Yay/Nay girl name

mke779 · August 2015

I really like Orla. It's an Irish name that means golden princess. I'm just not sure how accepted it would be.

I'm Irish, my kids Irish dance, and it's a fairly known name in our world. I'm worried about the name outside of our Irish bubble though.

What's your first impression?

JNGettinMarried · August 2015

I like it. I think strong Irish names are lovely. I wouldn't think twice about a girl named Orla, any more than I would Maeve, Roisin, or Sinead.

mke779 · August 2015

I love Roisin, Saiorse and Caiomhe as well, but I need to be realistic. If I lived in Ireland it'd be fine, but no-one could ever pronounce those here! My dd is Aislinn (ash-lyn) and she gets every pronunciation imaginable, so I wouldn't want to do that again:)

CaboBride2015 · August 2015

Hmmm I don't hate it but it seems like easy teasing with Oral....

mke779 · August 2015

I never would have even thought of oral

holocene · August 2015

I like it.

I've heard it several times. But, I'm married to an Irish man. His parents are from Ireland, and his Mom teaches Irish dance. They have fully surrounded themselves with Irish people and Irish actives. Orla is a name I've heard mentioned in stories a few times and I've always liked it.

I only though oral because my phone autocorrects Orla to oral. Otherwise, I would have never associated the two.

MississippiCatfish · August 2015

I like it.

eliztheforrizz · August 2015

I think it is a very nice name. Easy to spell and pronounce with origins that fit your heritage. I knew an Orla and I never heard any oral jokes.

ecwk · August 2015

I'm from Ireland but live in the states and my children will have Irish names. They might be hard to pronounce or look strange initially to Americans but they'll get it once you tell them. Orla is a pretty name and I'm all for Irish names in case you can't tell!!!

Miss Lilac · August 2015

Orla isn't even phonetically close to oral. I'm sure if we rearranged letters in plenty of names we could spell other things.

I always think that if someone is set on making fun of your kid, not being able to rhyme their name with something isn't going to stop them anyways.

ETA: I should say that I actually quite like the name too.

MamaWren919 · August 2015

I don't really care for it. Just isn't a pretty sound to me.

bbiutmcph · August 2015

Not my favorite but I wouldn't really think twice about it or negatively if I heard it.

lm45678 · August 2015

I've never heard it! I'm not in love with it, but it's not bad either.

I have heard Orly before and I really liked that a lot

Other Irish options: Ella, Isla, Colleen, Shannon, Devan/Devon, Bridget/Brigid, Quinn

nurse714 · August 2015

mke779 said:

I love Roisin, Saiorse and Caiomhe as well, but I need to be realistic. If I lived in Ireland it'd be fine, but no-one could ever pronounce those here! My dd is Aislinn (ash-lyn) and she gets every pronunciation imaginable, so I wouldn't want to do that again:)

How do you pronounce Caiomhe?
Orla is nms, but I don't see anything wrong with it.

Miss Lilac · August 2015

laurenm2123 said:

I've never heard it! I'm not in love with it, but it's not bad either. I have heard Orly before and I really liked that a lot Other Irish options: Ella, Isla, Colleen, Shannon, Devan/Devon, Bridget/Brigid, Quinn

The only context in which I can think of Orly.

Elsa1984 · August 2015

Its not my style, but I wouldn't side eye it.

mke779 · August 2015

Caiomhe is pronounced Kee-va (go figure, right)! I've contemplated Keeva. Saiorse is seer-sha. Roisin is roe-sheen. That's why I figured at least you can pronounce Orla!

lm45678 · August 2015

Miss Lilac said:

laurenm2123 said:

I've never heard it! I'm not in love with it, but it's not bad either.

I have heard Orly before and I really liked that a lot

Other Irish options: Ella, Isla, Colleen, Shannon, Devan/Devon, Bridget/Brigid, Quinn

The only context in which I can think of Orly.

HAHAHAHA

gonetothesea · August 2015

I like it! It reminds me of Orla Kiely, the homewares designer that has tons of stuff at Target. I think her stuff is cool, therefore I think the name is cool!

magsugar13 · August 2015

way too close to oral

stephanienjer · August 2015

I know you said you're Irish, but is your last name Irish as well? This may be an exaggeration, but Orla may not go well with another nationality of last name. (This is why we're not having a Saoirse, even though I'm Irish. My husband's (and now my) German last name would just not go.)

mb0112 · August 2015

Someone on Facebook recently posted a birth announcement for her daughter Orla! Her husband is from Ireland but they live in U.S. I think it's pretty and unusual but easy to pronounce. Might go over better in an area like Boston with a high Irish population. I imagine if you are in the Midwest or something it would seem more foreign to people.

jessilee15 · August 2015

I think it's pretty. I'm American though and have never heard of it before. I wouldn't side eye it, esp with ththe history. But I will say I thought of "oral" and "orca" both...don't think that's a deal breaker

KittyCat84 · August 2015

I love it. I'm a big fan of the unique and culturally relevant names...so if it's meaningful to you and your culture, I think you should go for it.

jessnjuan07 · August 2015

It's okay. At least it won't be hard to pronounce. I do see kids switching the last two letters, though.

4N6s · August 2015

I think it's too close to oral.
I love Saoirse.

cmerribury · August 2015

I like Orla, it's original and it sounds like you are in a highly concentrated Irish community. I will agree that it's easier to phonetically pronounce than the others. However, Saoirse holds a special place in my heart, my son went to school with a girl with that name and she was a doll. She was always correcting the pronunciation of her name though.

neverblushed · August 2015

I think names that come from another country or language are fine, even if they're not known by most Americans. I did not know that Orla was an Irish name until reading this post.

However, the area where I live is very diverse, and my kids' schools have tons of kids with names I've never heard of before and don't know how to pronounce right away. So I wouldn't even bat an eye at Orla, because at least that's one I can pronounce.

If you live in a community that is less diverse, in which there will be many, many little Olivias, Emmas, Ellas, and Sophias, and Orla will really stick out, then you have to determine how willing you are to explain your name choice to people repeatedly and instill in your daughter that it's cool to have an unusual name. If you're okay with that, then I say go for it!

kerismatic · August 2015

Was okay with it until it was noted how close it was to oral... now that's all I can see. How about Flora?

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