I don’t love a ton of Gaelic names, but I do love [name]Eilidh[/name] (AY-lee), [name]Ciaran[/name] ([name]KEER[/name]-uhn), Fionnabhair (finn-ah-vare), and [name]Niamh[/name] (NEEVE), and I’d rather not compromise on the spellings if I ever use them! Ayley, [name]Kieran[/name], Finnavare, and [name]Neve[/name] just don’t seem as memorable/captivating as [name]Eilidh[/name], [name]Ciaran[/name], and [name]Niamh[/name] are. [name]Just[/name] curious if others (particularly Americans!) would use (or have used) a Gaelic name with the original spelling. Besides the options that transition fairly easily (i.e. [name]Fiona[/name] and [name]Niall[/name]), what Gaelic names do you think are usable in American culture, as they are?
I used the original spelling for my daughter’s Irish name - [name]Sorcha[/name] - although by Irish standards it’s pretty straightforward. We do occasionally get pronunciation questions, but nothing major. For the first month we had to continually correct my in-laws, who insisted on calling her “SORSHA”. Oh well, they’re on board now.
If we are lucky enough to have another child, we will definitely be using an unwieldy Irish name. My top three for another daughter are [name]Aoibheann[/name] (EE-van), Fionnabhair (love to see this on your list as well!) and Saorlaith (SAIR-la or SEER-la). We live in [name]Canada[/name] but as my research field is Irish political history, we are in “Irish” circles a lot. So my friends and colleagues love our name choices; family, not so much.
As for your favourites: [name]Niamh[/name] and [name]Ciaran[/name] are fairly recognisable in NA, and the popularity of [name]Ciara[/name] should make [name]Ciaran[/name] more familiar. [name]Eilidh[/name] would be the trickier one, as anyone with half a clue would probably think of [name]ISLA[/name]. If I heard it, I would still have to ask for a spelling, as I’m familiar with the cognate name Ailidh. But I still think it’s beautiful and worth the trouble of correcting people. Fionnabhair is the only one that makes me hesitate - and I love, love, love the name and its meaning. People might get the connection to [name]Fionn[/name], but most Americans use the simpler [name]Finn[/name] spelling, so maybe not. It’s the “bh” combo that throws a lot of people off (I have a colleague named [name]Siobhan[/name] who still gets called “SEE-ban”). We’ve considered using Fionavar as a compromise - it’s the title of a brilliant fantasy series by Canadian author [name]Guy[/name] [name]Gavriel[/name] [name]Kay[/name], which I loved as a teen.
Good luck with the naming process - I’m always thrilled to talk about Irish names!
Ethnically Gaelic Cape Bretoner here. Have spent some time in [name]Ireland[/name] and love those names. I think Sorca is a very useable in NA. ([name]LOVE[/name] it, too) Irish friends of ours named their boat Sorca after their daughter [name]Sarah[/name] and most people got it quickly. I grew up with a [name]Siobhan[/name] and again, people came on board after given a quick example of how to say it. Same thing with a [name]Saoirse[/name] and a Dhiarmid I know. Like you say, [name]Ashley[/name], I think the names lose something when Anglicized. I always imagined I would have children with these types of names but I married a [name]German[/name] and my daughter has a long german surname, so we went with a latin name with the authentic Scandi-german spelling (which happens to be after my grandfather). It is a bit difficult for people at first but I felt like it lost something otherwise. We are happy with it. People get it quickly in our experience.
I’m with you, [name]Ashley[/name] – I wouldn’t use an Anglicized version of an Irish name. That being said, I would have a problem choosing a name that would cause my children too much trouble throughout life. The best Irish names for the U.S. seem to be those that are spelled the way they sound or at least one can see how it comes from the letters. My children are [name]Nora[/name] and [name]Liam[/name] (which are not actually Irish, I know, but well-used by the Irish) and [name]Declan[/name]. For our newest addition, we’re pretty set on [name]Niall[/name] for a boy, but are still debating on whether [name]Aoife[/name] would be usable enough for a girl. We decided against our original favorite [name]Maire[/name] (pronounced like [name]Myra[/name], but unrelated as a name) because I thought it would be confused too often with [name]Marie[/name].
