naming baby

enilec

Hi everyone, I'm currently 6 months pregnant & desperately trying to find a name for the new arrival. It's a boy. When I suggest names I like to my partner, he thinks they're too feminine. He likes the name Odin but I need some feedback from the great Irish public on this one. It's a Scandinavian name but I think it has a very Irish sound about it, kind of like Orin or Olan (sp?). Let me know what you think. Looking forward to hearing back from you! P.S. Also do you know anyone named Odin???

cch

It's certainly unusual!!
Does it go with the surname and do the initials work? (i.e. not OK, ODD or something!)
Is there any scandanavian connection in either family?
Any particular reason he has for choosing it? Apart from just liking it!

Das Kitty

Odin's a great name IMO.

We were looking at some Nordic names ourselves. Nearly got killed when I mentioned Snorri...

enilec

cch wrote: »

It's certainly unusual!!
Does it go with the surname and do the initials work? (i.e. not OK, ODD or something!)
Is there any scandanavian connection in either family?
Any particular reason he has for choosing it? Apart from just liking it!

Initials will be O.K. but I don't think that's a problem. No scandinavian connection, we just came across the name. We try to avoid common names, our daughter has the name of an Amazonian climbing vine, but there's no South American family connections either! No particular reason for choosing it apart from wanting to steer clear of the norm without being too wacky, wouldn't want the child to be emotionally scarred for life because of his name. On the plus side, I think the name has an interesting background. Thanks for your input.

enilec

Das Kitty wrote: »

Odin's a great name IMO.

We were looking at some Nordic names ourselves. Nearly got killed when I mentioned Snorri...

I knew a dog called Snorri once so that's given me an instant negative reaction to that name...

Khannie

I find asking peoples advice about names before you've decided will result in two things:

1) they like the name
2) they don't like the name, tell you so, and you find this upsetting.

On the flip side, if you just go with a name you'll find people very accepting of it.

We had a classic example (and learned the hard way to keep our gobs shut) with our little girl. We decided to call her Róisín. Now I _LOVE_ the name but before she was born her gran asked, we told her, she's all "I don't like it". Fup. Where do you go from there like? Next time we're sticking with "we'll decide on the day" (though in reality we've already decided names).

Anyway: Odin? I think it's ok. Picking names is tough. People will get used to it one way or the other.

Good luck!

The Big Red Button

I quite like Odin. I wouldn't call my own child Odin, but I like it. It's unusual, but not in a weird quirky-just-for-the-sake-of-it kind of way. If that makes sense! And no, I've never met anyone called Odin.

You say it has an Irishy sound to it - if you were considering similar Irish names, I love the name Odhran, pronounced Oran. Or you could spell Odin as Odan to make it more Irish.

And Khannie - I love the name Róisín!

Moonbeam

Never heard it before but it is not awful,came across Odhan and Odhran in Ireland.
I like Róisín too and Ciara but there are far too many of both around.
My girls names were Dearbhail or Caoimhe,love Síofra too.

Rondolfus

A good friend of mine named his child Chiggy. At first I thought it was really strange, but its actually really nice the more you hear it. Chiggy... It just rolls of the tongue

The Big Red Button

Rondolfus wrote: »

A good friend of mine named his child Chiggy. At first I thought it was really strange, but its actually really nice the more you hear it. Chiggy... It just rolls of the tongue

Isn't that what the tabloids called Chanelle/Ziggy in Big Brother a couple of years ago?

Nevyn

Odin?
Oh dear sweet gods above and below.

OK you can name your child what you will but have you read up on who Odin is?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odin
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/o/odin.html

Rondolfus

chatterpillar wrote: »

Isn't that what the tabloids called Chanelle/Ziggy in Big Brother a couple of years ago?

OMG I never watched big brother so I never made a connection. If that is the case im shocked and have changed my opinion of the name.

Please don't name the child Chiggy

enilec

Thaedydal wrote: »

Odin?
Oh dear sweet gods above and below.

