Hoping you can help us make up our mind. My husband and I have 3 sons with traditional Irish names - [name]Declan[/name], [name]Brendan[/name], and [name]Sean[/name]. We are expecting our first little girl. We have a very simple plain neutral last name similar to [name]Smith[/name]. I am first generation American of Irish parents and my husband is of Scots-Irish background - family from the American South. We live in the Northeast. We had no problems naming our sons - but naming our daughter is much harder. We are getting down to the last minute as we are due very soon. As our last name is so simple and ethnically neutral, we like our kids to have Irish names. Problem is traditional Irish girl names are much more difficult to pronounce for the Americans they will interact with daily. (I also have a ridiculous number of aunts and female cousins and if I name a child the same as one it would cause a bit of a war.) We have narrowed it down a bit and are looking for opinions. Thanks. |[name]Niamh[/name] [name]Maire[/name] or [name]Mary[/name] [name]Niamh[/name] ([name]Niamh[/name] = Neeve)||
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|[name]Keira[/name] [name]Mae[/name] (Prefer the Irish spelling of [name]Keer[/name]-ah - [name]Ciara[/name] but it would be pronounced [name]Sierra[/name] or Key-ar-ah - which would drive me nuts!)||
|[name]Siobhan[/name] [name]Maire[/name] ([name]Siobhan[/name] = [name]Shavon[/name])||
Well… [name]Siobhan[/name] is the only one I recognize. I also know how to spell it. So I figure if I do… others probably do, too. So my vote goes to [name]Siobhan[/name] [name]Marie[/name]. 
All three are nice but I’d prefer [name]Keira[/name] or [name]Niamh[/name] because [name]Siobhan[/name] pronounced “[name]Shavon[/name]” sounds a little too close in sound to [name]Sean[/name], your son’s name. I’d say [name]Niamh[/name] [name]Mary[/name] is my overall favorite.
My votes for [name]Keira[/name] [name]Mae[/name], I agree that [name]Siobhan[/name] sounds too much like [name]Sean[/name] for the sibset. [name]Niamh[/name] [name]Maire[/name] is gorgeous as well. [name]Love[/name], love, love the sibset. From an Irish American gal named [name]Erin[/name] 
Are you pronouncing [name]Maire[/name] “MOI-rah?” It’s not intuitive to me, though [name]Siobhan[/name] and [name]Niamh[/name] are. Go fig.
I love both [name]Niamh[/name] and [name]Siobhan[/name]. [name]Niamh[/name] is sleek but sweet. [name]Siobhan[/name] is more voluptuously beautiful to me.
Any interest in [name]Maura[/name]?
[name]Maura[/name] [name]Siobhan[/name]?
[name]Niamh[/name] [name]Margaret[/name], [name]Niamh[/name] [name]Siobhan[/name], [name]Niamh[/name] Muirin
[name]Siobhan[/name] Medb (or [name]Maeve[/name])
[name]Niamh[/name] is one of my favorite names. DH vetoed it because of the spelling. I think it’s true that your daughter would have to spell out her name all the time, but it’s SO pretty! And I mean, my name is [name]Emily[/name] and I’ve had to spell that for people before due to the variations people have come up with–I think you’re going to get asked how to spell your name at some point no matter what. She can just say, “‘Neev’. N-I-A-M-H. It’s Irish.” and be done with it. I suppose an alternative for this one would be to spell it “[name]Neve[/name]” or something, but I like it the way it is.
My second favorite on your list is [name]Keira[/name], and I think this one is friendlier to American pronunciation/spelling. I don’t really like the sound of [name]Siobhan[/name], but that’s a personal preference. I also agree that it sounds a bit too close to [name]Sean[/name].
I love [name]Mary[/name] or [name]Maire[/name].
[name]Mary[/name] [name]Niamh[/name] is so beautiful. [name]Declan[/name], [name]Brendan[/name], [name]Sean[/name] and [name]Mary[/name]. Oh, that’s a great combination.
We’re Irish-American naming our kids Irish names, too. I definitely appreciate how difficult this can be!
I prefer names that are at least somewhat spellable/pronouncable in English. My husband loves [name]Siobhan[/name], but I vetoed it for that reason. From your list, I like [name]Keira[/name] the best. I just think it goes with your boys’ names better since they’re all Anglisized spellings.
If you’re looking for suggestions, our daughter’s name is [name]Maura[/name] and we’re thinking of [name]Brigid[/name] if #2 is a girl. I also have cousins named [name]Fiona[/name] and [name]Maeve[/name]. [name]Maureen[/name], [name]Kathleen[/name], and [name]Colleen[/name] are classic Irish-American names, but they may seem dated compared to your other children’s names.
[name]Maire[/name] or [name]Mary[/name] would be pronounced the typical way - not the Irish pronunciation. (All of our boys have a trad Irish first name - and a more Anglicanized second name i.e [name]Matthew[/name] - we are trying to follow the same.) We are Catholic and attempting to keep a form of [name]Mary[/name] in the name somewhere. [name]Maura[/name], [name]Moira[/name] and [name]Maeve[/name] are out due to previous family use.
