Baby names!

brokensoul wrote: »

Front runners for me are Iarla, Seadna or Odhran for a boy and Eabhan or Aoibheann for a girl.

My husband thinks that the name Iarla is a lot to live up to - he reckons a child called Iarla would have to play senior intercounty hurling at least!

Séadna is modernised as Séanna, and is the title of a famous novel in Irish of the 20th century, Séanna by Peadar Ó Laoghaire. Ó Corráin's Irish Names says, "According to O Rahilly, this is a god-name which originally meant 'traveller, wayfarer'. This is a relatively common early name borne by the legendary kings and dynastic founders.... According to a medieval text, there are thirteen saints of the name among whom is St Sétna of Armagh whose feast-day is 9 March."


I like Iarla, which has really strong Connacht connections - citing Ó Corráin again, "This is the name of the patron of the diocese of Tuam whose feast-day is 26 December" (Diarmaid Ó Muirithe actually has a more extensive history on Iarla, and how it was anglicised as Jarlath from 1831 on page 104 of this book) - but for me is much more associated with the fine Munster singer, Iarla Ó Lionáird.

Regarding Órán, here's the entry in Diarmaid Ó Muirithe's above mentioned book, page 142: "Órán, Odhrán, earlier Odrán (m) This name is said to have been rare in ancient Ireland, but there are nevertheless more than twenty saints of the name recorded...." (extensive history followed) Donnchadh Ó Corráin, in Irish Names, also gives the modern spelling as Órán (fadaí on both vowels).

wrote:

Senan? An Irish name but not a very Irishy Irish name. To me it sounds nice with Eli

Seanán (as the earlier mentioned 'caol le caol, leathan le leathan' spelling rule indicates) is the Irish name; Senan is the most common English name for it. Seanán is the diminutive of 'sean', meaning old, and the 6th-century St Seanán of Inis Cathaigh in Clare is the most famous bearer of the name.

borderlinemeath wrote: »

We had a girl but our shortlist of boys names were:

Oliver (which we knew we couldn't use 6 weeks before when his cousin had a boy and called him Oliver)

Billy/William/Will

Stan/Stanley

Theo - back on the 1911 Census I had a great uncle Theophilus and always thought it would be lovely to use it.

Rory - husband vetoed that one due to not liking a particular Rory! I love it though!

I found the old census papers brilliant when I was looking for name inspiration, my mothers family was fairly big so ran out of the John/Michael/Thomas/Patrick names fairly quickly. My fathers family were much smaller and the only male names that appear are John and Roger.

We're not into Irish names either, particularly if even Irish people have to ask "how do you spell it" when told or "how do you pronounce it" when seeing it written. Never mind other nationalities if they ever end up working abroad. It might not bother some people but it would really annoy me!

Theo is now being added. I'm gutted we can't sync up on a Rory spelling! I prefer ruairi, with fada, hubby only likes Rory. I feel a little more flexible on the Rory side after a few weeks of mulling it over....

dori_dormer wrote: »

Theo is now being added. I'm gutted we can't sync up on a Rory spelling! I prefer ruairi, with fada, hubby only likes Rory. I feel a little more flexible on the Rory side after a few weeks of mulling it over....

Do you differ on pronunciation too? That could be a harder one to agree on!

Lucuma wrote: »

It's not just different spelling there though it's also different pronounciation isn't it?
Ruairi = Roo-ree
Rory = Row-ree

Yes we differ on the pronunciation too! I like the irish way and spelling, he likes the English!

gaiscioch wrote: »

Aoibhinn (Aoi as in Aoife). Indeed, the superb Teanglann website now has a pronunciation of Aoibhinn in all three dialects which should put to rest any debate over alleged regional differences regarding the pronunciation of those first three letters.

According to the same pronunciation feature, Éamh in Munster and Connacht, for instance, (and perhaps Éabha, but no pronunciation there yet) would give the "Aeve" pronunciation which many people actually want when they use the first syllable of Aoibhinn.

That pronounciation tool is handy!
It kind of wrecks my head alright all the people calling their daughters ''Aoibheann' and pronouncing it 'Ay-veen'

I mean it's not like we didn't all grow up with the name Aoife... every irish person knows 'Aoi' is pronounced 'Eeee'

So I got to the bottom of my grand-aunt Mariah.
She was christened ''Anna Maria''
I also have a great grandmother who was called Hannah Maria.

Thing is back then that name ''Maria' was pronounced as Mar-eye-ah.
Whereas nowdays we pronouce Maria as Mar-eee-ah

So to get the same sounding name as my grand-aunt and great-grandmother I'd have to add a 'h' to the end of Mariah. Which makes it look like the pop singer's name!

Hmm.....

fondue wrote: »

Went to school with 2 Ríonas, one pronounced it Ree-en-a, the other Ree-own-a (rhymes with Fiona). Teachers always calling one the other.

Ree-own-a, what? I've never heard that pronunciation, for it to fit the name, it would need to be spelt Ríóna.

Ríona is a gorgeous name and it's a contraction of Caitríona.

implausible wrote: »

Ree-own-a, what? I've never heard that pronunciation, for it to fit the name, it would need to be spelt Ríóna.

Ríona is a gorgeous name and it's a contraction of Caitríona.

That's how Ríona's parents spelt it and decided to say it! Don't shoot the messenger!!!

I'm hoping Ri-own-nas parents were in the minority! Definitely not the pronunciation we're going for, never heard it myself before either.

Ree-own-a is not nice at all!

I don't think 2 bros Eli & Elliott is a good idea either.....

Lucuma wrote: »

Ree-own-a is not nice at all!

I don't think 2 bros Eli & Elliott is a good idea either.....

Who was going to call their boys Eli and Elliott? Its a bit like good ol' George Foreman calling all of his children the same name and justing sticking a I II or III at the end.

Digs wrote: »

I'm hoping Ri-own-nas parents were in the minority! Definitely not the pronunciation we're going for, never heard it myself before either.

Be prepared for someone to pronounce it like that though!

Digs wrote: »

Oh if that bothered me I wouldn't pick an Irish name full stop. No problem correcting people on it

From years of living in the states mispronunciation of Irish names is what puts me off them!

That's the other bugbear of mine - not choosing names because in other countries, people might get them wrong.

The Irish language doesn't have a monopoly on difficult to pronounce names and anyone with an ounce of manners will make an effort to pronounce a person's name properly. I'm sure there are Russian, Mexican and Italian names that are just as commonly mispronounced as the Saoirses and Pádraigs in the States. Did parents in the large Polish community we have here veto names in case they ever moved to Ireland? I doubt it.

Should we go back to the old days and keep recycling Patrick, Mary and Bridget or just stick to names that are spelt exactly as they are pronounced in Hiberno-English?

I have a daughter Áine Mary and just found out I'm having another girl who will be named Méabh Cecelia.

I was 20 when I had Áine and now 25 and my friends prefer trendier or popular names. Where as I love the oldy Irish. I'm used to people making a bit of a face when I say names, doesn't bother me at all. Also Mary was my grandmother's name and Cecelia was my fiancé's grandmother's name. Which wasn't actually a plan, the names just felt right :-)