OK you can name your child what you will but have you read up on who Odin is?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odin
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/o/odin.html

I'm aware of who Odin is - that's not what puts me off the name, it's just that I'm not sure if I actually like the name itself. The only thing that makes me like it really is the mythology behind it! I like the name Aidan (I'd probably spell it Aedan) which has quite a similar sound but the OH is putting his foot down & WANTS Odin but he named our daughter so surely it's my turn now...

Nevyn

Well from my perspective as a pagan and knowing the edda well and some of the tricks, stunts and things which Odin is accused of and had to suffer I would not consdier naming a child that, no more then I would consider name a child after an Mhor Rioghain (The Morrigan).

As for who gets to name the children that is something you will have to riddle out with your partner. Mine had his mind set on our sons name and then he saw me gave birth and conceeded to my arguements to make the name he wanted as our son's second name.

LordSutch

Odlum maybe?

You must remember that alot of Irish names originate from scandinavia - ie. The Vikings. Apparently my name, Gráinne, is very Scandinavian sounding (according to a norwegian I once met!)

I quite like Odin actually.

lolli

enilec wrote: »

I'm aware of who Odin is - that's not what puts me off the name, it's just that I'm not sure if I actually like the name itself. The only thing that makes me like it really is the mythology behind it! I like the name Aidan (I'd probably spell it Aedan) which has quite a similar sound but the OH is putting his foot down & WANTS Odin but he named our daughter so surely it's my turn now...

what did you call your daughter? I quite like the name. Something different anyway.

enilec

lolli wrote: »

what did you call your daughter? I quite like the name. Something different anyway.

Hi Lolli, my daughter is Liana (lee-ah-nah not lee-anna!!!).

DUBACC

I find it hilarious among my work colleagues and other friends when they were deciding on names,. It seemed each was trying to out-do the other with more and more outlandish names with different pronounciations of the same bloody name.

To the OP, Odin is a nice original name - unusual and unique (-ish). I had a mate in school called Olan and i always thought that was a cool name. But a word of warning. My wife and some of her friends are teachers and they see first-hand the un-merciless slagging and bullying that goes on towards some kids with 'unusual' names. I for one would hate to put that on a child, having been tormented in school myself.

enilec

DUBACC wrote: »

But a word of warning. My wife and some of her friends are teachers and they see first-hand the un-merciless slagging and bullying that goes on towards some kids with 'unusual' names. I for one would hate to put that on a child, having been tormented in school myself.

So Dubacc, are you saying that you think he'd be slagged off with a name like Odin? I want a name that's not common but not weird-for-the-sake-of-being-weird either... cos I hate that too. Thanks for your input.

maxwell smart

We had a couple of rules when naming our kids. We have a long surname and picked short (3 and 4 letter) first names. Nothing worse than a really long first name and surname.
Also, why do people pick a regular name, and then decide to spell it in a way that is not universially recognised? Can't they see that somewhere in the future their little child is going to have to explain to everyone that the way to spell their name is not actually the normal way. Bit of a pain I would imagine.
As for Odin, well it won't be misspelled, and it ain't too bad either. And at least its not one of those...no I'll stop there!

enilec

maxwell smart wrote: »

As for Odin, well it won't be misspelled, and it ain't too bad either. And at least its not one of those...no I'll stop there!

I'm intrigued Maxwell, do go on!

maxwell smart

Helmet on the head for this one so.

Why do people give their kids completly unprenouncable names? Names like Sadhbh, Aoibheann, Aoibhinn etc? Now I'm all for our national heritage, but fast forward to when their 21 working in London, New York or similar......Can their parents even imagine the difficulty people will have in saying these names?
Maybe I just believe that names should be seen as a way to intigrate yourself with the wider world. Because the way this economy is going we'll all be working for the IMF soon!

enilec

maxwell smart wrote: »

Helmet on the head for this one so.

Why do people give their kids completly unprenouncable names? Names like Sadhbh, Aoibheann, Aoibhinn etc? !

