Hi Ladies,
Just wanted to say that alot of these Irish baby names are names that are not used in Ireland as first or second names ever (maybe this doesn't bother you if you are picking one but i thought that i should mention it). I just looked at the 'Irish baby names we love' on the bump and although they did better than the Irish baby names i usually see in books, two of them are just not Irish first names. Firstly Bradan is a name i have never some accross in Ireland in the last 30 years and it just doesn't exist there and Flannery is a surname that Irish people would never use as a first name. I've noticed alot of Irish names are actually surnames in Ireland and Irish/gaelic people would never use tham as first names so beware.
Also if you are going to pick girls names such as Siobhan and Saoirse be careful you are pronouncing them correctly. Also apart from Irish people, nobody is probably going to ever pronounce it properly. As somebosy who is Irish, I've often thought that maybe i should make a list of 'Irish baby names' as when i usually read these names in books etc, it just makes me laugh. If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll give it a go.
Thnaks x
Re: Talk to an Irish person before picking a so-called Irish baby name.
Malcolm
Interesting topic. I'm not Irish and therefore have no interest in trying to "honor Irish heritage" with a name, but it sounds like you have some good information on the topic.
I just wanted to clarify that while Irish people may not use Flannery as a first name, most Americans would as an homage to author Flannery O'Connor. It's Irish (though not traditional as a first name), but O'Connor is an important Irish-American writer, and plenty of (Irish-American) literature geeks would be interested in honoring her.
People may be using Irish surnames to honor a family member with that surname. Not to sound like they are from Ireland.
I see where you are going with this, but I don't think everyone use uses an "Irish" name is doing it because they want to be just like the people in Ireland. Surnames are very popular in the US right now so it makes sense that people would use Irish surnames too.
This reminds me of my Aussie girlfriend who always yells at the TV when the "Fosters: Australian for Beer" commercial comes on. Apparently that beer doesn't exist in Australia . We are all being lied to!
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Don't get me wrong, i may not even pick an Irish baby name myself and for those that do, i don't know if it is about trying to 'honor Irish heritage'. Maybe not. I am noticing that alot of Americans do seem to use traditional Irish surnames as first names (as I'm living in the states). As the other poster mentioned the story of the beer and her Australian friend, it's more that kind of thing with me. I also feel like shouting, that's not an Irish name (by Standards in Ireland anyway).
Dude, no harm, no foul. I was just pointing out that maybe choosing a non-traditional Irish name (like Flannery or Delaney) could have more to do with being an Irish-American than being Irish, KWIM?
Well I'll start off with boys and include of course my husbands name first:
Boys
I'm assuming the bump ate your post...unless your h's name really is Boys.
Eh, some people just want an Irish sounding name. Most of those people are probably not Irish or maybe they had great great great great grandparents who were. It isn't harming anyone.
And considering the most popular names in Ireland are Jack, Sophie, Daniel, Emma, Conor and Emily it appears that the Irish don't always like traditional Irish names.
Sorry, I'll start again.
Boys: Aodh?n (Ay-dan), Cathal (Kah-hal), Ciar?n (Keer-an), Cillian (Kill-ee-an), Cian (Kee-an), Connor, Donncha (Dun-a-ka), Finn/Fionn (Finn), Gear?id (Gar-od),M?che?l (Mee-hawl), Padraig (Pah-rick), Ruair?, Rory (Ror-ee), Se?n (shawn),Tadhg (Tie-ag), R?nan (Row-nan) my hubby's name.
Girls: ?ine (Aw-nea), Aisling (Ash-leen), Aoibheann (aev-een), Aoife (ee-fa), Caoimhe (Keev-va), Ciara (Keer-ra), Dearbhaile (Derv-la), ?mer (E-mer), ?abha (Ey-va), Maedhbh/Maeve (Mayv), Muireann (Mir-an), Niamh/N?amh (Neeve), Neassa (Nessa), Orlaith (or-la), R?is?n (ro-sheen), Sadhbh (Syve), Saoirse (Seer-sha), Sin?ad (Shin-ayd), ?na (OO-na)
Some are very popular names and some are just favourites.
if you like any of these you can find most of them on babynamesofireland dot com and they even have an audio pronunciation for most
Thats funny about Siobhan as it is so common at home and it's lovely. Mara is lovely!
Funny about the Brady name. That is exactly the point i was making. I got a book of baby names recently and there was an Irish baby names section and i was also very confused!
