Still looking for a girl name for our 3rd and final babe, due in [name_u]January[/name_u]! Older siblings are [name_m]Shepherd[/name_m] (m) and [name_f]Azalea[/name_f] (f).
Current front runners all happen to be Gaelic in origin, and since we live in the USA, I’m concerned about spelling/pronunciation.
That said, which spelling do you prefer for…
[name_f]Oonagh[/name_f] vs. [name_f]Oona[/name_f] vs. Úna?
[name_f]Fionnuala[/name_f] vs. [name_f]Finola[/name_f]?
[name_f]Branwen[/name_f] vs. [name_f]Bronwyn[/name_f]?
And which is your favorite/what would you suggest with big siblings names?
For these specific names in an American setting, I would go for [name_f]Oona[/name_f] over [name_f]Oonagh[/name_f] or [name_f]Una[/name_f]. As for [name_f]Fionnuala[/name_f], how do you pronounce it? I’ve always known it to be fin-oo-lah, whereas I would pronounce [name_f]Finola[/name_f] as fin-oh-lah, but I’m not [name_u]Irish[/name_u] so I could be wrong! If it is meant to be fin-oo-lah, I would just go for [name_f]Fionnuala[/name_f] since it’s the authentic spelling and [name_f]Finola[/name_f] is equally likely to be mispronounced anyway. If you pronounce them both fin-oh-lah, then I’d just do [name_f]Finola[/name_f]! Finally I’d go for [name_f]Bronwyn[/name_f] over [name_f]Branwen[/name_f], I don’t think that one is particularly hard to spell! And I prefer the look of [name_m]Bron[/name_m]- to [name_u]Bran[/name_u]- , which makes me think of bran flakes.
They all work really well with their big siblings’ beautiful names! It’s genuinely a really hard choice because they’re all gorgeous names that match really well. [name_f]My[/name_f] favourite is [name_f]Oona[/name_f], but that’s just a slight personal preference!
Fully agree that with Fionnuala/Finola, it’d depend on the pronunciation for me. I would pronounce [name_f]Fionnuala[/name_f] with the -oola sound (rhyming with hula) and [name_f]Finola[/name_f] with the oh-la sound (rhyming with cola)
I prefer [name_f]Bronwyn[/name_f] to [name_f]Branwen[/name_f]- something about the “Bran” looks very masculine to me, and I don’t think [name_f]Bronwyn[/name_f] is a particularly difficult spelling to figure out.
And [name_f]Oona[/name_f] is definitely my favorite spelling of Oonagh/Una. [name_f]Una[/name_f] doesn’t look complete to me, and I think [name_f]Oona[/name_f] simplifies the spelling while still remaining tied to its [name_u]Irish[/name_u] origins.
These three names are all on the tamer side of Gaelic names (Saoirse, Siobhan, and Aoife are much more confusing.) I’m pretty sure other people would get the pronunciation relatively right-as they are sort of phonetic.
As for my preferences…
Oona and Oonagh are much better then Una, which feels a little more incomplete. Una also reminds me of the word Uña which is fingernail in Spanish- I just don’t think it looks as pretty. Oonagh has a spunky cool factor, and Oona is more delicate, but both are beautiful. If pronunciation is really an issue for you, I would go with Oona since it’s simple but still Irish.
To me Fionnuala and Finola aren’t the same name. Finola I would pronounce Finn-O-luh, and Fionnuala I would pronounce Finn-OO-la.
This exactly. I prefer the Finn-OO-la way of saying it, and I like the spelling, but if you want to say it like Finn-O-luh, just use Finola.
Bronwyn is much better then Branwen- it looks more elegant and whimsical, while Branwen isn’t a super flattering spelling. I would also pronounce these differently, Branwen being BRAN-when and Bronwyn being BRON-win.
My favs are Oona, Fionnuala and Bronwyn, but Finola and Oonagh are 100% beautiful as well!
[name_f]Oona[/name_f] (OO-na)
[name_f]Finola[/name_f] (fin-OH-la)
And I can’t decide between the last pair but pronounced differently
[name_f]Branwen[/name_f] (bran-when) or [name_f]Bronwyn[/name_f] (brahn-win)
With your sibs set I like [name_f]Branwen[/name_f] or [name_f]Bronwyn[/name_f]. I like the sound of [name_f]Branwen[/name_f] but spelling and pronunciation is probably a bit easier on [name_f]Bronwyn[/name_f] in the US. I have a soft spot for [name_f]Oona[/name_f] as it was a character in a show my oldest watched when she was tiny. The A ending in azalea would repeat but if that’s not an issue for you then I like it.
[name_f]Oonagh[/name_f] vs. [name_f]Oona[/name_f] vs. Úna? → I’d pronounce all of these as oo-nuh! [name_f]Oona[/name_f] seems them most straightforward in this case, though [name_f]Una[/name_f] is my favourite
[name_f]Fionnuala[/name_f] vs. [name_f]Finola[/name_f] → I’d say these as Fin-oo-luh and Fin-oh-luh respectably. I guess it depends what pronunciation you want. [name_f]Fenella[/name_f] is another variant that might work in the US?
[name_f]Branwen[/name_f] vs. [name_f]Bronwyn[/name_f] → I’d say these as Bran-wen and Bron-win - [name_f]Bronwyn[/name_f] translates better imo.
I have a really hard time with Gaelic spellings. Many of the names sound good, but they look silly to someone who is unaccustomed to them. With that in mind:
[name_f]Una[/name_f] or [name_f]Oona[/name_f]
[name_f]Finola[/name_f]
[name_f]Bronwyn[/name_f]
[name_f]My[/name_f] favorite is [name_f]Bronwyn[/name_f] with siblings [name_m]Shepherd[/name_m] and [name_f]Azalea[/name_f], but [name_f]Finola[/name_f] is a good choice too.