Tee hee, I don't agree with you there. I hate when people give their kids Irish names but anglicise the spelling. But I imagine it would get annoying with people spelling/pronouncing your name incorrectly all the time. I have a fairly regular name (spelt in a straight forward way) but have always come up against people who have difficulty with it. My forename is French in origin but not unknown in these parts, my surname is a common Irish family name but without the usual 'O' so this cause some people "difficulty". I think if a person respects you enough they will get your name right. Hate when they get it wrong - it's so insulting.
Love your IMF comment btw.

lolli

enilec wrote: »

Hi Lolli, my daughter is Liana (lee-ah-nah not lee-anna!!!).

oooh thats a gorgeous name.

enilec

lolli wrote: »

oooh thats a gorgeous name.

Unfortunately it's a name that people can't get to grips with. She is constantly being called Leanne, especially by older people and don't get me started on the spelling! Sooooooo annoying. -_-

lolli

Same with my sisters name. Shes called Naoise a lot of ppl cant say it at all. she gets called Alicia a lot.

ebmma

enilec wrote: »

So Dubacc, are you saying that you think he'd be slagged off with a name like Odin? I want a name that's not common but not weird-for-the-sake-of-being-weird either... cos I hate that too. Thanks for your input.

hope this might help:

http://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/suitability_of_Odin.html

Das Kitty

maxwell smart wrote: »

Maybe I just believe that names should be seen as a way to intigrate yourself with the wider world. Because the way this economy is going we'll all be working for the IMF soon!

Hope your kids are either called Mohommed or Chen then!

Don't see the problem with traditional names to be honest, and a trend towards people not giving the names to their children due to pronouncability issues is going to lead to them dying out and most kids being called names that are pronounced exactly as they are written. Think it's a bid sad personally.

Little Acorn

Have you considered Eoin?
It's the Irish version of Owen?
There's a fada on the o, bùt don't know what button to get it on screen.

OR

.Lorcan

.I love the names Glen and Adam.

implausible

Little Acorn wrote: »

Have you considered Eoin?
It's the Irish version of Owen?
There's a fada on the o, bùt don't know what button to get it on screen.

Sorry, have to jump in there. Eoin is a simplification of Eoghan, which was the Irish version of John. Owen is an Anglicisation of Eoghan/Eoin. You CANNOT put a fada randomly on an English name, there's a W in it ffs!

As for suggesting that people should anglicise names to make them easier to pronounce, did we not have 800 years of that?! All of my family have Irish names and like explaining to people their origin. Why make it easier for people to be lazy? In school, if I come across a new name, I check with the student how to pronounce it and make a conscious effort to get it right. Others, however, don't bother and call them whatever is convenient e.g for Natalia, calling the poor girl Natalie. It's basic manners, your name is the first thing people encounter, how you introduce yourself.

The Big Red Button

DUBACC wrote: »

But a word of warning. My wife and some of her friends are teachers and they see first-hand the un-merciless slagging and bullying that goes on towards some kids with 'unusual' names. I for one would hate to put that on a child, having been tormented in school myself.

A child called Odin is unlikely to share his name with another classmate, so that's a good thing (there were four other girls with my name in my secondary school year, which I hated!) But, with Ireland becoming so multicultural, in my opinion it's not "odd-ball" enough to be picked on or slagged. It's not like "Apple" or "Peaches" or whatever! It's just a nice, simple but unusual name. I can't see the name in itself leading to the child being bullied.

maxwell smart wrote: »

Why do people give their kids completly unprenouncable names? Names like Sadhbh, Aoibheann, Aoibhinn etc?

If I had two daughters, I'd call them Sadhbh (not sure if that's the right spelling, I prefer Sadbh but must find out which is more correct) and Aoibhe.

I know a lot of people with "common" Irish names such as Ciara, Gráinne, Siobháin, Aoife, Padraig, Seán, Ciarán etc who have problems with people pronouncing their names abroad. In a world where lots of people from lots of countries travel globally for work, well that's life! It might take a few tries for other people to grasp the correct pronunciation, but in my opinion that's preferable to those names dying out, and everyone's names being chosen from a small easily-pronouncable pool of names such as Jack, Adam, Anna etc.

ebmma

Das Kitty wrote: »

Hope your kids are either called Mohommed or Chen then!