I would definitely use the original spelling if I were ever to use an irish/gaelic name. 99% percent of the time I prefer the original spelling and it would be such a shame to ruin a traditional name with tons of history. On the reverse sude, you have to think about how the child would feel about being called [name]Eilidh[/name] and having to constantly spell out/pronounce their name. That’s why I won’t name my daughter [name]Aisling[/name] or Naoise, even if they’re two of my favorites.
No, because ti throws me off, and is a hassle to have in the area of non-Irish people. I live in a highly multi-cultural area, and the names with their original spellings would be torment to have.
That being said, I likely will not use an Irish name.
I will always spell a name as it was originally supposed to be spelt. I love [name]Eilidh[/name] and [name]Saoirse[/name] and feel like they lose some of their charm when forced into English spellings.
I have the same dilemma. I think the shorter names like [name]Saoirse[/name], [name]Niamh[/name] and [name]Eilidh[/name] will work OK as long as you are prepared to correct people. However anything longer and it becomes more of a problem, e.g. Fionnabhair. Ultimately it’s up to you. I recommend Seosaimhin (sho-sa-veen, their form of [name]Josephine[/name]), it’s my favourite Gaelic name!
[name]Ive[/name] been sitting in front of my screen for about 15 minutes trying to figure out how to respond to this, because I really want to.
When I see a traditional gaelic spelling I assume the family has Irish heritage. That however doesn’t mean the rest of the world/[name]America[/name] can’t learn how to spell and pronounce a gaelic name correctly.
Though I was surprised the other day when an African American classmate had a sister with the name [name]Siobhan[/name] and when I asked if it was the traditional gaelic spelling she was excited that someone knew what that was. (Her name was decidedly not gaelic though.) I guess the moral of the story is that if you don’t mind correcting new people all the time I don’t really see why you shouldn’t be able to use the name you like in the spelling you like.
The original spelling. ALWAYS. There’s a girl at my school called [name]Roisin[/name] ([name]Ro[/name]-[name]Sheen[/name]) which is Irish, I think, and although she has to correct people all the time is still a really pretty name
That being said, the majority of people in the UK even in [name]England[/name] (in particular teachers etc. who encounter a range of names often) know the correct pronunciation of the most popular Welsh/Scottish/Irish names. [name]Ciaran[/name], [name]Aoife[/name], Niahm, [name]Eilidh[/name], [name]Sean[/name], [name]Ruairidh[/name], [name]Siobhan[/name] are all quite common place, or at least not totally alien.
[name]Eilidh[/name] is beautiful! I love the spelling. Actually, all of the names you listed are very nice, and you could always make the spellings more americanized/canadianized (whatever!) but [name]Eilidh[/name] is very pretty the way it is, and people will get used to the spelling as it is also a short name and not very long. And also easy to pronounce once you know how.
Urgh. [name]Just[/name] proof that I was was meant to be British in another life.
I might be willing to risk something like [name]Niamh[/name], [name]Eilidh[/name], or [name]Aoife[/name], but I think expecting an American to figure out Fionnabhair is a bit much.
I would always keep the original spelling. I love [name]Saoirse[/name], [name]Roisin[/name], [name]Maeve[/name], and all sorts of other names that Americans will have a hard time with. As a former teacher, I can tell you that the first week of school there are always a few names that need explanation. The kid explains it once, you write a note to yourself with the phonetic spelling, and [name]Bob[/name]'s your uncle. I find a lot of the yooneek names I see people make up on this forum a heck of a lot more difficult to figure out than traditional Gaelic names. Then again, I am Irish-American and studied Gaelic when I lived in [name]Ireland[/name]… Still though, names like [name]Siobhan[/name] and [name]Sinead[/name] are not at all unheard here of and people have learned to pronounce those. People will learn your child’s name too. My name is [name]Katy[/name], but I was always called “[name]Kathy[/name]” by teachers at first- they liked to add that “h”- so even if you think you gave your kid a pretty flub-proof name, you can have issues!