I have trouble remembering how to pronounce [name]Niamh[/name]. It’s partly because I only see this name with name nerds and know none in real life. So I don’t hear it a lot. If you live in the same town for most of her life, the other kids will get used to it. If for example your husband or yourself was in the military and you moved a lot it would be harder for her.
[name]Keira[/name] is kind of dated. My sister had a friend named [name]Ciara[/name]. When she was in first grade, they called her [name]Sarah[/name] for a while until her parents threw (probably rightly) a fit over it and then she was called [name]Sierra[/name]. I like the Key-ar-a pronounciation. I am not sure I would pronounce this name right, but then everyone I know pronounces it differently. The biggest problem with this name is everyone seems to have their own idea how to pronounce it.
I have known a few Siobhans. They had some pronounciation difficulties, but I think it’s the best of the bunch. I think they have more Siobhans who have pioneered this name making it more accessible.
So to rank them
- [name]Siobhan[/name]
- [name]Keira[/name]
- [name]Niamh[/name]
I hope you don’t mind but here are few other ideas (you don’t have to take them):
[name]Bridget[/name] (or any variation you prefer of this name)
[name]Deirdre[/name] (An easily pronounced Irish name from my own favorite’s list)
[name]Fiona[/name] or [name]Fionnuala[/name]
[name]Eileen[/name]
[name]Maeve[/name]
[name]Maura[/name]
[name]Una[/name]
Best of [name]Luck[/name]
Any one have thoughts on using [name]Mary[/name] [name]Niamh[/name] as a double name? My husband has reservations with the [name]Niamh[/name] spelling - but he figures if they could pronounce one half of her name . . . I think it sounds nice - but might be a bit much.
I love [name]Keira[/name] [name]Mae[/name]!!
[name]Mary[/name] [name]Niamh[/name] stands out to me — gorgeous, unexpected, very Irish but still would work well in [name]America[/name]. [name]Mary[/name] is more familiar and fits better with your sons’ names, while [name]Niamh[/name] is more uncommon and Irish. You could call her [name]Mary[/name] [name]Niamh[/name] (or just [name]Niamh[/name]), but if the spelling was too confusing, she could use [name]Mary[/name] in a professional / public context.
[name]Niamh[/name] is a simple name with a tricky spelling but not impossible to work with; after all there are plenty of American girls named [name]Siobhan[/name] or [name]Saoirse[/name] which sound “stranger” to non Irish years.
Anglicising [name]Niamh[/name] as [name]Neve[/name] (à la [name]Conan[/name] O’[name]Brian[/name]) would be another option to consider. It isn’t that different from [name]Keira[/name] or [name]Maeve[/name].
From your list:
[name]Siobhan[/name] [name]Maire[/name]: [name]Siobhan[/name] is too close to [name]Sean[/name]
[name]Niamh[/name] [name]Maire[/name]: I really like this name, but I think post people on encountering [name]Niamh[/name] would have no idea how to pronounce it.
[name]Keira[/name] [name]Mae[/name]: ok, people would pronounce it correctly; i can’t help but associate it with [name]Keira[/name] Knightley though
[name]Mary[/name] [name]Niamh[/name]: I like this name too, but the fact that [name]Mary[/name] is not immediately associated with being Irish makes it match less with your boy’s names. However, this is my favorite from your list by far.
My suggestion: I really really like [name]Maire[/name] as a first name option. It’s authentically Irish but I don’t find it difficult to pronounce, and, as I’m Catholic as well, I love the idea of honoring [name]Mary[/name]. I think it’s one of the prettiest Irish girl names out there, and you could pair it with an anglicized second name (like your boys), and I think that would be beautiful!
Honestly, I personally think the only one that I’d recommend is [name]Keira[/name] [name]Mae[/name] or [name]Mary[/name] [name]Niamh[/name]. I know that I wouldn’t want to have a name that would be mispronounced by 90% of people who first tried to say it–and not just slightly, but slaughtered.
I love both [name]Niamh[/name] [name]Maire[/name] and and [name]Keira[/name] [name]Mae[/name]! [name]Niamh[/name] [name]Maire[/name] doesn’t flow as well since both names are one syllable- have you considered [name]Niamh[/name] [name]Mary[/name]? I like that you’re using Irish names to honour your heritage. [name]Niamh[/name] is one of my favourite Irish names (I also love [name]Orflaith[/name] and [name]Roisin[/name]) and I like the sleek, modern sound of [name]Keira[/name] (I do think of [name]Keira[/name] Knightley right away, but I’ve probably seen Pride and Prejudice dozens of times).
I think [name]Mary[/name] [name]Niamh[/name] makes a fantastic double-first.
[name]How[/name] about [name]Mairead[/name]? This is one of my favorite Irish names, and reminds me of [name]Mary[/name].
I think [name]Mary[/name] [name]Niamh[/name] is pretty, but you could run into a lot of pronunciation issues. Another suggestion is [name]Mary[/name] [name]Clare[/name].
I love [name]Siobhan[/name], but it isn’t pronounced ‘shavon’, it’s pronouned ‘[name]Shivawn[/name]’.
You can hear it here…
I always stunk at phonics - but yeah . . .