMHO)... Or the changing of pronounciation of otherwise common names will confuse people (and IMO again sound a bit odd)... Lol. But I still do think that's up to the parents if thats what they want to do....

I agree that it should be up to the parents, but I also think that parents these days don't have enough considerations for their childs feelings, and how the child will feel having to spend the rest of his/her life correcting people. Its grand for the parent to say "Her name is Mary, but we're pronouncing it Susan" etc. when it isn't the parent who has to awkwardly correct people forever more. I can only imagine how annoying it is having to correct people all the time because your parents went with a random spelling or an unheard of pronunciation, just because they felt like it. Standard spellings and pronunciations make everyone's lives easier.

And as I've said before, picking a standard name with an unheard of spelling "to make it different" defeats the purpose of it, because it still sounds the same when said aloud. For that reason I don't see the point in Kiera/Keirah/Keerah etc., when they sound the same as Ciara. It makes the idea of changing the spelling redundant.

Chattastrophe!

Sligo1 wrote: »

But I still do think that's up to the parents if thats what they want to do....

It's not the parents that have to live with the name though.

The pronunciation of certain Irish names can sometimes be different due to local dialect (e.g. Cathal as Caw-hill or Ca-hill) but adding in random fadas or completely changing the pronunciation of a name is just plain WRONG. E.g. I saw a couple of pages back the name Eimear spelled with a fada on the second e ... the correct pronunciation of this would be Ee-mare, not Emer. To pronounce it like Emer is like shoving in a couple of random extra letters but announcing that they're silent. I've also seen that name spelled as Eimhear but pronounced Emer - Eimhear would be pronounced more like Ever. Another one that annoys me is when people pronounce Aoibheann as Ay-veen (should be more like Even.)

Obviously parents can (and do) call their children whatever they want - I think it's really unfair on the kids that have to live with misspelt/mispronounced names though. Especially when the parents KNOW it's wrong but decide to do it their own (wrong) way anyways.

Sligo1

If it bothers them that much they can always change it to the spelling they want when they're older....
Lol

Chattastrophe!

Sligo1 wrote: »

If it bothers them that much they can always change it to the spelling they want when they're older....
Lol

Would you be happy if your parents gave you a name that caused so much awkwardness that you ended up having to change it, with all the hassle and inconvenience involved in that?

Sligo1

Chattastrophe! wrote: »

Would you be happy if your parents gave you a name that caused so much awkwardness that you ended up having to change it, with all the hassle and inconvenience involved in that?

Probably not... Just there are loads of people who don't like the names their parents gave them. Look I'm not advocating this... All I've said is its the parents perogative. And it's their children. If they don't take this into consideration when naming their children it's really nobody else's business. All you can do is name your child a name as you see fit. Of course its ok to have an opinion... but I just really don't think it's other people's business to be getting involved or ridiculing how other parents decide to spell or pronounce their child's name... And this is exactly what was happening to another poster a few pages back. I was only trying to back him/her up.... As really the only persons involved in the naming process should be the parents.

Also to note... I have seen a few names on this thread (spelt and pronounced correctly) that in my opinion are absolutely awful and the poor child would probably be far more likely to be teased or tormented than a different name spelt slightly different or pronounced slightly differently. However, I would never pass comment on these names as its the parents business... And they obviously like it for one reason or another....

sReq | uTeK

Chattastrophe! wrote: »

It's not the parents that have to live with the name though.

The pronunciation of certain Irish names can sometimes be different due to local dialect (e.g. Cathal as Caw-hill or Ca-hill) but adding in random fadas or completely changing the pronunciation of a name is just plain WRONG. E.g. I saw a couple of pages back the name Eimear spelled with a fada on the second e ... the correct pronunciation of this would be Ee-mare, not Emer. To pronounce it like Emer is like shoving in a couple of random extra letters but announcing that they're silent. I've also seen that name spelled as Eimhear but pronounced Emer - Eimhear would be pronounced more like Ever. Another one that annoys me is when people pronounce Aoibheann as Ay-veen (should be more like Even.)

Obviously parents can (and do) call their children whatever they want - I think it's really unfair on the kids that have to live with misspelt/mispronounced names though. Especially when the parents KNOW it's wrong but decide to do it their own (wrong) way anyways.

okay, honestly, does it really matter, do you think kids on the playground are in the habit of mocking people about where a fada in a name is? Get real honestly, kids cant stand the language in class let alone carry it onto the playground. As for adults, I can tell you now most will glance at the name and still pronounce it the way it should be. why? Because 99% of the irish population couldn't give a toss whether you put the fada on the e or a they will all know its the irish equivalent of Michael and pronounce it the irish way. Sure you might get the odd pretentious twat who wants to stand out from the crowd and remark on how it should be spelled or pronounced but do you really care what they think.

do what you want put a fada on every letter it still wont make a difference. Its a dead language that not even the teachers want to teach.