I know of a baby girl named [name_f]Orla[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] who was born [name_u]March[/name_u] 1 in Iowa.
She is the first [name_f]Orla[/name_f] I have ever known. I think her name is beautiful, but I don’t think I would be that brave to venture that far outside the box.
What do you think?
I love Irish names! For girls [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] is a GP and boys, im loving [name_m]Connor[/name_m] and [name_m]Cian[/name_m]
I’ve never thought of [name_f]Orla[/name_f] as an outside-the-box name, but I checked the stats for it in the U.S. and I guess it is! [name_f]Orla[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] is so sweet and old-fashioned. [name_f]My[/name_f] only worry is if kids will make “oral” jokes. I know they can make fun of anything but you don’t want to make it TOO easy for them. But then, I mentally anagram everything so that could be my weird brain.
Anyway, what a refreshing find! Very pretty.
I really like [name_f]Orla[/name_f] and think it is very pretty.
Although as isolieth also mentioned, I keep getting the mental anagram of [name_m]Oral[/name_m].
I hope it’s not everyone that does this because it really is a lovely name.
I know an [name_f]Orla[/name_f], and I’ve always admired her name. I hadn’t thought of the ‘oral’ thing until this thread, and it doesn’t bother me all that much.
I like the combination of [name_f]Orla[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f]–I think a classic like [name_f]Mary[/name_f] really balances [name_f]Orla[/name_f].
I actually kind of like it, I especially like it in that combo (I have a soft spot for Irish names and [name_f]Mary[/name_f] names), and I don’t think it’s that far “out of the box”. [name_f]Orla[/name_f] Kiely is a designer who has had lines at Target and Anthropologie, so I’ve seen and heard it enough it seems familiar, to me at least. However, someone suggested [name_f]Orla[/name_f] to me once for my sibset and it kept auto-correcting to “oral” when I typed it, which kind of turned me off. I wish it didn’t bother me, but it does. I don’t think of it that way when other people use it though, it’s weird like that.
I like [name_f]Aisling[/name_f]. It is a familiar enough pronunciation with a unique and Irish spelling.
I also like Fiametta (sp?) nn [name_f]Fia[/name_f] and Finuala nn [name_f]Fia[/name_f] or [name_f]Nola[/name_f]. Yes I like [name_f]Fia[/name_f] as well and [name_f]Fia[/name_f] may be a good alternate to [name_f]Mia[/name_f].
(just suggesting some Irish names that may be further in the box).
Doesn’t feel particularly special to me, but I know so many little Orlas (and several teens/adults). It’s really pretty but I prefer the [name_f]Orlaith[/name_f] spelling for it’s Irish authenticity, plus it looks more complete to me. I know an [name_f]Orlagh[/name_f] which seems like a fairly random spelling - but I assume it’s legitimately Gaelic (same end sound as [name_f]Clodagh[/name_f], for instance)… I’d take a total guess and say that -laith and -lagh are very similar and interchangeable sounds?
I also really like [name_u]Alva[/name_u]/[name_f]Elva[/name_f]/[name_u]Ailbhe[/name_u] and [name_f]Oona[/name_f]/[name_f]Oonagh[/name_f].
I think [name_f]Orla[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] is lovely. I’ve heard of a little girl named [name_f]Orla[/name_f] [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f], which I adore too.
I met a girl named [name_f]Orla[/name_f] who was Irish, and I liked the name. Though in [name_u]America[/name_u], I feel like people will call her “oily” or something if you had a girl named [name_f]Orla[/name_f] here. Other Irish names I like are:
[name_f]Siobhan[/name_f]
[name_f]Maeve[/name_f]
[name_f]Roisin[/name_f]
[name_f]Etain[/name_f]
Saorise
[name_f]Meryl[/name_f]
[name_u]Tierney[/name_u]
[name_f]Lovely[/name_f]. I picture a pretty Irish girl in a floral tea dress, brogues and a satchel 
'[name_m]Oral[/name_m]" didn’t occur to me at all.
