[name_m]Hi[/name_m] Berries!
So I have a question about Irish baby names. I love them, I think they’re gorgeous and unusual and meaningful and I would want to give a child one (I’m American, by the way). But the issue is obviously the spelling. Is it okay to give a child a name that won’t be spelled according to the phonetics of her native language? I’m specifically in love with the name [name_f]Aine[/name_f], pronounced like [name_f]Anya[/name_f]. I know that pronunciation of [name_f]Aine[/name_f] won’t be intuitive to non-Irish people, but spelling it [name_f]Anya[/name_f] makes it lose something special. She’s less the Celtic goddess and more the Russian grandmother.
I like [name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f] better than [name_u]Keeva[/name_u], too, but I worry that the pronunciation is so unexpected to Americans it will be a joke.
So basically- Anglicization, for convenience, or traditional, for culture? Let me know!
Personally, I don’t care for Irish names. I can appreciate them, but they aren’t my cup of tea.
I think it depends on the name as to whether or not I would go with the traditional spelling, or an Anglicized spelling.
I also see [name_f]Aine[/name_f] and [name_f]Anya[/name_f] as different names. Same with [name_f]Aoife[/name_f] and [name_f]Eva[/name_f], and many others when they come from different roots.
I don’t have a blanket statement about preferring Anglicized or Gaelic spellings. It depends on how functional a name will be in your society. Órfhlaith seems like a bit much to live with, especially when most of the people the child will meet will not have an idea of Gaelic phonetics. [name_f]Orla[/name_f] is much more accessible.
I don’t have any Irish background in my family, so using a name spelled in Gaelic doesn’t do anything to me emotionally. Generally, I suppose the Anglicized version will appeal to me just as much, since the special feeling people get from Gaelic names is usually because it’s their family heritage.
I love Irish names! For convenience’ sake, I would go with the Anglicized spelling for most Irish names, especially if it includes multiple “unexpected” sounds like in [name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f] (i.e. ao=ee, mh=v).
Having said that, if you prefer the original spellings, sure, go for it! I have always had to spell and pronounce my name for people, and honestly it’s never bothered me :).
I’ve seen people do it both ways. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you live anywhere where people might pronounce [name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f] or [name_f]Aine[/name_f] correctly? I’m picturing that maybe the traditional spellings would work in, for example, parts of [name_m]Boston[/name_m] but that they might be trickier in, say, [name_u]Texas[/name_u].
What I’ve also seen people do or at least consider is use the anglicization for convenience if they’re using the name in the first name spot ([name_f]Anya[/name_f] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]) but the traditional spelling if they’re using the name as a middle name ([name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] [name_f]Aine[/name_f]) since the middle name gets less use and it would be less important that people spell it properly.
If there’s any hint of concern about a child learning to read and spell despite their name not working phonetically in their native language, I wouldn’t worry about that. You’d just have to tell your child that s/he is learning English and his/her name is Gaelic so the rules are different.
Thanks all! @oregano7, I live in a place where there isn’t really a strong Irish population, but it is fairly diverse and hipster-ish in terms of naming, so it’s not like an unusually spelled name would sorely stick out. @lucialucentum I agree that it isn’t really the same name if the Anglicization comes from a different root. I wish I could fast forward time and ask my future [name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f] or [name_f]Aine[/name_f] or [name_f]Mairead[/name_f] if a Gaelic name would be something she would be annoyed at or proud of! Sigh