Irish Name Lover

[asunflower]

Hey there:) I’m not TTC or anything but I like planning things in my head. I really love Irish names and really want to use them someday on my children, but I don’t live in [name_f]Ireland[/name_f] and I fear that the names would get butchered. What do you guys think? Should I just go for it? My name gets mistaken for [name_f]Hannah[/name_f] all the time, I don’t know if that’s sort of the same thing but it’s never bothered me too much! I would love some feedback on my list I have as well, thanks everyone!

Girls-
[name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] (seer-sha)
[name_f]Niamh[/name_f] (neev)
[name_f]Maeve[/name_f] (mayv)
[name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f] (kee-vah)
[name_f]Roisin[/name_f] (ro-sheen): not too sure about this one, afraid people might call her Raisin

Boys-
[name_m]Cian[/name_m] (kee-an)
[name_m]Seamus[/name_m] (shay-mus)
[name_m]Eoin[/name_m] (oh-wen)
[name_m]Cillian[/name_m] (kill-e-an)

[Kipperbo1]

I think [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] is super usable, I know like 3 in the US here and it’s easily pronounceable. [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] and [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] people will take some time to get used to but they’ll get the hang of it. I don’t like [name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f] is usable, although I do like it. I think all your boys names are fine.

[asunflower]

@kipperbo1

I think [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] is super usable, I know like 3 in the US here and it’s easily pronounceable. [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] and [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] people will take some time to get used to but they’ll get the hang of it. I don’t like [name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f] is usable, although I do like it. I think all your boys names are fine.

Thank you so much for your input:) I feel like [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] isn’t too bad due to the actress and [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] isn’t that bad either. I wasn’t too sold on the look of [name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f] but I do love the pronunciation.

[Sorceress]

[name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] looks beautiful as spoken and has lovely meaning, I would use it in a heartbeat, but I feel like there are better known and less popular English names.

[asunflower]

@sorceress

[name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] looks beautiful as spoken and has lovely meaning, I would use it in a heartbeat, but I feel like there are better known and less popular English names.

Thank you for your opinion! I do agree with you on the fact that theres better known and less popular english names that I consider as well, I just really love the meaning of [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] which is “liberty” and the pronunciation!

[MichelleM]

[name_m]Hi[/name_m] there.

I would absolutely go for it! I know a family here in the midwest w/five Irish named kids and they don’t regret it at all. In fact, a few are on your lists.

Here are my thoughts on the names you like:

Girls-

[name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] (seer-sha)-I don’t know why I can’t get into this name. It just sounds a little too shush-ee for me. It’s fine though. It will get misspelled and mispronounced, but it’s worth it if you love it.

[name_f]Niamh[/name_f] (neev)-This is lovely! It will get misspelled and mispronounced as well, but I think that it’s worth it to go w/the authentic spelling. Such a smart, feminine yet not overly frilly name.

[name_f]Maeve[/name_f] (mayv)-This has a very similar feeling to [name_f]Niamh[/name_f], but it’s a lot easier for people in the US.

[name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f] (kee-vah)-Nobody will get this at first, but it’s so pretty! I’d use it anyway. The spelling is beautiful.

[name_f]Roisin[/name_f] (ro-sheen)-LOL, Raisin. I never though of that, but you may be right…I don’t care for it much, because it just reminds me of the boy name [name_m]Ross[/name_m].

Boys-
[name_m]Cian[/name_m] (kee-an)-This is nice. I think it’s simple enough. Very cute yet boyish.

[name_m]Seamus[/name_m] (shay-mus)-I love this one. People will call him ‘see-miss’ at first, but it’s such a handsome name.

[name_m]Eoin[/name_m] (oh-wen)-Hm. This name is actually really popular spelled [name_u]Owen[/name_u]. That may make this one extra confusing. I do really like it spelled both ways. It’s gentle yet rugged at the same time.

[name_m]Cillian[/name_m] (kill-e-an)-[name_u]Love[/name_u] it. So glad you did the ‘C’ spelling! That looks way nicer than [name_m]Killian[/name_m], in my opinion.

[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps.

[asunflower]

@michellem

[name_m]Hi[/name_m] there.

I would absolutely go for it! I know a family here in the midwest w/five Irish named kids and they don’t regret it at all. In fact, a few are on your lists.

Here are my thoughts on the names you like:

Girls-

[name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] (seer-sha)-I don’t know why I can’t get into this name. It just sounds a little too shush-ee for me. It’s fine though. It will get misspelled and mispronounced, but it’s worth it if you love it.

[name_f]Niamh[/name_f] (neev)-This is lovely! It will get misspelled and mispronounced as well, but I think that it’s worth it to go w/the authentic spelling. Such a smart, feminine yet not overly frilly name.

[name_f]Maeve[/name_f] (mayv)-This has a very similar feeling to [name_f]Niamh[/name_f], but it’s a lot easier for people in the US.

[name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f] (kee-vah)-Nobody will get this at first, but it’s so pretty! I’d use it anyway. The spelling is beautiful.

[name_f]Roisin[/name_f] (ro-sheen)-LOL, Raisin. I never though of that, but you may be right…I don’t care for it much, because it just reminds me of the boy name [name_m]Ross[/name_m].

Boys-
[name_m]Cian[/name_m] (kee-an)-This is nice. I think it’s simple enough. Very cute yet boyish.

[name_m]Seamus[/name_m] (shay-mus)-I love this one. People will call him ‘see-miss’ at first, but it’s such a handsome name.