Oh i love [name_f]Orla[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f]!! I used to have [name_f]Orla[/name_f] [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f] on my name list, but now I’m pretty sure it clashes with everything on my list :(. It is such a gorgeous name though, and the [name_f]Orla[/name_f] spelling is actually usable here in [name_u]North[/name_u] [name_u]America[/name_u], which is a plus. Not to mention the beautiful ‘[name_u]Golden[/name_u] princess’ meaning. I also love the [name_f]Orlaith[/name_f] spelling (though not as much as [name_f]Orla[/name_f]) but, I knew an [name_f]Orlaith[/name_f] from [name_f]Scotland[/name_f] who pronounced it Or-layth, so I’m not 100% sure that they are pronounced the same.
Stats wise, I believe [name_f]Orla[/name_f] is the 2nd most popular Irish girl’s name in [name_f]England[/name_f] and [name_m]Wales[/name_m], after [name_f]Niamh[/name_f]. It ranks within the top 200 [name_f]Orlaith[/name_f] ranks much, much further down the list, in the 600-700 range.
As for [name_f]Scotland[/name_f], [name_f]Orla[/name_f] is a top 50 spelling, at 36th, and
[name_f]Orlaith[/name_f] is 207th. [name_f]Orlagh[/name_f] is 229th (I believe).
Some other Irish favourites of mine are; [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f], [name_f]Aoife[/name_f], [name_f]Ciara[/name_f]/[name_f]Kiera[/name_f], [name_u]Aoibheann[/name_u], [name_f]Aisling[/name_f], [name_f]Catriona[/name_f], [name_f]Maura[/name_f], [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], [name_f]Bridget[/name_f], [name_f]Alana[/name_f]/[name_f]Alannah[/name_f] (my MN), [name_f]Grainne[/name_f], [name_f]Eilish[/name_f] and [name_f]Eilidh[/name_f].
No [name_f]Orlaith[/name_f] is definitely pronounced the same - or-layth is just tragically mispronounced. The original Irish spelling was Órfhlaith (from the words ‘‘or’’, gold and ‘‘flaith’’, princess).
I’ve been thinking about [name_f]Orla[/name_f] more recently and realized the reason I’ve never loved it is because it doesn’t sound very pretty in my accent; the emphasized/sharp ‘‘rr’’ sound in an Irish accent makes the name I think (I guess it works well in [name_u]North[/name_u] American too, and definitely Scottish). [name_f]My[/name_f] soft English ‘‘orhh-la’’ ruins it haha.
Maybe that’s why I’ve never liked [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f]… I say ‘‘see-uh-sha’’ and the SIR-sha pn sounds even weirder in my accent.
I’m not a fan of [name_f]Orla[/name_f]; it’s pretty dated here. [name_f]Orla[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] is nice, though.
Since I live in [name_f]Ireland[/name_f], most Irish names have been ruined for me. They’re just so common they can’t seem pretty anymore. (It also doesn’t help that my American accent just slightly mangles most Irish words, so that could be a part of it. ^.^)
That said, I like:
[name_f]Aoife[/name_f] [EE-fa] (it’s the most common name in my area - I know about 10 - but it’s still pretty)
[name_f]Aoibhinn[/name_f] [AY-veen]
[name_u]Ailbhe[/name_u] [[name_u]Alva[/name_u]]
For some reason I am not a fan of vowel heavy names. They feel like they are missing some structure, so I dont love [name_f]Orla[/name_f]. But I can see that [name_f]Orla[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] is a pretty name.
[name_f]Orla[/name_f] is one of my favourites, but I prefer the [name_f]Orlaith[/name_f] spelling. I’d love to meet a little [name_f]Orla[/name_f].
[name_f]Orla[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] is lovely, classic but fresh too.
[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] is Scottish 