Whats in a name?

Whatsusgottabe · 26-09-2019 2:50pm #1

So I am looking to name a new child. But am on a the fence about things.
The child would ideally be Ccalled paidi or paudie if you will.

But is that just short for Padraig? I'd like ro keep things irish so am wondering is paidi or paudie just an pet name short for padraig?
Or are the names in their own right? And which one us the more irish traditional?

riffmongous · 26-09-2019 10:51pm

Don't forget the fadas! Paidi would sound more like Paddy. I would have guessed it was just a pet name, but Páidí Ó Sé is the only person I know of where I've seen it written down and he's always been Páidí, never Pádraig as far as I can tell.. and according to wiki he's named after a Paudie Sheehy.

Whatsusgottabe · 26-09-2019 11:34pm

This is true but he also seems to have been the only one with the name

Peregrinus · 27-09-2019 1:59am

Riffmongous has it. Páidí is a common (Irish-language) abbreviation for the (Irish-language) name Pádraig. Páidí is commonly anglicised as Paudie.

It's a safe bet that most people who in the past were known as Páidí/Paudie were Pádraig/Patrick on their birth certificates and baptismal records. But it's becoming quite common to give an abbreviation as the formal name - Jack, Harry, etc, so you can do this if you want. It's also quite common for people whose formal records show an English-language name to be known by the corresponding Irish-language name (or, less commonly, the other way around).

pinkypinky · 27-09-2019 2:21pm

You don't mention if you're in Ireland or not, but definite consider pronunciation for foreign ears. Padraig Harrington, the golfer, has probably helped the golf world learn how to say his name, but doubt it's much used outside Ireland otherwise.

Claw Hammer · 27-09-2019 7:16pm

I have some relatives called Padhraig. it is a pain outside of Ireland for them. One doesn't give his real name in starbucks for example. people are always asking for the spelling when filling in forms or over the phone. In the internet age spellings are all important. So is ease of pronunciation.
It would be far better to give a simple formal name such as Patrick and then use what ever variant you wish as a pet name. There are many
Pats, Pattys, Paddies, Patchos, Paudges, Paudies etc who all have the formal name of patrick.

Whatsusgottabe · 28-09-2019 9:18am

I'm in ireland. So I'm it to worried about people not knowing the name. And struggling with the spelling too much.

I have done a search on the CSO website for names registered and there is about 10 odd paudie and Paidi s registered every year for each version.

But that said just because you can register a these names doesn't mean that they are true Irish names . I'd rather register the name as paidraig on the birth cert then shorten it to Paidi for every day us.

Claw Hammer · 28-09-2019 3:53pm

You might be in Ireland now but what if your little bundle of joy goes to live abroad in the future? even without going abroad many caller support centres are staffed by people who are not in Ireland. Simplicity is best.

pinkypinky · 28-09-2019 4:04pm

I wouldn't be too hung up on what's a "true Irish name".

There's a book of classic Irish names if you really want to go for it: https://www.lilliputpress.ie/product/irish-names

Whatsusgottabe · 28-09-2019 9:51pm

I have an Irish name that some struggled with when I used to live else where never worried me that some could notb spell or pronounced it properly till I told them

Peregrinus · 01-10-2019 1:53am

Claw Hammer wrote: »

You might be in Ireland now but what if your little bundle of joy goes to live abroad in the future? even without going abroad many caller support centres are staffed by people who are not in Ireland. Simplicity is best.

I have an Irish name. I live in Australia where it is unfamiliar. People sometimes struggle with either spelling or pronunciation. This doesn't bother me; I don't care how they spell or pronounce it. If it bothers them - and it usually doesn't - that's their problem, not mine.

However, if the OP's little bundle of joy, when grown up, finds himself in a position where people are puzzled by the spelling or pronunciation of his name and this bothers him, he can adopt a modified version of his name, or change his name; simples.

Since nobody knows what his future will be, we can't future-proof him against the risk of finding himself dissatisfied with his name.

OP, name the child what you want to name the child. If at some point in the future they don't like it, they can modify or change it. Registering them with a formal given name, and using an informal variant in practice, gives them options in that regard without the need for deed polls and suchlike, so you might want to consider that approach.

riffmongous · 01-10-2019 5:32pm

There can also be quite a benefit to having a name that links you to your home culture when you go abroad.. speaking just from my own experience here but it's nice to have a name that's recognisably Irish

Jellybaby1 · 01-10-2019 11:56pm

The only other hiccup that I can think of is passports. When entering countries say the US, they are really touchy about misspellings of names. Or if your name is John and Sean is on your passport it could hinder your travel plans.

[Deleted User] · 07-10-2019 6:15pm

riffmongous wrote: »

There can also be quite a benefit to having a name that links you to your home culture when you go abroad.. speaking just from my own experience here but it's nice to have a name that's recognisably Irish

I agree.

My name is Tadhg, and nobody could spell it when I worked in another country. They just called me by my initials in emails. No problem. And being able to talk about the origin of your name can be interesting to some people who like languages (I prefer the unlikely theory that Tadhg means poet, instead of Badger).

Just on the Pádraig /Paudie point. I think they're both great names. Anything is better than Pauric. Pauric is a name that I don't think exists in any of the Irish dialects. It is pure Béarlachas.

The 'd' in Pádraig is not silent.

Whats in a name?

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