Caoimhin

Femelade

How do you pronounce this name?
Is it the irish for Kevin?

RedXIV

Kwee-veen

tis my dad's name

Femelade

no offence, but does it sound a bit girlie for a boy? Do people miss-pronounce it alot?

RedXIV

well my dad is built like a brick s**thouse so i'd say he had no problems. Never had anyone mispronounce it actually..... maybe coz irish was taught better then?

Lockstep

Yeah, it's Kevin.

Kweeveen.


My sister is Caoimhe (Kweeva) which is the feminine form of it. English doesn;t have one methinks.

Insect Overlord

RedXIV wrote: »

Kwee-veen

kickoutthejams wrote: »

Yeah, it's Kevin.

Kweeveen.

+1
A friend of mine in college goes by the Irish version of Kevin too.

super_furry

As if Kevin wasn't already a boring enough name, someone had to go and make it Irish.

_blank_

I sometimes call my brother Kweev.

Sherifu

Femmy wrote: »

How do you pronounce this name?
Is it the irish for Kevin?

The first thing to do is hawk a greener.

RedXIV

Sherifu wrote: »

The first thing to do is hawk a greener.

ah you speak TRADITIONAL irish i see

chopperbyrne

Kwee-veen?

I would have always said Kee-veen.

Pherekydes

super_furry wrote: »

As if Kevin wasn't already a boring enough name, someone had to go and make it Irish.

Kevin is a bastardisation of Caoimhin rather than Caoimhin being a transalation of Kevin. The Irish language is a lot older than English.

super_furry

Slow coach wrote: »

Kevin is a bastardisation of Caoimhin rather than Caoimhin being a transalation of Kevin. The Irish language is a lot older than English.

Meh. It's still a terrible name.

_blank_

Slow coach wrote: »

Kevin is a bastardisation of Caoimhin rather than Caoimhin being a transalation of Kevin. The Irish language is a lot older than English.

Maybe not.

Look at the name John.

It has equivalents in many languages.

Ian
Jan
Johann
Iain
Ivan
Juan
Jon
Eoin

(not Seán)

One didn't necessarily come before the other.

Sherifu

RedXIV wrote: »

ah you speak TRADITIONAL irish i see

The proper way.

Pherekydes

DesF wrote: »

Maybe not.

Look at the name John.

What has this got to do with Kevin/Caoimhin?

_blank_

Slow coach wrote: »

What has this got to do with Kevin/Caoimhin?

Can you prove that Kevin is a bastardisation of the Irish?

It could just as easily have been borrowed into Gaelic from English at some stage, or from another Germanic/Latin language at an earlier stage.

Not all English words with close-sounding Irish equivalents are robbed from irish you know.

chopperbyrne

DesF wrote: »

Can you prove that Kevin is a bastardisation of the Irish?

It could just as easily have been borrowed into Gaelic from English at some stage, or from another Germanic/Latin language at an earlier stage.

Not all English words with close-sounding Irish equivalents are robbed from irish you know.

Before someone who actually means it says it; typical West Brit!

lostexpectation

what caoimhin is feminine kevin?, my sister husband is called kevin and they named their daughter caoimhe ha, never knew she was named after himself.

chopperbyrne

lostexpectation wrote: »

what caoimhin is feminine kevin?, my sister husband is called kevin and they named their daughter caoimhin ha, never knew she was named after himself.

No, no, no!

Caoimhe is the female name.

Caoimhín is the male.

_blank_

chopperbyrne wrote: »

No, no, no!

Caoimhe is the female name.

Caoimhín is the male.

I have a cousin called Caoimhe, she's most definitely a girl.

I think it's a lovely name.

lostexpectation

well i mean its like paul and paula, i didn't know that

chopperbyrne

It is a lovely name, for a girl.

Caoimhín is also a grand name, for a boy.

However, Caoimhín for a girl is all wrong.

_blank_

chopperbyrne wrote: »

It is a lovely name, for a girl.

Caoimhín is also a grand name, for a boy.

However, Caoimhín for a girl is all wrong.

true

kevmy

Jeez people are fairly slow on this thread today must be the heat ... or is it just the level of AH poster?

Anyway as a Kevin I can safely say I have never been mistaken for a lady and that the Irish for my name is indeed Caoimhín (or Caoimhighín depending on spelling) and that it is indeed pronounced Kwee-veen (if you can throw in a bit of blás all the better)

There is a feminine version of the name Caoimhe (pronounced Kwee-va) in Irish and (the extremely unpopular) Kevina as Bearla.

