See the results of this poll: Does Hamish work on an American?
Respondents: 57 (This poll is closed)
- Yes : 33 (58%)
- No: 24 (42%)
Well, I do think you’d get tons of weird looks and questions about it, especially while he’s young.
Once he’s grown I think he’ll wear it well. More adults and educated people will recognize it.
Like a lot of the unfamiliar Scottish/Irish names some people will have heard of it and won’t care much. But you’ll definitely get silly people saying things like “[name_m]HAM[/name_m]-ish? Did you think he looked like a pig or something?”
I don’t you’d get good responses. [name_m]Seamus[/name_m] would work though. That’s the Irish spelling (as opposed to [name_m]Seumas[/name_m] which is Scottish) but all of those names are derived from [name_u]James[/name_u].
Definitely. [name_f]My[/name_f] sister went to school with a [name_m]Hamish[/name_m]. He was quirky and handsome and a bit of a heart throb. He’s now a successful actor ([name_m]Hamish[/name_m] Linklater). 
I met a boy at my high school a few years ago (he would’ve been around 15) named [name_m]Hamish[/name_m]. I previously had only read that name, so that was my first time meeting an American boy by that name. I thought it was really cool, and I never heard anyone mispronounce it. Definitely doable, in my opinion.
As for giving parents a weird look or being judgmental about them naming a boy [name_m]Hamish[/name_m], it seems like everyone everywhere is choosing different sorts of names for their kids…whether it be something vintage/previously used but not in a while name like [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] or [name_m]Rufus[/name_m] or something more trendy. Which is fine, I’m just saying that the name wouldn’t exactly be too out of place.
Wow this is bizarre, I had no idea [name_m]Hamish[/name_m] was so out-there for the USA. It sounds totally normal in [name_m]Britain[/name_m], especially on Scottish people of course.
I definitely think it would be mistaken for [name_m]Ham[/name_m]-ish a lot, which probably isn’t nice for a kid to put up with. I do like a PP’s suggestion of [name_m]Seamus[/name_m] though.
I personally prefer [name_m]Seamus[/name_m], as others have said, but I really think [name_m]Hamish[/name_m] could work in the US. I mean, I know boys named [name_m]Travin[/name_m] and [name_m]Sirius[/name_m]… [name_m]Hamish[/name_m] is not really THAT out there, surely?
I wish I could say yes, but I know too many people who’d be running to hide their snorts of laughter. [name_m]Hamish[/name_m] would go over best in an urban or other diverse area.
i know a [name_m]Hamish[/name_m], i think its a great name. Hes the only [name_m]Hamish[/name_m] ive ever meet, but no one has ever made fun of his name. I say use it!
Thanks for the input, everyone. The more I think about the name, and hear it, and say it, the more I want to use it some day. It’s a little discouraging that so many of you advise against it, but I think I’ll keep it on my list for now, anyway.
For those who suggested [name_m]Seamus[/name_m], it’s on my long list, too, just much further down. I don’t like the look or sound as much. I have trouble getting past “shame us” (sounds like I’m asking for trouble).
As a matter of fact, I have [name_m]Hamish[/name_m], [name_m]Seamus[/name_m], [name_u]James[/name_u], and [name_m]Diego[/name_m] all on my list. [name_m]Hamish[/name_m] is still my favorite, though.
I personally like [name_m]Hamish[/name_m] but would only use it as a middle name in the US. As others have stated, it would constantly get mispronounced as ham-ish instead of hay-mish. Also, if the kid turned out to be chubby, the pig jokes practically write themselves.
I’m surprised at the response too. I guess the US is bigger than i realize sometimes. I’m from the east coast and have always lived in/around major cities, and I can’t imagine why [name_m]Hamish[/name_m] wouldn’t work or would get made fun of. There are all kinds of names from all kinds of ethnicities, and [name_m]Hamish[/name_m] [name_f]IMO[/name_f] is relatively familiar and actually rather tame.
I am in Australia, and I went to school with a [name_m]Hamish[/name_m]. He never got his name mispronounced and it was fine. It is a very handsome name.
I thought [name_m]Hamish[/name_m] would be an Arabic name, and I see it as Hah - meesh.
I don’t think it would work well in most of the US. Like another poster said, it could work if you lived in a large, diverse urban area.
I dont live in the US but in [name_m]New[/name_m] Zealand [name_m]Hamish[/name_m] is a very very very popular boys name. If that helps in anyway (:
If you think it may get misspelt on a daily basis i have seen plenty little boys called Haymish.