I [name]LOVE[/name] Irish names, and as I’m half Irish, they have more meaning to me. But, unfortunately, I’ve found that unless you live in [name]Ireland[/name] or [name]Scotland[/name], people have trouble pronouncing these names!
I live in [name]England[/name], and I’ve found that many people cant pronounce these names. So, I was wondering, would you use the English or the Irish spellings?
[name]Aoife[/name] or Eefa?
[name]Aisling[/name] or [name]Ashling[/name]?
[name]Caoimhe[/name] or [name]Keeva[/name]?
[name]Niamh[/name] or [name]Neve[/name]?
[name]Feel[/name] free to comment with your favourite spellings and your favourite Irish names:-)
I say stick with the original/source, no matter your location. I used the Irish spelling for my daughter’s name, as there was no Americanized one- but I’ve had to spell it for people lots. I also did it with my son’s name, which is dutch. I feel one should stick with the most authentic spelling and not butcher it, just my 2 cents!
ALWAYS stick with the original source! Especially with Irish names, imo. They look so much more beautiful with their natural spellings. And honestly, even if the kid does go through life correcting peoples’ spelling, it isn’t that rough a deal.
[name]Love[/name] [name]Aisling[/name] most of those. My favorites are [name]Aislinn[/name], [name]Brenna[/name], [name]Siobhan[/name], and [name]Catriona[/name] for girls. [name]Cathleen[/name] is pretty as well.
For boys: [name]Ciaran[/name] and [name]Liam[/name]–but especially [name]Ciaran[/name], as that spelling hasn’t hit the embarrassingly popular level that [name]Liam[/name] has.
I prefer the original spellings too! I adore the name [name]Aoife[/name], but soooo many people pronounce it wrong!
I only have a cousin with a Norwegian middle name. Its [name]Jon[/name], but pronounced as [name]Yon[/name]. The poor boy had his teachers tell him he was pronouncing his own name wrong when he told them it! It took his mother to actually come into school and explain that is middle name is pronounced as [name]Yon[/name] for them to apologise, haha:-)
See I go back and forth on this. I think it’s okay to stick with the original spelling on some that most people are sort of famliar with ([name]Siobhan[/name], [name]Niamh[/name], [name]Aisling[/name], [name]Sinead[/name]) but for the less recognizable or the ones with spelling not anywhere close to how you would say them, they should be changed ([name]Aoife[/name], Caiomhe) .
My favorite Irish girls name is [name]Siobhan[/name].
I had NO clue how to pronounce these names at all. And I’m actually really grateful that you posted this because it’s been bugging me for awhile trying to figure out how to say them! I just cannot figure out Irish spellings vs Irish pronunciations! [name]Aoife[/name] is my favorite from this list and the only one I’d spell the traditional way. They look gorgeous in their Irish version, better than the English way would be, but I don’t think you’ll have much luck getting many people to pronounce them correctly
I agree that if it is somewhat recognizable in its original spelling, go for it, but I would Americanize the more obscure names unless you really like the look of the original and don’t mind correcting people for the entirety of your child’s school years.
I’d go the traditional route. I don’t see the point in using a name unless its spelt as close to the original source as possible. The Irish spellings are far more beautiful and attractive looking than the Anglicized ones.
I would normally say to use the most authentic spellings but there are exceptions so I would suggest you use…
[name]Aoife[/name] - this name is just too beautiful to use any other spelling! You will have to pronounce and spell it but I think the trouble would be worth it.
[name]Aisling[/name] - If you pronounce the “g” use this spelling, if you don’t use another alternative [name]Aislinn[/name] (I wouldn’t use [name]Ashling[/name]/[name]Ashlyn[/name] etc…as it takes the Irishness out of the name).
[name]Caoimhe[/name] - I even have trouble with this spelling and I have Irish heritage! I would suggest you use [name]Kiva[/name] (not [name]Keeva[/name]).
[name]Niamh[/name] - [name]Neve[/name] is NOT an alternative to [name]Niamh[/name]. It was the Dutch surname of [name]Neve[/name] [name]Campbell[/name]'s mother so it’s unrelated and is pronounced differently. [name]Just[/name] choose [name]Niamh[/name] in this case as [name]Neve[/name] isn’t Irish.
I’m no help! I have this problem as well. My favorites are [name]Siobhan[/name] (sheh-vahn), [name]Saoirse[/name] (s-air-shah), [name]Sinead[/name] (sheh-nayd) and [name]Mairead[/name] (I’ve heard my-rayd and muh-rayd.)
[name]Even[/name] though I love them, even I have trouble with remembering how [name]Siobhan[/name] and [name]Saoirse[/name] are spelled!
I think it’s best to stick with the traditional way to spell the names, but I just want to say that I have no idea how to pronounce any of those names, haha.
Stick with the original spellings, they are culturally beautiful. Let people get more acquainted with names from other cultures if they are not used to it.
Definitely stick with traditional spellings! I’m from Northern [name]Ireland[/name] and have just moved across to [name]England[/name], and I’d never dream of using the alternative spellings of Irish names here. Admittedly, some people might have difficulties at first but you’ll only have to explain to each person once -it’s worth that little bit of hassle to have a name with a beautiful cultural heritage.
My own favourite Irish name is Cobhlaith, pronounced [name]Cove[/name]-la, but I think if it was written Covela or an equivalent, it would lose a wee bit of its charm for me.
However, if you are worried, there are many Irish names with easily pronounced spellings. [name]Orla[/name] and [name]Maeve[/name], for example (although both have their more archaic spellings, these are the most commonly accepted spellings here).
I would definitely stick with the original spellings, yes you’ll have to correct people but they’ll catch on.
If you’re not wanting to deal with correcting people, maybe look for a more widely known Irish name like [name]Maeve[/name] or [name]Roisin[/name] or [name]Cillian[/name].
I agree with this! (Minus the having children with those names part, haha) I even get my name butchered, and it was the top name in [name]America[/name] for two years. As names become more and more diversified, I think people will just naturally ask how it’s spelled rather than just assume. To me, [name]Niamh[/name] and [name]Aisling[/name] are much more recognizable than [name]Neve[/name] and [name]Ashling[/name]! [name]Neve[/name] and [name]Ashling[/name] look much trendier to me, anyway! It may have its difficulties, but I would think, in the long run, [name]Niamh[/name] and [name]Aisling[/name] would be much better.
My favorite Irish/Gaelic/Scottish names are [name]Aislinn[/name], [name]Isla[/name], [name]Niamh[/name], and [name]Eilidh[/name].
Also in Northern [name]Ireland[/name]! Although I’m American, I’ve lived here for almost 13 years and my DH and DS were born here. We chose an old Irish name for our son because we loved it and it fits hims so well. We also chose a much older spelling for his name, which we got some flack over because some people assumed we’d made up the spelling for the sake of my American side of the family. That was partly our reason, the older spelling is more ‘translatable’ to English pronunciation, but we also just liked the look of it better too.
Cobhlaith is gorgeous!! DH and I were in love with Creithne (sometimes Creidne), Ruadhán, Aibhne (sort of on our list this time), Aibhilín, and Odhrán, but only the last two have officially made the short list this time around.
As much as I think the original spellings are beautiful and should be kept intact, I don’t think I would want to use them if my child would CONSTANTLY be explaining their own name. For example I’ve had to spell my name all my life, but I’ve never had someone mispronounce and struggle with how to say it. This would be one case where ‘making up’ a spelling would be okay with me.
I would suggest you use [name]Kiva[/name] (not [name]Keeva[/name]).