OP & the Australian Foster comment remind me of when I threw a 'fiesta' (I'm of no hispanic heritage) and my friend from Mexico got irritated because nachos are not even a real Mexican food and they only have them in the states. Lesson learned.
OP - amen, amen. So glad someone said this.
My dad is Irish and I lived in Galway, Ireland for awhile. I honestly find psuedo Irishy stuff kind of offensive. Not really offensive - but it is irritating.
Especially this time of year, when all the drunks in sparkly leprechaun hats are out in full force singing that friggin 'Wild Rover' song.
In general, I'm not a fan of people using very culture specific names that aren't their culture and am definitely not a fan of using them improperly. I think that it waters down the cultural connection and meaning behind the name when they become trendy a la Aidan and Caitlin. My sister is Caitlin; when she was born it was given to her as a meaningful Irish name with a rich history. Now her name is just another mispronounced and misspelled trendy American name.
My other half, my mom, is from Sweden, and I've seen a few family names from her side on this board, and not always used correctly. I really really hope I don't see a trend of mispronounced Linnea and Annika on girls with absolutely no northern European background.
That is just my opinion. Sure, no one owns a name. People can name their kids what they want. But that is how I feel.
Sorry, this gets a big eye roll from me. What difference does it make? And how is Caitlin mispronounced?
If people who live in the US were restricted to 'American' names then we would all have kids with really awful names.
agreed! my husbands family is irish, but they are irish american. they have a very irish last name and are very into their heritage, so irish sounding or associated names go great with the last name. plus, that is like saying people who are not italian or greek shouldnt use sophia, yet it is a beautiful and popular name in the states
In Irish, Caitlin is spelled with a fada (accent) on the second i and is pronounced Cat-leen or Caht-leen. It's Anglicised as Kathleen. Kate-lynn is a phonetic, American pronounciation because (I'm guessing, at least) when people found or read the name, they didn't realise how the fada changed the pronounciation.
It's my name and I LOVED how it was pronounced when I lived in Ireland. First time in my life I have never had to spell my name for anyone!
Or, maybe, it is a name that has more than one pronunciation. My point with this is that it can be said one way in Ireland and another way here. My name is said very differently in Spain than here, but that doesn't mean either is wrong.
I agree, just because a name is pronounced a certain way in Ireland doesn't mean that it needs to be pronounced that way here. Parents picking an Irish name may not even know it is Irish or be intending on picking an Irish name specifically. That said....my exH's Irish and his last name is Madden (which is now my last name) and it is really driving me crazy that people are starting to use it as a first name. It just doesn't work in my mind but I have yet to hear someone say they are thinking of it because it's Irish, more that they just like how it sounds.
Sorry, I thought you were asking a legitimate question about how Caitlin was mispronounced, so I answered you. I'm not trying to get involved in a debate here.
For the other poster, i don't think you should be restricted to American names at all and you can pronounce names however you like, but to me it isn't Irish anymore if you change it so much and the fada's do make alot of difference to how it is pronounced. I hadn't really intended to make this point anyway but agree with Caitlin.
Thanks
Yes, as you said they are probably just picking it because of how it sounds. Just irritates/amuses me when those names are put in baby name book/websites as traditional irish names.
Just wanted to say that I'm also Irish and Swedish except my father is Swedish and my mother is Irish.
Interesting. Someone else who claimed to be from Ireland came on and lectured us on Saoirse saying it would literally be like an American naming their kid "freedom" and it wasn't actually used as a name by people in Ireland.
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Here in the states the way it is pronounced is a stereotypical "african-american name". Which is why I didn't name DD Siobhan. I freaking love the name! Love it! I just got tired of the flack for the name. So instead DD is Rosalie, which is more of an english name with the french spelling. However, Mara is the next DD. I love it because it is Gaelic for sea, I am pretty certain. So it fits my requirements. I have this love of Iraish/Gaelic names and will go as far as English/Welsh names. For our DS when we have him his mn will be Liam. It's too popular for me to use it as a first name. Also, I LOVE your names! Seriously I do!
Never said Americans should be purely restricted to American names. Of course all names come from melting pots, different cultures etc.
But...
- If you use an ethnic name, don't MIS-use it. Pronounce and spell it correctly.
- It seems off to me when people use names that have a *strong* ethnic connection without having any background in that ethnicity.
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