bnt wrote: » Since I'm not Irish, you might find it hard to imagine what I thought when I saw some of the names on Election posters. In 2002, Niamh Bhreathnach stood for TD in Dún Laoghaire, trying to get her old seat back. I saw that name on the poster and burst out laughing ... I didn't know you had Klingons running for office? ?"
LordSutch wrote: » Bosco (1980s puppet on RTE), I don't know if it really exists as an adult name Surely it was just made up for the show?
iamwhoiam wrote: » I genuinely dont know what you find funny about Niamh Bhreathnach . It would be like me arriving in Russia and finding their names hilarious ?? Or am I misunderstanding ?
Bambi wrote: » Fearganainm is my favourite, although i've never met anyone who was actually called that
tallaghtmick wrote: » fear gan ainm man without name
admiralofthefleet wrote: » i worked with a fella in bewleys called uscar and his brother coillte
ballsymchugh wrote: » know a girl from armagh called fainche. doesn't have an english equivalent as far as i know
ballsymchugh wrote: » feilim = philip
milehip1 wrote: » feilim is irish for felix
MrsD007 wrote: » Cara Iosa - "Friend of God" (Girl's name) Tola - was an Irish Saint (Boy's name) Bronagh - "Sorrowful one" (Girl's name) Laoise - Irish version of Louise
PhoenixParker wrote: » For names like Niamh and Siobhan, I never had a problem with foreigners pronouncing them once I said mh and bh are pronounced V in Irish. They got it straight away then. Most unusual name I've come across lately is Aebhric which I've come across in two different people recently. Never heard it before.
Rhalliord wrote: » not all bh's are pronounced as v's. The bh in Labhaoise is silent.
anawfulbogey wrote: » We're currently expecting our first child and the names we have picked are Tadhg for a boy and Aoibhínn for a girl. I noticed they came up in this thread and I have to say it alarms me that Irish people would or could consider traditional names in the only language truly native to this island to be in any way 'unusual'. There is a disturbingly colonial mentality in this country tbh.
PhoenixParker wrote: » And how many Aoibheanns and Tadhgs are on the 1911 census for instance? For all the traditional irishness of it, there's only one Niamh documented, and judging from the entry, Dublin based enthusiastic Gaelgoirs were responsible. Traditional Irish names are derived from traditional Irish fairytales. Cinderella and Rapunzel don't qualify as traditional names either. Irish names are lovely names, but they're also a rather modern innovation.If you want a really traditional Irish name, pick a saints name.
PhoenixParker wrote: » And how many Aoibheanns and Tadhgs are on the 1911 census for instance? For all the traditional irishness of it, there's only one Niamh documented, and judging from the entry, Dublin based enthusiastic Gaelgoirs were responsible. Traditional Irish names are derived from traditional Irish fairytales. Cinderella and Rapunzel don't qualify as traditional names either. Irish names are lovely names, but they're also a rather modern innovation. If you want a really traditional Irish name, pick a saints name.
Apanachi wrote: » Tadhg was on the top of my list of names for my baby (had she have been a boy), but I quickly changed my mind as I live in germany and the name Tadhg sounds like the German name for pastry/dough. If I was in Ireland though (or possible any other non-German speaking country) I'd go for it, I thinkk it's a lovely name (as is Aoibhínn - although my favorite Irish name for a girl is Caoimhe - but once again living in Germany complicated things a bit )
fontanalis wrote: » Anyone know any Setantas. Cool name!
Ghost Buster wrote: » Came across a 'Sean' the other day with the most convaluted "Celtic +" spelling ever. new to me... 'Seaghan' with a fada over both A's
Raic wrote: » I was waiting for this to come up as my name is Seaghán (just the one síneadh fada). Seaghán, Seághán, Seaghan are all found variants of each other. It's a more traditional spelling of Seán and it comes from the Norman French "Jehan" (Modern "Jean") which originally had 2 syllables... If you check the 1911 census you'll see that its usage (987) greatly outnumbers that of Seán (149), though I'd say the Irish language spelling reform in 1948 really shook things up. Anyway, personally I find "Seaghán" too be far more aesthetically pleasing even when typed... but especially in the seanachló (Gaelic script) which is the way I write it. What I don't understand is the attitude some people in this thread have to traditional Irish names. Some people seem to think it's a crime to give a child a name which a monoglot English speaker has trouble pronouncing without prompting but I find this mentality troubling. What about people with foreign names? The pronunciation of foreign names often doesn't conform to the expectations of monoglot English speakers and yet should people with such names have to take flak over this? No, people should respect the way their names are spelt and pronounce them as such... the same principle should apply to Irish names with people unfamiliar with the language. You can't expect the same letter to play the same role in every language and the pronunciations of names minority languages deserve respect too.