_blank_

kevmy wrote: »

Kevina

Well, I wonder why that's unpopular.

It rhymes with minge ffs.

lostexpectation

ah like kwee-veen o kwae-lann

_blank_

lostexpectation wrote: »

ah like kwee-veen o kwae-lann

Kway-lan is a different name, I think.

robinph

Caoimhín
Caoimhe
Caoimhighín



I'm just seeing lots of C's and O's then I have to give up. I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between any of the names and I'd have to resort to "Oi, you" and similar on encountering people with such names.

kevmy

DesF wrote: »

Kway-lan is a different name, I think.

Poster was referring to Caoimhghín O'Caoláin SF TD
http://www.sinnfeinonline.com/representatives/380

robinph wrote: »

Caoimhín
Caoimhe
Caoimhighín



I'm just seeing lots of C's and O's then I have to give up. I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between any of the names and I'd have to resort to "Oi, you" and similar on encountering people with such names.

Ok I'll go slow

Caoimhín and Caoimhighín and Caoimhghín are all the same name (Kevin in Irish). They are all pronounced the same way (Kwee-Veen) but spelt differently.

Caoimhe is the female version of the above name. As far as I've seen it's the only spelling used. It's pronounced Kwee-Va.

Quite simple really

Malice

Maybe it's just a west of Ireland thing but I've never met any natives who've had trouble with Caoimhín. Now names like Odharnait, Aobhinn and Conchubhair I would expect trouble with . Or, more likely, something like Przemyslaw...

robinph

kevmy wrote: »

Caoimhín and Caoimhighín and Caoimhghín are all the same name (Kevin in Irish). They are all pronounced the same way (Kwee-Veen) but spelt differently.

Caoimhe is the female version of the above name. As far as I've seen it's the only spelling used. It's pronounced Kwee-Va.

Quite simple really

I thought that was some kind of optical illusion going on there for a minute as I couldn't see the difference between the second two versions of the name you gave initially, I did spot that the first one didn't have a "g" in it though.

I'm not trying to be stupid, honest, but seeing the names written down just confuses me. On meeting a Kwee-veen I'd have no trouble saying their name but once I saw it actually written down I'd get all confuddled and would have difficulty saying their name as Kwee-veen again without concentrating.

Now somthing obvious and simple like Featherstonehaugh I can handle.

_blank_

robinph wrote: »

Now somthing obvious and simple like Featherstonehaugh I can handle.

Throatwarbler Mangrove, yeah?

cgc5483

Wow when i saw the thread title i thought people were talking about me again .

But seriously, I'm insulted by the person who suggested it sounded like a girls name. Pronounced properly it sounds very masculine, honestly, but then again you need a bit of understanding of Irish to be able to pronounce it properly. I work with alot of foreigners so you can imagine the looks I get when i say my name, even more so when I spell it. Most people try to start spelling with a Q or Kw and yes i get a lot of mail address to Ms Caoimhin!

Not so sure about Caoimhe being a female version. As far as I'm aware it is derived from the Irish word Caomh meaning beautiful.

robinph

DesF wrote: »

Throatwarbler Mangrove, yeah?

Spot on.

cgc5483 wrote: »

... and yes i get a lot of mail address to Ms Caoimhin!

I've had mail in work addresed to a Ms Roisin which confused me for a bit until I realised it was for me.

Malice

I worked with an English guy a few years ago who pronounced Siobhan phonetically as "Siob-han". It never failed to crack me up until someone explained the correct pronounciation to him.

Zzippy

super_furry wrote: »

As if Kevin wasn't already a boring enough name, someone had to go and make it Irish.

Ooh, you must have a really interesting name yourself then :rolleyes:

DesF wrote: »

Can you prove that Kevin is a bastardisation of the Irish?

It could just as easily have been borrowed into Gaelic from English at some stage, or from another Germanic/Latin language at an earlier stage.

Not all English words with close-sounding Irish equivalents are robbed from irish you know.

I thought it was well known that Caoimhin is an Irish/Gaelic name, that was later translated into English.

http://www.behindthename.com/name/kevin

KEVIN

Gender: Masculine

Usage: English, Irish, French

Pronounced: KEV-in [key]
Anglicized form of the Irish name Caoimhín, derived from the older Irish Coemgen, composed of the Old Irish elements coem "kind, gentle, handsome" and gein "birth". Saint Caoimhín established a monastery in Glendalough, Ireland in the 6th century and is the patron saint of Dublin.

p.s. why is it "borrowed" into Irish but "bastardised" into English?

