Irish name growing up in the UK? too much of a ball-ache?

[monkeymoma]

I love Cliona, tested it on DH, he pronounced it wrong, but quickly picked up the correct pronounciation once corrected

I thought about changing the spelling, but is that a bit tacky? and IMO Cleona would be pronounced like Leona (very long O sound, wheras the O in Cliona is shorter) which I don't like

I used to have an Irish surname and it was a PAIN in the UK, however it was the type of Irish name which people still didn't get/pronounce/spell even when corrected IYKWIM, is Cliona an easier one to get, I can see it would need to be corrected once but its not that hard is it?

[monkeymoma]

(oh and DH loves it too now that he knows how it should sound but he is put off by the idea of always correcting people)

[AThingInYourLife]

My worry with Clíona is that it would be pronounced the same as "cleaner" in an English accent.

Are you in England?

[monkeymoma]

yeah in the UK
English DH pronounced it Cl-eye-ona at first glance so nothing like cleaner - we are down south

[misslinnet]

I would have pronounced it in the same way as your DH on first glance.

[chipmonkey]

Well a lot of people in the UK manage to get Aoife, Niamh, Siobhan and Caoimhe right.
Cliona is a walk in the park after that. But... I do think you would probably get a lot of people saying Klee-OH-na.

[chipmonkey]

Because it looks like Fiona, you have to remember that.

[StepOutOfSpring]

Cliona is pretty. Not sure most of us UK folks would get the "short o" thing though. I'd pronounce it to rhyme with Fiona.

Certainly makes a change from Erin, Aoife, Orla, Niamh which seem most popular with those in England with an Irish connection.

[AThingInYourLife]

"English DH pronounced it Cl-eye-ona at first glance so nothing like cleaner"

Yeah, but if they pronounce it right(ish) (as right as you can expect) it will sound like cleaner said in an English accent.

[BelleTheBeatnik]

I'd pronounce Cliona as "Cly-o-na" and Cleona as "Clee-o-na".

But I gather it's more "Clee-ona"! (Does sound a little like "cleaner" when said quickly.)

To be honest though, you're right: I think after being corrected once you'd know it, so if you really love it and are fully prepared for a lot of correctly, I'd say go for it. And keep the original spelling too, it's lovely and stays true to its Oirish roots.

[Slainte]

I loved Cliona when pregnant but DH vetoed it on the basis that he thought it sounded like cleaner too.

[monkeymoma]

I don't think its anything like Fiona, Fiona is like Leona - long O but I'ld give Ciona a very short O

Ok, so it could sound like Cleaner I guess DHs reservations were justified! I do know how annoying it is having an name that people always get wrong but I thought this was an easier one.. guess not

thanks for the replies x

[outmonday]

It sounds medical, like a condition or a drug.

[monkeymoma]

do you know how its supposed to sound outmonday?

[thedoublek]

Just to add to the Irish name comfusion - quite often in Ireland different areas pronounce names differently. Caoimhe can be Queeva or Keeva depending where you are from. I've never heard Cliona prounounced like Fiona...more like Clayna.

[BelleTheBeatnik]

I think it's easier than Aoife, Niamh, Caoimhe and plenty of other Irish names I haven't heard of, OP!

If you and your DH really like it, I don't think you shouldn't let this put you off. I do think it's quite easy to pronounce once you get the hang of it, unlike the three names above which will never make sense to a lot of people.

You could always use it is a middle name, too. :)

[monkeymoma]

I've only heard it as Klee-ona

its so pretty, I wish I could use it :-( (without my child hating me for it!)
I'ld say clio for short

also can't have my other fav girls names cause they either sound stupid with our surname or they're already "taken"

[NapaCab]

Lots of names from lots of cultures / languages are a 'ball-ache' and are hard to pronounce for UK dwellers. French names, for example, will largely be horribly mangled in the UK (e.g. Aurelien, Thibaut, Genevieve etc) but if you were French / liked a French name, would you let that stop you? If you like the name, then just go for it. You don't know how things will work out in future.

We picked a Gaelic name for DS that was fairly well known and easily pronounced where we lived but we now live in the US and no-one has a clue how to pronounce it - so you just never know!

[Lottapianos]

I have an Irish first name and it is a total ballache - I have to spell it about 5 times a day for people, no-one can ever say it correctly, I have a friend who I have known for 10 years who still doesn't say it quite right. I don't blame people, it just gets tiresome Some people call me by the English version of the name and I much prefer it - if/when I move to a new job, I'm going to use the English version all the time.

[monkeymoma]

yeah it would stop me Napa, whats the point in picking a name you like if noone uses it (properly anyway)?

People don't try very hard, sometimes they even tell you that YOU are saying it wrong. I've been told many times that my surname was something completely different (till I got a nice easy English surname)

[lilbreeze]

I would also have pronounced it like Fiona if I had to take a guess. How should it be pronounced? Would it bother you if people pronounced it that way initially? Obviously friends, family, nursery, school etc will all learn the correct way pretty quickly.

Dd2 has an Irish name (with an anglicised spelling). I thought tje pronunciation would be obvious but lots of people get it wrong first time. I just correct them, then they get it right . Doesn't bother me.

[monkeymoma]

like Klee-ona, short o more of an "ah" sound, could almost be Klee-ana, not as deep or broad an O as in fiona, Fiona is more like 3 separate bits and Cliona is sort of quicker

[PuppyMonkey]

Lots of people pronounce my name wrong (Oonagh), but once I tell them they get it. As long as you don't mind telling someone or other every single day. I'm used to it now though. once told, never forgotten.

[lilbreeze]

It sounds lovely if I'm imagining it right! Personally I would say go for it, but only you can really judge how annoying you would find it if people mispronounced it.

Have you tried it out on anyone in real life? If they guess the wrong pronunciation after only seeing it written down I could live with that, but if they couldn't get the pronunciation correct even after hearing you say it that would be a deal-breaker for me.

[monkeymoma]

yeah tried it on DH, he read it wrong first try but got it spot on once I corrected it once. There are some Irish names he can't quite get right like Grainne (he tries but it sounds a bit out of tune) but Cliona he did get right after I told him but having to be told put him off even though he really likes the "right" way it sounds

[chipmonkey]

The thing is, it's not at all the same as Fiona but in the UK, they won't see that, because Cliona has a fada and and Fiona doesn't but without the fada they look like the same name. FWIW, most people I know with the name ( Kildare, Dublin, Meath) pronounce it Klee-na with really no "O" sound at all.