See the results of this poll: which do you prefer?
Respondents: 100 (This poll is closed)
- Mallory : 17 (17%)
- Aoife (ee-fa) : 22 (22%)
- Saoirse (seer-sha) : 29 (29%)
- Niamh (neev): 32 (32%)
bumping up
[name_f]Niamh[/name_f] is beautiful.
I personally love love love [name_f]Aoife[/name_f], but I do feel it can be a name that’s a little hard to pull off outside of [name_f]Ireland[/name_f]/UK.
[name_f]Niamh[/name_f] is beautiful and relatively easy on the Irish pronunciation scale. [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] is harder to pronounce but, with [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] [name_m]Ronan[/name_m] in the public eye, I think it makes it easier.
All but Mallory will present issues of spelling and pronunciation if you’re outside of Ireland, but I don’t think they can only be used if you live in Ireland. You just have to undertake it will be a lifetime of explaining and spelling. I have a friend who named her child Saoirse and she lives in the states. Even just as a four month old baby, her mama was already weary of all the mistakes. When she met me and I pronounced it right immediately her eyes lit up, she was so surprised and pleased.
But if you love the name and are ready for the challenge, then go for it. Out of all of them, Saoirse is my favorite and the actress does make things slightly easier.
I think these are all familiar enough to use outside of [name_f]Ireland[/name_f]. I also personally think it’s nbd to have to correct pronunciation once in a blue moon. I think [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] is my favorite! [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] would be my 2nd choice. [name_f]Aoife[/name_f] is just ok to me, I think it looks pretty but bot sure about the sound, and while I think [name_f]Mallory[/name_f] is ok as well I am not fond of the [name_u]Mal[/name_u]- syllable at the beginning (it reminds me of malevolent etc, and mal- basically means “bad”)
As someone that lives in the US, the only one that i can pronounce is [name_f]Mallory[/name_f]. The others are not going to work well in the US. Sorry.
I don’t think [name_f]Mallory[/name_f] is an Irish name? ([name_m]Just[/name_m] from quick search -and living in [name_f]Ireland[/name_f]!). There may be people with the surname here (though seems to be English or [name_m]French[/name_m] in roots?). As for the other names I would think they would be difficult if out of [name_f]Ireland[/name_f], have known a few in [name_f]England[/name_f] but further than that could be awkward. If for baby / character with Irish roots I would use any of them wherever.
I have Irish ancestry and I’ve never heard of [name_f]Mallory[/name_f] being an Irish name. To me it sounds very American.
I really like [name_f]Aoife[/name_f], [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] and [name_f]Niamh[/name_f]. I have no problems pronouncing them (but again, I come from an Irish community so these names are not new to me).
I think if your area has a large Irish immigrant population you could probably use those names with minimal issues.
There is an [name_f]Aoife[/name_f] in my brothers second grade class. Idk her but he doesn’t think twice about the name. I’ve also met a little [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f]
I’m Irish and my cousins name is [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] and she lives in the US and her name is constantly pronounced incorrectly
They’re all lovely but [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] is probably the most familiar in the US
I really love both [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] and [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f]. In my circles in the U.S. a lot of people have family in [name_f]Ireland[/name_f] and travel to [name_f]Ireland[/name_f], so most people know how to pronounce all of these names. I don’t think a child would have a lot of trouble day to day, but that might change when she went to college or moved somewhere else. That wouldn’t necessarily stop me from using the name. I think you just have to figure out your own tolerance for making corrections. I would probably choose to use [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] as a middle name or perhaps Anglicize the spelling to [name_f]Neve[/name_f], as is commonly done with [name_f]Maeve[/name_f].
Personally I like [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] the best. However for all (except [name_f]Mallory[/name_f]) spelling is going to be an issue. I think if you’re prepared for that and ready to correct people then it shouldnt be a problem. I mean I have a name that is misspelled frequently and it doesnt bother me too much ([name_f]Marianne[/name_f]). Although, because of actress [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] [name_m]Ronan[/name_m], that probably has brought the name into the spotlight and therefore less misspellings. I think the only one I personally dont like is [name_f]Aoife[/name_f]. I just dont think it sounds attractive.
I was born and raised in NYC but go to college in [name_m]Dublin[/name_m], and honestly, none of my American friends have the slightest clue how to pronounce my Irish friends’ names. The non-Anglicized spellings and non-intuitive pronunciations cause everyone to butcher their names. Also as a sidenote, I’ve heard [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] [name_m]Ronan[/name_m] say her name is pronounced like “inertia”, but every [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] I’ve met pronounces it like Seer-sha with more emphasis on the “e” sound. Of the options you listed, [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] is my favorite because I love the meaning of “liberty”, and I don’t care for [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] at all.
If you can get over people constantly misspelling and mispronouncing the name, I’d say go for it, but it would personally really bother me to have to constantly correct people. Best of luck!
[name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] is my favourite. I have come across a lot of Niamhs and [name_f]Aoife[/name_f] is now taking off here (loads under 5), but [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] is still pretty uncommon where I live in the UK.
I think Aoife & Niamh are lovely.
I expect you’ll get some mispronunciations, but no more than the 80s-born Sineads and Siobhans I went to school with. Both names are easy enough to say, once you’ve heard them. Because the spellings are unlike most ‘traditional’/familiar anglophone names, I think people are likely to ask how to pronounce the name if they’re not sure. In that respect, it would be less tricky to be a Niamh than to be a Sara-pronounced-Sarah or a Marie-pronounced-MAHri.
I do think that people who hear Aoife and Niamh before they see them will misspell their names as Eva and Neve reasonably often, so it’s worth thinking about whether that’s something you’re comfortable with.
Mallory is nice enough, and easy to pronounce and spell, but it seems more general ‘British Isles/literary surname’ than ‘Irish heritage choice’.
Saoirse is great too. My only hesitation about it is that it started as quite a politically charged name. I’ve read comments from some Irish people indicating that they find it upsetting when people use Saoirse without understanding the history and significance of the name and/or a recent and close connection to Ireland.
If you or your partner are Irish, though, it’s a nice choice.
Such beautiful choices!
[name_f]Niamh[/name_f] is my favorite. Its one of my absolute favorite Irish names. I love the look, sound, and meaning! I think it’s so beautiful.
Following closely behind would be [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f]. I think it’s such a stunning name!
I also really like [name_f]Aoife[/name_f], especially the sound. I’m not a huge fan of how it looks, though.
I agree with other posters that you’ll probably get some spelling/pronunciation issues, but so long as you’re okay with that, I think they’re gorgeous names and you should use the one you love!
(Also, if you tell the person the correct way to say the name, I think itd be easy for them to switch over! I live in [name_m]New[/name_m] [name_m]York[/name_m], so I didnt know how to pronounce a lot of Irish spellings (despite having Irish family!), but once I learned how to pronounce each name, I’ve pronounced them the correct way since!)
I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] and I like [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f]. I think Saorise is becoming more familiar due to the actress [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] [name_m]Ronan[/name_m].
I would consider anglicized spellings for US usage.