Marz66

I think Caoimhe is such a popular name and well known as a girl's name that some people are assuming that Caoimhín is also a girl's name. That's what happened a Caoimhín I work with! If you are familiar with the Irish language you'll know the difference though! I wouldn't advise calling a girl Caoimhín either!

Marz66

Zzippy wrote: »

p.s. why is it "borrowed" into Irish but "bastardised" into English?

800 years of oppression!!!;)

wyk

DesF wrote: »

Can you prove that Kevin is a bastardisation of the Irish?

It could just as easily have been borrowed into Gaelic from English at some stage, or from another Germanic/Latin language at an earlier stage.

Not all English words with close-sounding Irish equivalents are robbed from irish you know.

Many of the names we have are not English at all, but English adoptions of the Hebrew and Greek that came before in the bible. IE: Yochanan/יוחנן/Yianni - Hebrew and greek for John/Ian. , or English versions of Greek like Jason, Alex, Andy, Hannah, George, Kate, Peter, Ted, Tom, Steve, Sara, etc. etc. etc. - Names haven't changed much in thousands of years...

However, it is generally accepted that KEVIN is of Celtic origin:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin

http://www.behindthename.com/name/kevin

http://www.searchforancestors.com/surnames/origin/k/kevin.php

http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Kevin-name-meaning.ashx

WYK

malice_

malice_ wrote: »

Maybe it's just a west of Ireland thing but I've never met any natives who've had trouble with Caoimhín. Now names like Odharnait, Aobhinn and Conchubhair I would expect trouble with . Or, more likely, something like Przemyslaw...

Isn't Aobhinn pronounced Ay-Finn

Zzippy

Deleted User wrote: »

Isn't Aobhinn pronounced Ay-Finn

I thought it was more like Ay-veen?

Zzippy

Zzippy wrote: »

I thought it was more like Ay-veen?

Not entirely sure. I had a friend who pronounced it Ay-Finn. But it could also be Ay-Veen I suppose.

kevmy

Deleted User wrote: »

Not entirely sure. I had a friend who pronounced it Ay-Finn. But it could also be Ay-Veen I suppose.

I'd definitely go with Ay-Veen.

Have to say I never seen anyone who had any difficulty with Caoimhín or indeed Aobhinn before this thread - well no one Irish anyway

Malice

Isn't Aobhinn pronounced Ay-Finn

Nope, the girl in question pronounces it Ay-veen as others have said. I would hope that she knows how to pronounce her own name .

Just checked and the guy I'm referring to name is spelt Aodhfin.

On a side-note -- Ooo youtubue buttons.

conchubhar1

malice_ wrote: »

Maybe it's just a west of Ireland thing but I've never met any natives who've had trouble with Caoimhín. Now names like Odharnait, Aobhinn and Conchubhair I would expect trouble with . Or, more likely, something like Przemyslaw...

my name is actually conor, but yes in irish there are at least 50 different ways to pronounce and spell it

conchubhar1

Zzippy wrote: »

p.s. why is it "borrowed" into Irish but "bastardised" into English?

good question
maybe cos in irish names had a meaning - specific spelling - fadá's etc etc
when its translated into english (yes,just english cos of its oversimplified blandness) it looses so much
but-yes irish borrowed words/names as does every (90%) language
but english did this extensively from every language under the sun
majority of engish words arent english- no matter what you define english as.

before someone points it out - yes i have nothing to say on topic - as the question is answered

lostexpectation

malice_ wrote: »

Maybe it's just a west of Ireland thing but I've never met any natives who've had trouble with Caoimhín. Now names like Odharnait, Aobhinn and Conchubhair I would expect trouble with . Or, more likely, something like Przemyslaw...

kon cu bar?

i'll have to my niece kevin junior the second from now on.

Malice

lostexpectation wrote: »

kon cu bar?

No, it's a bit difficult to spell phonetically and again this might be a west of Ireland thing again but it's something like cro-who-are. The 'cro' part is sounded like the 'bro' in brother, the 'who' and 'are' parts are sounded like the English words except they run into each other, a bit like the word 'whore'.

I'm surprised so many Irish people don't know that Caoimhin = Kevin or how to pronounce it, I'd have thought it was fairly general knowledge in Ireland? Don't you learn Irish for years? (Not trying to be smart BTW, just genuinely curious) Caoimhe is extremely common so it wouldn't seem like Caoimhin would present much of a problem pronunciation wise for someone who grew up here.