baby boy's name...yey or nay???

bumpintraining

K just wondering what people's opinions are on the name;
Kaelan/ Caelan? Pronounced 'Kay Linn'

Is it a bit feminine?
I like it because it's unusual, have never heard of a child with this name and it got bonus points as its Gaelic for 'Mighty at war, Slender and fair'
(I personally prefer it spelt with a 'C')

Don't be afraid to give your honest opinions!!!;)

livvy

I like it. A nice Irish "soft" name. Sometimes the Irish ones are a bit strong sounding and can be a bit of a mouthful if you know what i mean! I like the Irish sounding names both my kids have one. I think your surname too has a lot to do with your final choice. Thumbs up from me.

MotteDai

bumpintraining wrote: »

K just wondering what people's opinions are on the name;
Kaelan/ Caelan? Pronounced 'Kay Linn'

Is it a bit feminine?
I like it because it's unusual, have never heard of a child with this name and it got bonus points as its Gaelic for 'Mighty at war, Slender and fair'
(I personally prefer it spelt with a 'C')

Don't be afraid to give your honest opinions!!!;)

Hi its the male version, we called our daughter Keela which is the female version I believe, im so used to it know i couldnt imagine her without it.. we like Caelan for a boy at the time..

Go for it.. its a cool name,

TwilightWillow

Absolutely love the name Caelan. One of my fav boys names. Although like Livvy said it would also depend on your surname. I love it though.

implausible

It's a lovely name. I've come across a few Caoláns (Kay-lawn) and Caolans (Key-lan, Kay-lin). You could spell it this way if you wanted it to look more Irish. The Caelan version is more Scots Gaelic.

Khannie

bumpintraining wrote: »

Is it a bit feminine?

A little bit.

I may be just saying that because I don't know anyone with the name though. What makes a name masculine or feminine is mostly how many people of a particular gender you know with that name.

If you like it...hell...that's all that's important IMO.

lalalulu

I think the 'key linn' version is much more masculine. Kay linn does sound a little like a girl's name... Only in my opinion tho

Moonbeam

Caoilfionn would be the irish spelling,

I would know it as a girls name but it can be used for either.

ash.c

bumpintraining wrote: »

K just wondering what people's opinions are on the name;
Kaelan/ Caelan? Pronounced 'Kay Linn'

Is it a bit feminine?
I like it because it's unusual, have never heard of a child with this name and it got bonus points as its Gaelic for 'Mighty at war, Slender and fair'
(I personally prefer it spelt with a 'C')

Don't be afraid to give your honest opinions!!!;)

I LOVE it..Also like Keelin

She Devil

I love it to ... think its fab!!!

I_Am_The_Walrus

You could spell it this Irish way if it makes any difference: Ceighleann

Not so sure about Caoilfionn

implausible

I_Am_The_Walrus wrote: »

You could spell it this Irish way if it makes any difference: Ceighleann

Not so sure about Caoilfionn

Maybe it depends on the part of the country or the Irish you have but I've never seen that spelling of it. Caoilfhionn is the more usual one.

Moonbeam

I_Am_The_Walrus wrote: »

You could spell it this Irish way if it makes any difference: Ceighleann

Not so sure about Caoilfionn

Never seen it spelt like that neither has google but that is one of the beauties of unusual spellings:)

Ceileann would be another more common spelling though

.

implausible

Moonbeam wrote: »

Never seen it spelt like that neither has google but that is one of the beauties of unusual spellings:)

That's because there's a 'h' missing; it's Caoilfhionn

According to Ó Dónaill, Céileann means fair lady in literature. Ceileann (minus the fada) is the present tense 'to hide'

Moonbeam

Thanks for that I had not realised I had left it out:)

I have seen people spelling it Caoilfionn and Caoilfhionn too.

The Big Red Button

I_Am_The_Walrus wrote: »

You could spell it this Irish way if it makes any difference: Ceighleann

Not so sure about Caoilfionn

Never seen it spelt Ceighleann, but I'd imagine that would be pronounced "keh-lenn" (rhyming with Ellen) rather than "kee-len" or "kay-len".

OP - a name prounounced "Kay-Lynne" is going to come across as quite feminine to non-Irish people! And personally I don't like either of those spellings (Kaelan or Caelan.)

If anything, I prefer the name Caoilfhionn (pronounced Keelan, or similar.)

I really like that actually.

I may steal that if I ever make my mind up on having another one!!

bumpintraining

Hi all thanks for all your opinions. My partners surname; which will also be our baby's; is a strong Irish surname.
I have another 6months to decide so will no doubt change my mind a million times;)

Am still concerned if it's too out there for a boy's name, for some reason I'm more willing to give an unique name to a girl than a boy

What's putting me off most is will people associate Kaelan with a female? I don't think I'll ever be forgiven if my son gets post in the door saying Ms Kaelan!! Oh the psychological scars!!!:eek:

Moonbeam

For some reason I always associate names that start with a k as boys and c as girls!

the-furbo

Ive heard it on both boys and girls, heard keelin more commonly for a boy but i like kaylin just as much, looked after a little boy called kaylin when i worked in a creche!!

