Torin

Boy Names
1

I like the name [name]Torin[/name], probably going to use it for our son.

Torin is often thought to be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic torfhinn, meaning “chief”, or toirneach, meaning “thunder” (and thus linked to Thor, Norse god of thunder).

I’m wondering about the spelling of it and pronunciation. A bit of research on the net suggests that it should traditionally be pronounced [name]TOR[/name]-en (with the emphasis on the ‘[name]Tor[/name]’ which has a long vowel sound to rhyme with ‘oar’) rather than TO-rin (with ‘To’ as in ‘Tomato’). [name]Do[/name] people here agree?

If that’s the case, then I wonder if an alternative spelling such as Tohren might be clearer (although to be honest it looks less elegant!). Because seeing the spelling [name]Torin[/name], people may default to the shorter first vowel sound.

Normally I don’t like the idea of changing a name from its original, traditional spelling. But if this comes from the Gaelic then [name]Torin[/name] is an anglicisation anyway, so not strictly ‘correct’ in itself. So maybe it is more important to try and get closer to the sound?

[name]Toren[/name] is another option of course.

What do people think?

2

I’d assume it was the 1st pronunciation, and i expect most people would too. [name]Torin[/name] is great, unique but not bizarre, and definitely pronounceable.

3

When I saw it, I naturally thought it was pronounced [name]TOR[/name]-in (like oar).

4

I would see and pronounce this with your emphasis ([name]TOR[/name]-in), not TO-rin.

I would go with [name]Torin[/name] rather than [name]Toren[/name], because with [name]Toren[/name] there might be more of a tendency to swallow the rest of the name (“Torn”).

5

I’m with everybody else and would immediately pronounce it [name]TOR[/name]-in. I really like the name.

6

That my brother’s name “[name]TOR[/name]-in” and he’s never had pronunciation issues. I’ve met others with his name with various spellings: Torren, Tauren (I think he was named after a [name]Lauren[/name]), [name]Toryn[/name], etc. I prefer [name]Torin[/name] or [name]Toren[/name]