Can anybody irish confirm a pronunciation please

[notprettybutbloodyfunctional]

I'm due in the next two weeks with baby number three, no idea if its a boy or a girl but if its a boy we really like the name Cabhan. We would pronounce it Cav-an, but I have heard it pronounced Cav-aughn. Either way we quite like both pronunciations but due to our northern accent we'll probably end up using the first way.
The concerns I have are that, its not a readily used Irish name ( i.e. I'm calling my child a random word that's not really a name - I am aware it means grassy hill/hollow) or that in Ireland it might be pronounced Kevin!!

Help, advise, opinions please

FYI ds has a slightly unusual name of German origin and dd has an Irish name, both often get pronounced wrong so that really doesn't worry me :)

[bitofaconundrum]

I'm Irish and have never heard that one. Caoimhin is Kevin afaik.
Would avoid personally as a. if it is Cavan, people will keep saying 'like the county??' And b. really unusual Irish names tend to come across as a bit try-hard, here at least.

[MaudGonneMad]

Never heard of it and agree that is sounds like Cavan.

[switswoo81]

Never heard of it but to make cav aughn it would have to have a fada ( an accent) over the second a so the pronounciation of Cavan would be right.

[MaudGonneMad]

[notprettybutbloodyfunctional]

bitofaconundrum that's what I'm concerned about, the name is associated with the county, which doesn't bother me either, but its the 'try hard thing' you've kind of hit the nail on the head with. On the flip side, my dad was Irish born and bread and when we named dd Niamh, he'd never heard of it!!

Little relieved it cant be confused with kevin, hmmm perhaps some more pondering to be had!

[notprettybutbloodyfunctional]

Maud lol!

[MrsSpecter]

Cabhan = cavan

Cabhán= cavawn

Another one who has never heard this as a name.

Caoimhin = keevin would be kevin in irish.

Are you sure you havent misread the name gabhan?

[notprettybutbloodyfunctional]

I've never seen the name gabhan before, would that be ga-van then?

I stumbled across cabhan as a name while reading something and googled pronunciation and it popped up on 'baby names of Ireland' complete with recorded pronunciation. Both m and oh like the way it sounds, but i'm more conscious than he is of seeming too tryhard as another poster said. Don't want my cousins in Ireland thinking I'm a numpty

[MaudGonneMad]

I've never heard of Gabhan, but Garvan (Garbhan as Gaeilge) used to be reasonably common.

[TyrionLannistersShadow]

I'm also Irish and never heard of the name Cabhan. Written like that it's Cavan, as the others have said you would need a fada over the second a to make it Cavawn. Honestly some of those baby name sites must make the names up or something, it's not the first time I have seen a so called Irish name that no one has ever heard of. And yes anyone even vaguely Irish will think of the county.

[notprettybutbloodyfunctional]

Thanks folks, definitely some food for thought, oh will go mad if I bring up names again but it best be done as I've not long left!!!

Yep my dads family/brothers confirmed to him it was a name they knew, he was very surprised. I do remember my dad referring to the actress Niamh Cussak as Naomi Cussak way back when tho. He also used to talk a lot about a family name in his village of Galbert, we found out years later he meant Galbraith

[DoinItFine]

I pronouce Cabhán (as in the county) Ca-waun.

Cabhan I would pronounce Cowan.

It feels awkward as a name for a person - not easy to pronouce properly in English.

If you're going to pronounce it Cavan, why not just spell it that way?

or both spell and pronouce it entirely differently

Boggling at an Irish person who hadn't heard of the name Niamh.

[MrsSpecter]

I know of only one Gabhan and they pronounce it "gowan" (gow like cow) so my brain automatically sees it as gowan but gaeilgeoir DS says it should be gavin (which apparently gabhan is irish for)

[DoinItFine]

Your son isn't right, MrsSpectre, bh can be either v or w, depending on custom and dialect.

Some Gaeilgeoirs are very firm in their belief that on a broad vowel it shoukd be w.

[MrsSpecter]

Ah well he's only 10 so i'll let him off with it this time

[notprettybutbloodyfunctional]

Well bloody hell, now I'm kind of hoping its a girl as I genuinely thought we'd stumbled across a lovely unusual Gaelic name!

Just attempted to bring it up with oh and got a 'oh' as he stares at his phone, perhaps if its a boy we can call it Samsung or 'game of war'

Anybody got any suggestions that are similar, but happen to be an actual name!!!

[MrsSpecter]

perhaps if its a boy we can call it Samsung or 'game of war'

[MrsSpecter]

Op how about Caoimhín?

[DoinItFine]

Cormac?

[notprettybutbloodyfunctional]

bizarrely I find that too close to kevin (I know, I know, but I though cabhan/cavan was cute) also I liked the name caoimhe for a girl and oh hated it (yes he had an opinion on that one)

[DoinItFine]

Well it's the same name as Kevin, so not that weird.

[notprettybutbloodyfunctional]

hhmmm Cormac, not considered that. We did ponder Tadgh briefly but again, is that 'teeg' 'teyg' 'tieg' or non of those pronunciations!!

FYI my keyboard is playing silly buggers and making everything a pain to type!!!

[MaudGonneMad]

Tadhg is pronounced the same way as the first syllable of Tiger.

[MaudGonneMad]

Except with a softer T. Almost but not quite a Th.