Don't see the problem with traditional names to be honest, and a trend towards people not giving the names to their children due to pronouncability issues is going to lead to them dying out and most kids being called names that are pronounced exactly as they are written. Think it's a bid sad personally.

But isn't there already anglicised or half-anglicised Irish names that no one finds odd - like Emer and Maeve for example?

Little Acorn

deemark wrote: »

Sorry, have to jump in there. Eoin is a simplification of Eoghan, which was the Irish version of John. Owen is an Anglicisation of Eoghan/Eoin. You CANNOT put a fada randomly on an English name, there's a W in it ffs!

As for suggesting that people should anglicise names to make them easier to pronounce, did we not have 800 years of that?! All of my family have Irish names and like explaining to people their origin. Why make it easier for people to be lazy? In school, if I come across a new name, I check with the student how to pronounce it and make a conscious effort to get it right. Others, however, don't bother and call them whatever is convenient e.g for Natalia, calling the poor girl Natalie. It's basic manners, your name is the first thing people encounter, how you introduce yourself.

Eoghan,

I thought that it was something like that but didn't know how to spell it so googled Irish version of Owen,and got a site called "Ireland now, Irish names for babies."(1st on list)

It listed Eoin (spelt with a fada on the o) as being the Irish for Owen. It also mentioned that it was derived from the name John.

You CANNOT put a fada randomly on an English name, there's a W in it ffs!

I never suggested putting a fada on the english word Owen.
I was referring to the fact that Eoin had a fada on the o.

As for suggesting that people should anglicise names to make them easier to pronounce, did we not have 800 years of that?!

I never once suggested that people should anglicise their names to make them easier to pronounce.!
I was trying to suggest the Irish name Eoghan,but didn't have the spelling right so looked it up and got the spelling Eoin.

Now that I know the correct spelling is Eoghan,that's the name I would recommend as that was the name I was thinking of.

Like you,I also always make a conscious effort to get people's names correct, I just got the spelling wrong,that's all.

Little Acorn

Yesterday, 22:09 #32
chatterpillar

I know a lot of people with "common" Irish names such as Ciara, Gráinne, Siobháin, Aoife, Padraig, Seán, Ciarán etc who have problems with people pronouncing their names abroad. In a world where lots of people from lots of countries travel globally for work, well that's life! It might take a few tries for other people to grasp the correct pronunciation, but in my opinion that's preferable to those names dying out, and everyone's names being chosen from a small easily-pronouncable pool of names such as Jack, Adam, Anna etc.

I agree with this.
My favourite Irish name is Saoirse

(Although I do like the name Adam. Just like the sound of it. :-) )

Little Acorn

Little Acorn wrote: »

My favourite Irish name is Saoirse

That's my daughters name! But pronounced correctly of course

chatterpillar wrote: »

I know a lot of people with "common" Irish names such as Ciara, Gráinne, Siobháin, Aoife, Padraig, Seán, Ciarán etc who have problems with people pronouncing their names abroad. In a world where lots of people from lots of countries travel globally for work, well that's life! It might take a few tries for other people to grasp the correct pronunciation, but in my opinion that's preferable to those names dying out, and everyone's names being chosen from a small easily-pronouncable pool of names such as Jack, Adam, Anna etc.

Yup. I'm usually called Grain - ee. And don't get me started on my surname. Damn husband.

hacked

oh daisy...i love the name Saoirse! It would have been a front runner for girls names for me if I didn't already know a Saoirse quite well.

That was the problem I had with finding names. If I am in any way close or friendly with someone who has a name I like I automatically can;t use it...it doesn't seem right to me. My baby needs to have it's own individual name that isn't going to remind me of someone else!

Das Kitty

ebmma wrote: »

But isn't there already anglicised or half-anglicised Irish names that no one finds odd - like Emer and Maeve for example?