[name_m]Eoin[/name_m] (oh-wen)-Hm. This name is actually really popular spelled [name_u]Owen[/name_u]. That may make this one extra confusing. I do really like it spelled both ways. It’s gentle yet rugged at the same time.

[name_m]Cillian[/name_m] (kill-e-an)-[name_u]Love[/name_u] it. So glad you did the ‘C’ spelling! That looks way nicer than [name_m]Killian[/name_m], in my opinion.

[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps.

Thank you so much for your opinion! I feel the same way about “[name_m]Cillian[/name_m]” over “[name_m]Killian[/name_m]”, the “Kill” is off putting in the K spelling. [name_m]Seamus[/name_m] is one of my favourites too, I actually know one! Your thoughts on the girls are lovely too!!

[solara]

[name_f]Niamh[/name_f], [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], [name_m]Cian[/name_m], [name_m]Cillian[/name_m] & [name_m]Seamus[/name_m] are my favourites from your list! I know a [name_f]Niamh[/name_f], [name_m]Cian[/name_m] and a [name_m]Seamus[/name_m] and once people have an understanding of the name it’s not so hard to remember them! [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] seems to be super in right now so I don’t think it’s too far out there that you’d constantly get mispronunciations of it. Or, as an alternative, you could use the [name_f]Neve[/name_f], [name_m]Killian[/name_m], or [name_m]Kian[/name_m] spellings to avoid that altogether. They do look a lot softer with the original spellings though… Over all, I think if you really love them, you should use them!

[eireann]

[name_f]Do[/name_f] you live in the UK? I think they’re all hard to wear outside of the UK, however [name_f]Niamh[/name_f], [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], [name_m]Cian[/name_m] and [name_m]Cillian[/name_m] are either well known ([name_f]Niamh[/name_f]) or easy to pronounce, so I think they’re safe. [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f], [name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f], [name_f]Roisin[/name_f] (I see your worry, but they don’t sound alike so the fact they look alike might be OK), [name_m]Seamus[/name_m] and [name_m]Eoin[/name_m] aren’t phonetic by any means so might be considered unusable if you’re not living in the UK. It just depends on where you live, although I can’t really picture a name so obviously Irish on someone who has no Irish in them.

[josephinedagnall]

I’m not American, so I don’t know how the names would be received there, but all of the above would be perfectly usable in the UK - although I would be surprised to meet an [name_m]Eoin[/name_m] or [name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f] who wasn’t Irish. I think [name_f]Niamh[/name_f], [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], [name_m]Cian[/name_m], and [name_m]Seamus[/name_m] would be the most usable in [name_u]America[/name_u].

[asunflower]

@celes

[name_f]Niamh[/name_f], [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], [name_m]Cian[/name_m], [name_m]Cillian[/name_m] & [name_m]Seamus[/name_m] are my favourites from your list! I know a [name_f]Niamh[/name_f], [name_m]Cian[/name_m] and a [name_m]Seamus[/name_m] and once people have an understanding of the name it’s not so hard to remember them! [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] seems to be super in right now so I don’t think it’s too far out there that you’d constantly get mispronunciations of it. Or, as an alternative, you could use the [name_f]Neve[/name_f], [name_m]Killian[/name_m], or [name_m]Kian[/name_m] spellings to avoid that altogether. They do look a lot softer with the original spellings though… Over all, I think if you really love them, you should use them!

thanks for your opinion! I love [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] but I fear it’s going to be too popular in the future when I would actually get the chance to use it I much prefer the original spellings as the alternatives look a little harsh to me!

[asunflower]

@eireann

[name_f]Do[/name_f] you live in the UK? I think they’re all hard to wear outside of the UK, however [name_f]Niamh[/name_f], [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], [name_m]Cian[/name_m] and [name_m]Cillian[/name_m] are either well known ([name_f]Niamh[/name_f]) or easy to pronounce, so I think they’re safe. [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f], [name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f], [name_f]Roisin[/name_f] (I see your worry, but they don’t sound alike so the fact they look alike might be OK), [name_m]Seamus[/name_m] and [name_m]Eoin[/name_m] aren’t phonetic by any means so might be considered unusable if you’re not living in the UK. It just depends on where you live, although I can’t really picture a name so obviously Irish on someone who has no Irish in them.

No I don’t live in the UK and I see your point, from what I know my family is decended from [name_f]Ireland[/name_f] and I live in an area where most people have come from [name_f]Ireland[/name_f] so I don’t think using them would be such a huge issue! But someday I would love to live in the UK ([name_f]Ireland[/name_f] preferably) so maybe using them wouldn’t be too unusual?

[asunflower]

@josephinedagnall

I’m not American, so I don’t know how the names would be received there, but all of the above would be perfectly usable in the UK - although I would be surprised to meet an [name_m]Eoin[/name_m] or [name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f] who wasn’t Irish. I think [name_f]Niamh[/name_f], [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], [name_m]Cian[/name_m], and [name_m]Seamus[/name_m] would be the most usable in [name_u]America[/name_u].

Thank you for your opinion!

[kayakforsanity]

I love [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] with a nickname of [name_f]Mae[/name_f].

I’m from the US, in an area with lots of individuals of Irish heritage, and also have a liking for many of the same names.

Since you arent afraid of spelling, [name_f]Aoife[/name_f] might be a good option. Similar sound to [name_f]Eva[/name_f], ([name_f]Efa[/name_f]).

Is [name_f]Moira[/name_f] too out dated for you?