My husband and I are expecting a baby girl. A challenge we (mostly I) are finding. He loves Gaelic names. I find them hard to spell and pronounce. We have one daughter already which we named [name_f]Maira[/name_f]. It’s Gaelic for [name_f]Mary[/name_f] and supposed to be spelt [name_f]Maire[/name_f] but we compromised by changing it to an “A” at the end. People still are sometimes challenged in pronouncing her name calling her [name_f]Maria[/name_f] or pronouncing it [name_f]Mira[/name_f]. Anyways, I love her name.
The hard part is coming up with another girl name. He likes [name_f]Freya[/name_f] which I could be convinced of. It’s Welsh and relatively pronounceable. It’s quite popular in the UK from what I understand but not so popular in [name_u]North[/name_u] [name_u]America[/name_u] which is somewhat appealing.
We love [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] but a neighbour of ours just named their daughter [name_f]Maeve[/name_f].
He also likes [name_f]Aoife[/name_f] and [name_f]Roisin[/name_f] but I think these are just too difficult.
I like [name_f]Yvette[/name_f], [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f], [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f], and [name_f]Greta[/name_f] (but her surname will also start with a G so I’d rather avoid).
[name_f]Maeve[/name_f] always makes me think of [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] or the anglicized [name_f]Neve[/name_f], and of [name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f] /[name_u]Keeva[/name_u]. Another one I’ve always thought was pretty but that might be a little further out-there is Damhnait (DAV-nit).
If you were to cast a broader net and go for sort of Celtic-inspired names that aren’t in and of themselves Gaelic, there’s [name_f]Bridget[/name_f], [name_f]Fiona[/name_f], [name_f]Maura[/name_f], [name_f]Nora/name_f, and [name_f]Kathleen[/name_f].
I know a few people in the US with gaelic names, and they do get mispronounced, but their bearers do really like their names and are proud of the culture behind them and the uncommon aspect.
You can always use something like Saorise or [name_f]Siobhan[/name_f] which are commonly used enough in the US that most reasonably well educated people can pronounce them. Or [name_f]Sinead[/name_f].
I love [name_f]Aoife[/name_f] and would use it in the US. People will be unsure, but it’s simple enough that they will catch on quickly.
Otherwise, what about [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] or [name_f]Keira[/name_f]?
I love the sound, and the fact it’s uncommon (I’m in Australia) and yet still a real, and well recognised name that people won’t think is weird or made up. I have this on my list, but DH has a cousin (the one he’s probably the closest to of all his cousins) and this is her name, so I wonder if that would be a little weird lol.
But of your choices it’s my pick. I also quite like [name_f]Freya[/name_f] and don’t think you’d have any issues with people pronouncing or spelling it.
Personally, I’d steer clear of any names like [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] or [name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f] in [name_u]North[/name_u] [name_u]America[/name_u], as I just think they will be constantly mispronounced and/or spelt and I gather this would get annoying quite quickly. They are beautiful names though.
These ones are a bit easier to figure out at first glance, but I think [name_f]Roisin[/name_f] is beautiful and wouldn’t that hard for others to pronounce. Common mispronunciation would be “[name_f]Rose[/name_f]-in” which isn’t far off!