Catari Jaguar

Moonbeam wrote: »

Caoilfionn would be the irish spelling,

I would know it as a girls name but it can be used for either.

Yea it's Caoilfhionn.

Imo, I really don't think Irish people that can pronounce and spell Irish names should spell the names in an American/ English phonetic way. It waters them down and loses any of the purity and tradition. It's much more interesting to see the combined Irish words used to give it meaning. Maybe I'm the only one that feels like that...

It's like Shawn instead of Seán. Just silly.

Anyways, I love the name. *thumbs up* It means "Slender (Caol) Blonde (Fionn)". So here's hoping he's not chubby and dark haired

Piste

I never knew Caoilfhionn was a boy's name as well as a girl's name! I've only ever heard it used for girls. Then again I was also taken aback when I heard boys being called Naoise, In always thought it was a girl's name.

maebee

Piste wrote: »

I never knew Caoilfhionn was a boy's name as well as a girl's name! I've only ever heard it used for girls. Then again I was also taken aback when I heard boys being called Naoise, In always thought it was a girl's name.

I had an uncle called Naoise. It's short for Ignatius. BTW. OP, have you considered Cian?

chughes

One of the most important things you ever do in your life is to name a child. If you do have a boy and there is any ambiguity as to the gender of the name, this could be exploited cruelly by other kids in the school yard. You could end up with the "Boy Named Sue" syndrome where your child resents you for what you have put him through. What might seem as a cute name for a baby has to work through childhood and into adulthood. Please give this a lot of thought before going ahead.

langers

Go for it! Don't go with a name that others like. Go with what you want! Thats my golden rule!

implausible

maebee wrote: »

I had an uncle called Naoise. It's short for Ignatius. BTW. OP, have you considered Cian?

I've never heard it as short for Ignatius, though it does work! Naoise was the fella who ran off to Scotland with Deirdre of the Sorrows in Irish mythology.

crazy cat lady

I have a male friend called Cailin. I don't know if thats pronounced the same but it suits him.

implausible

crazy cat lady wrote: »

I have a male friend called Cailin. I don't know if thats pronounced the same but it suits him.

Cailin? Does he not get called Cailín ("colleen"), as in the Irish for girl?!

Herbal Deity

Lil Kitten wrote: »

Yea it's Caoilfhionn.

Imo, I really don't think Irish people that can pronounce and spell Irish names should spell the names in an American/ English phonetic way. It waters them down and loses any of the purity and tradition. It's much more interesting to see the combined Irish words used to give it meaning. Maybe I'm the only one that feels like that...

It's like Shawn instead of Seán. Just silly.

+10000000000000

If you do call your child this, please do use the proper Irish spelling. However, I've only ever heard Caoilfhionn being used as a girl's name, and personally would avoid it.

cleveroli

deemark wrote: »

Cailin? Does he not get called Cailín ("colleen"), as in the Irish for girl?!

i have to admit I dont like it. and remember when hes in school none of his friends will be able to spell it on christmas cards /party invites etc. we have it in our school with a little lad called ruairi and hes called rory ruarai all different spellings - also if he goes to work in UK or america it will be a nightmare (people trying to pronounce it)- Im not saying that you should go for a run of the mill name but pls pick one that your child can live with and not just because you like the sound of it - what i did when before my son was born was watch the titles on all the tv programmes and looked for something my son cud live with and so could I.

Best of luck with everything:D

By the way did you hear about the mother who picked a name that couldnt be shortened (eg. martin /marty etc) as she wanted her son to be called by the name he was christened with? She choose Adrian but his college friends know him as 'AIDS':D

crazy cat lady

deemark wrote: »

Cailin? Does he not get called Cailín ("colleen"), as in the Irish for girl?!

No, he's in the UK. I don't think many English people know much Irish!

chughes

crazy cat lady wrote: »

No, he's in the UK. I don't think many English people know much Irish!

English people may not know much Irish but many will be aware that Wayne Rooney's wife is called Colleen and that one of the Nolan sisters is also called Colleen so they will associate that name with being female. I think it's terribly unfair to give a child a name which can be a source of grief in it's older life.

crazy cat lady

Its pronounced Kay-Lin (Cailin) so I think he's ok. I never associated it with being a female name, just thought it was unusual the first time I heard it

bumpintraining

chughes wrote: »

Wayne Rooney's wife is called Colleen and that one of the Nolan sisters is also called Colleen so they will associate that name with being female.

Where did you get Coleen from Kaelan

I_Am_The_Walrus

Where did you get Coleen from Kaelan

I agree. This is going a bit OT.

Hrududu

Sounds like a girls name to me I'm afraid.

implausible

bumpintraining wrote: »

Where did you get Coleen from Kaelan

From this post:

crazy cat lady wrote: »

I have a male friend called Cailin. I don't know if thats pronounced the same but it suits him.

LordSutch

crazy cat lady wrote: »

No, he's in the UK. I don't think many English people know much Irish!

Don't forget the 'UK' includes places like Derry, where they might already have a few Cailin's
admittedly in England the name would be totally unheard of ...........