'Complicated' spellings

[QueenofKelsingra]

So DH is French/English and I am Welsh/Scots, we have 3 DC and have chosen names to reflect our heritages. DC1 has a Welsh name, DC2 a French name and DC3 an English name. We live in England.

When picking names for the first 2 we were very mindful of ease of pronunciation etc as we intend to stay in England. so DC1's name is known outside of wales, no 'dd' or anything, it is said how it's spelt. DC2's has an accent and one letter different to the English version of the name but again, easily recognised and said by the English and the difference in the french and the English pronunciation is minimal.

we are TTC DC4 and would like to use a Scottish name however the only boys name we like is Ruaridh - just wondering whether we are just making life really hard for the kid knowing he will be in England? (and not even close to the border!). We don't want Rory as that has a different pronunciation and we want the name to be recognisable as Scottish as our other DCs names are.

Anyone have DC with 'cultural' letter combinations like the 'dh' who are living outside the country the name comes from? do your DC find it particularly hard?

Don't event get me started on girls names, we cant even find one that we like that goes with our existing 3 (all 3 syllable, probably considered on the posher end of the naming scale).

Thoughts??

[Mumoftwoyoungkids]

To be honest if you live in England his name will more often than not either be pronounced as something along the lines of "Roo - arid" or as "Rory" (as once you've told people the pronunciation they will remember it as Rory).

I actually think Rory is a lovely name.

[moxon]

Just call him Kirk or Harris if it is a boy. :)

[QueenofKelsingra]

mum the difference between the pronounciation of Ruaridh and Rory is similar to the difference in the English/French pronounciation of DC2's name - not enough for the child to not recognise their name or to make a fuss if joe blogs says it wrong but we as a family would say it right.

moxon we have a one syllable last name so need a longer first one to balance it out. (and can anyone actually say Kirk without thinking Captain??)

[SomeSunnySunday]

Ruari is also an accepted spelling - would that be easier. TBH most of the my-aged Ruaris I know spell it this way: the Ruaridh spelling seems to have come back into fashion (generally lots of Gaelic spellings are being revived) and the little Ruaridhs I know all spell their name this way, but either works. Lovely name.

[moxon]

(Ps there are Klingons on the starboard bow)

[QueenofKelsingra]

thanks sunny. I toyed with Ruari but it feels a bit 'made up' or 'modern' for my very old fashioned mindset! we had this with DC2 and whether we should leave off the accent for ease and decided that defeated some of the point, we wanted to celebrate our heritages, not anglicise them, if that makes sense?

but then i think of the lifetime of his name actually being 'It's Ruaridh-that's-R-u-a-r-i-d-h' which is annoying! (i have a name with multiple spellings and it is irritating to have to spell it all the time!)

[natureplantar101]

ive come across a Rhuari and his grandmother said its not pronounced Rory she wouldn't say how its pronounced

[Lovethesea]

In my accent (Southern English)

Rory is Roar-eee

While Ruaridh is Roo-urr-eee

Ish!

[carbolicsoaprocked]

I'd go for Ruari - I'm Scottish and don't think it's at all made up! I know one Ruari and one Ruaridh, both in their 30s, both pronounced Roo-aray.

[florascotia]

The name has lots of spellings, but if you are going for current Scottish Gaelic, then probably Ruairidh.

North-east Scottish pronounciation here: www.forvo.com/word/ruairidh/

It means 'red-haired' or 'red king', if that matters.

Where I live in Scotland, it is not a widely-used name at all. It's middle class, rather than everyday. Other Scottish Mumsnetters may have a different experience, however. Naming patterns vary a great deal from place to place.

The 'idh' = 'ee' ending should not be a problem. For instance, Eilidh is a very popular name in Scotland, and also quite well-known south of the Border.

[JackieOLantern]

'Ruairi' is the Irish spelling of the name (note with two 'i's not just one) so that's entirely legitimate. There was a spelling reform for Gaelic in Ireland which simplified a lot of the spelling rules getting rid of many silent 'dh' and 'gh' spellings in certain words. This didn't happen in Scots-Gaelic so the 'Ruairidh' spelling remains the same. So if you opt for the Irish spelling, OP, it's a little shorter without compromising authenticity.

My DC both have names like this with non English friendly spellings and we live in the US. So far it's been fine for them but they're pretty young yet so maybe as they get older they may get fed up. If so, their names both have anglicized versions that they could use if they wanted to e.g.think 'Niamh' vs. 'Neve'.

[JakeyBurd]

Just thought I'd mention that there are two correct spellings in Scottish Gaelic - Ruaraidh or Ruairidh. They both have the same pronunciation.

As a researcher I have seen more than 20 different spellings of this name, mostly wrong, so please choose one of the above if you want the name to be authentically Scottish.

[QueenofKelsingra]

ah, I thought Ruaridh and Ruairidh were the two 'correct' versions. thanks for that jakey and flora will use Ruairidh then as that is the one I have seen more often.

I wouldn't use the irish spelling, I know its easier but we're not irish!

flora regards the 'middle class' thing, that's what I though, it fits well with our exisiting DC names which are all more towards that end of the naming scale.

I guess the child could always choose to go by Rory/Ruari when older if he found it that annoying!