I love Irish names but most sound ridiculous with our last name [name]Friedman[/name]… between my husband and I, we are the melting pot of [name]America[/name] – Irish, Italian (me) and Irish, Italian, Russian Jew, French and Native American (him) so we have tried to go classic American with our first 2 but I am dying to branch out a bit with #3.
Does [name]Liam[/name] [name]Friedman[/name] sound absolutely awful?
Other names that I have on my guilty pleasure list are [name]Patrick[/name], [name]Ronan[/name] and [name]Seamus[/name].
I think it’s fine. The time when fn’s & sn’s had to “match” has long since passed; most of us no longer have partners from exactly the same ethnic background. I don’t necessarily think Irish when I hear [name]Liam[/name], nowhere to the degree that I do with [name]Seamus[/name]. I think your last name conjures up images of free or being freed, which is great…
From your signature, I really like [name]Max[/name]. [name]Liam[/name] seems fine to me, but I prefer [name]Max[/name]/[name]Maxwell[/name] with your LN.
I like [name]Liam[/name], but I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Patrick[/name], both with your last name, and with your children’s names. [name]Jack[/name], [name]Claire[/name] and [name]Patrick[/name] would make a lovely, classic sibset! [name]Patrick[/name] [name]Friedman[/name]…sounds very distinguished, handsome and sweet to me!!
I too love [name]Max[/name] but worry he sounds like a old jewish man…it doesnt really matter, everyone assumes we are Jewish but actually are raising our kids Catholic. I also adore [name]Patrick[/name] and think it works better than [name]Liam[/name]. I just cannot stand [name]Pat[/name] so I waffle on it.
I think [name]Liam[/name] is used enough lately, that it’s fine to use with a non-irish last name. I like [name]Patrick[/name] with the sibset because it has a strong hard C sound like [name]Jack[/name] and [name]Claire[/name], but might be too close to [name]Jack[/name] because of the C ending? [name]Just[/name] a thought
I don’t think style-wise [name]Liam[/name] [name]Friedman[/name] is bad. I think it sounds a bit sing-songy, but if that doesn’t bother you, I would go with it! I don’t think there’s a problem with using an Irish name, especially if you both have Irish history! I think something like [name]Patrick[/name] [name]Friedman[/name] might sound a bit better, and it’s classic enough to fit in really well with [name]Jack[/name] and [name]Claire[/name]. Although [name]Jack[/name], [name]Claire[/name], and [name]Liam[/name] fit together perfectly, too, imo. If you like [name]Patrick[/name] but not [name]Pat[/name], have you considered [name]Pax[/name], [name]Paddy[/name], or Trick (or even [name]Ricky[/name]?) as nns? Personally, I would just use [name]Patrick[/name], but if people try to shorten it to [name]Pat[/name], I would offer [name]Pax[/name] or [name]Paddy[/name] up as a nn instead.
I have thought about the hard C ending of both [name]Jack[/name] and [name]Patrick[/name] and worry its a little hard to say when you just say those too together. I really dislike nicknames in general which was part of why I choose [name]Jack[/name] and [name]Claire[/name] and why I like [name]Liam[/name], [name]Luke[/name], [name]Max[/name] etc… But I hear kids at school calling [name]Jack[/name] “[name]Jacky[/name]” which I cannot stand and he thinks its funny. If we went with [name]Patrick[/name] I would only call him [name]Patrick[/name] and hope he doesn’t let others shorten it.
I actually think [name]Liam[/name] sounds great with [name]Friedman[/name]. But I like the name [name]Seamus[/name] much better than [name]Liam[/name], and I think it sounds great, too. I don’t like [name]Patrick[/name] or [name]Ronan[/name] at all I knew too many Patricks growing up).
If you like [name]Seamus[/name], [name]Hamish[/name] might also be an option (although now we’re talking Scottish rather than Irish, if that matters).
As a Jew married to an Irish guy… I say that I am not giving up all my Jewish names just because of his last name, and that goes both ways! Your family is a meld, so can his name be. I wouldn’t throw Japanese or Swahili in for giggles but if its authentic to who you both are, I don’t see a problem.
([name]Liam[/name] sounds crap with our last name, incidentally, but only because its of the Mulrooney type and turns to sounding like [name]Leah[/name] Mulrooney… ) I do like [name]Levi[/name] but [name]Levi[/name] [name]Friedman[/name] for a non-Jewish child is a bit much.
I like [name]Patrick[/name] a lot but similarly don’t like [name]Pat[/name]/[name]Paddy[/name].
[name]Ronan[/name] is really good, I love [name]Ronan[/name]. I also like [name]Aidan[/name], but it has become very popular (though less popular spelt correctly, like the saint sigh). [name]Seamus[/name] is a bit much for me, but I do like [name]Shane[/name]. My husband is in love with [name]Finn[/name]/[name]Fionn[/name].
Too bad we cant switch last names Stripesock, lol! I have a nephew [name]Aiden[/name], cousin [name]Connor[/name] and my BF’s son is [name]Finn[/name] so they are out.
They are alot Jewish names I like but feel like it just confuses things even more so I have I usually keep them off the list and tried naming them with names that aren’t too specific.
I do like [name]Ronan[/name] alot as well but feel like [name]Liam[/name] flows with [name]Jack[/name] and [name]Claire[/name] better.
My husband already nixed [name]Gavin[/name] but likes [name]Kevin[/name] which bores me. I am afraid he will nix [name]Seamus[/name] too so I havent brought that up yet!
It sounds just ok to me…I’ll echo the others on here and tell you that I really prefer [name]Patrick[/name] with your last name. My nephew was a [name]Patrick[/name] and my sister also really disliked [name]Pat[/name] - but our family knew that and always called him by his full name. He’s now definitely a “[name]Patrick[/name]” and I’m certain I’ve never once called him [name]Pat[/name]. If you set the example of calling him [name]Patrick[/name]…others will follow.
As a side note - [name]Seamus[/name] is my guilty pleasure name too. I have an uncle [name]Seamus[/name] however who has spent his entire life correcting people on the spelling and pronounciation…drives him CRAZY!!
I actually think [name]Liam[/name] sounds great with your last name. I think you’re just concerned about the different nationalities…but to be honest, I think most “Caucasian” names (i.e. European origins or commonly found in Europe) are all mixed and matched these days. I don’t think anyone would blink an eye at it. I really think you only need to think about flow, and I think the flow is quite lovely. Plus [name]Liam[/name] is an awesome name!
I also love [name]Seamus[/name] and [name]Ronan[/name] (I’m OK with [name]Patrick[/name] but I know a lot and it has no sparkle for me). I think [name]Seamus[/name] would work well for you, but for some reason I have a hard time saying [name]Ronan[/name] with your last name (but maybe I’m just having an off day).