Well neither of those are pronounced exactly as they're spelled either.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against any name but choosing not to name a child a name that you actually like based only on the way people will pronounce it is a bit sad IMO.

ebmma

Das Kitty wrote: »

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against any name but choosing not to name a child a name that you actually like based only on the way people will pronounce it is a bit sad IMO.

I can agree with that. I think it was just coming across as 'people should give their kids Irish name to keep the tradition alive whether they actually like those names or not' to me

Das Kitty

ebmma wrote: »

I can agree with that. I think it was just coming across as 'people should give their kids Irish name to keep the tradition alive whether they actually like those names or not' to me

Not at all. In fact the few names we have short-listed aren't traditional Irish ones (in spite of us both being Irish speakers).

implausible

Little Acorn wrote: »

It listed Eoin (spelt with a fada on the o) as being the Irish for Owen. It also mentioned that it was derived from the name John.

I never once suggested that people should anglicise their names to make them easier to pronounce.!

I wasn't accusing you of this, I was referring to another poster, thought it was obvious, obviously not. Sorry.

Eóin is wrong, websites aren't always reliable.

finneran2000

lolli wrote: »

enilec wrote: »

I'm aware of who Odin is - that's not what puts me off the name, it's just that I'm not sure if I actually like the name itself. The only thing that makes me like it really is the mythology behind it! I like the name Aidan (I'd probably spell it Aedan) which has quite a similar sound but the OH is putting his foot down & WANTS Odin but he named our daughter so surely it's my turn now...

what did you call your daughter? I quite like the name. Something different anyway.

Hey i like that name odin :-) when are u due what hospital

Oral Slang

Finneran2000, I presume they had their baby already, seeing as that post is 2 years old next week!

pennypitstop

My husband was very wary of the Bullying factor when we named our children, he could find some way of teasing nearly every name I suggested (and all from experience of an all-boys school education). Apparently its a big thing among boys.

The child will have to live with the name forever so my advice would be make it easy to spell and pronounced as spelled!
We had our 1st boys name decided long before the birth and then changed it to something we hadn't even considered when we saw him,it felt right.

Synchronicity

It's a good idea to think of the nicknames the names might lead to. I've done the calculations, and in this case, there's a 71.3% chance the kid will end up being called "Odie" (Oh-dee).

ShaShaBear

Well my mother went with Alisha for me (Al-Eesh-ah) and I love my name, the spelling and pronunciation. It's a lot more common now than it was 24 years ago when I was given it (I got Cassandra as a middle name, my mother is pro). But the atrocious amount of trouble Ive had with people trying to say it. I've had Aisling so many times I answer to it. There isn't even a "G" in my name, how could anyone come to that conclusion? I've also gotten Eilis, Alicia, Eleesha, Al-eye-sha and Alley-sha. Seriously.

Myself and my boyfriend aren't expecting, but we had Summer/Ferris for a girl and Reece/Simon for a boy. I love the names and it makes me broody just thinking about them!

wmpdd3

Synchronicity wrote: »

It's a good idea to think of the nicknames the names might lead to. I've done the calculations, and in this case, there's a 71.3% chance the kid will end up being called "Odie" (Oh-dee).

You can't win, I had a friend called Tom, his nick name was Quasimodo. :eek:

implausible

Synchronicity wrote: »

It's a good idea to think of the nicknames the names might lead to. I've done the calculations, and in this case, there's a 71.3% chance the kid will end up being called "Odie" (Oh-dee).

Kids can be far less imaginative that you think, and what may occur to you, rarely occurs to them, so I wouldn't factor bullying in unless it's for something really obvious, like Willy, Dick or Satan:eek:

I've taught kids called Mouse, Nipper, Goofy and kids who never get called anything but their surname and I went to college a Bongo and a Spurt! Most nicknames are to do with appearance/characteristics or something stupid that happened and very rarely to do with the kid's name.

My child's surname is the same as a character in a popular kids' programme, which I'm hoping won't be still popular when he's in school!