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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Caitrìona, Ùna and Mhàiri

212 replies

dunkydunker · 15/11/2011 00:58

What do you think?

I want something Scottish but not very very obvious (DH is very very far away from Scottish)

OP posts:
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OhBuggerandArse · 15/11/2011 13:44

And oops, sràc not stràc.

OhBuggerandArse · 15/11/2011 13:35

'S alright! SG used to have the acute accents as well - they got lost in a spelling reform. Some people still miss (& defiantly use) them.

mopsytop · 15/11/2011 13:34

Should check perhaps before I state things as fact!!!

mopsytop · 15/11/2011 13:33

Oh! in Irish they go the way I just wrote. I thought was the same in Scots Gaelic Blush

OhBuggerandArse · 15/11/2011 13:32

They're not fadas, they're stràcs. And that's the way round they go.

mopsytop · 15/11/2011 13:27

The fadas are the wrong way around in the title, it's Caitríona, Úna and Mháiri ...

AitchTwoOh · 15/11/2011 13:24

i LOVE this thread btw, and think we should re-instate the MN Gaidhlig class.

AitchTwoOh · 15/11/2011 13:23

ack. i knew that too. wonder where the Rhona came from, then? how would it change the sound? or would it not?

macsaid · 15/11/2011 13:20

to solve the Rona/Rhona question and as a matter of general interest, Gaelic names which begin with a vowel or the letters L, N and R do not change from the stand alone form (nominative case).
So when addressing Isabel, Eilidh, Una, Anna, Rhona/Rona, Niall, Alistair etc do not add an h after the first letter.

Enough grammar (or pedantry) from me for today

AitchTwoOh · 15/11/2011 13:05

oh yeeeeeeeeees. and yet i know proper hardcore gaels who spell it cat. i'd have thought she'd have changed it... weird.

Listzilla · 15/11/2011 13:01

I'm an Irish Caitríona, and yes, techinically that's the correct spelling. Leathan le leathan, caol le caol and all that : )

As Gaeilge, i and e are 'skinny' vowels and a, o and u are 'broad' vowels; vowels on each side of a consonant must be of the same type, so the 'Catríona' spelling is impossible as you need the first 'i' as a buffer between the 'a' and the 'í'.

This thread is fun : )

OhBuggerandArse · 15/11/2011 12:50

What about Lorna? That is Scottish but not too Scottish, and I can't think of any spelling/pronunciation issues.

JaxTellerIsMyFriend · 15/11/2011 12:44

maybe she does Mac, maybe she will come back and say "Actually, changed my mind, going to call baby Annabel" Smile This Scottish/gaelic malarky is just too tiring.

I am rather narked today, so not in the mood for proper discussion. Think I will away and do some baking. Sad

macsaid · 15/11/2011 12:39

JaxTellerIsMyFriend...maybe the op does not see us as pedants but as people giving useful information and advice. Maybe she will appreciate not having someone running around playgrounds with given names which are just wrong.
Personally I always TRY to spell correctly and use languages in general correctly and I think that applies to most people.
If in doubt I would always ask advice from someone more informed which was, presumably, OP's intention.

picnicbasketcase · 15/11/2011 12:37

I've only ever known one Mairead, and it was pronounced MY-rud. No idea if that's tecnically right, but that's how she told people to say it Confused

AitchTwoOh · 15/11/2011 12:31

(prior to meeting actual gaels, i mean)

OhBuggerandArse · 15/11/2011 12:31

That's the Irish pronunciation, more or less.

AitchTwoOh · 15/11/2011 12:31

that's what i'd thought it should be, thousand, but i'm now wondering if that's more irish?

thousandDenier · 15/11/2011 12:27

I did wonder about Mairead. The one I know pronounces it Ma-Raid with the emphasis on the second syllable. Is that wrong?

Towndon · 15/11/2011 12:27

I think Caitrìona, Ùna and Mhàiri are all very obviously Scottish.

sospanfach · 15/11/2011 12:27

chipmonkey, it's not an English name....there's no accent in English either, but that doesn't mean you can't spell it with one...Confused

AitchTwoOh · 15/11/2011 12:25

if you are a weegie you probably know her too, ohbugger...

AitchTwoOh · 15/11/2011 12:24

oh GOOD. Grin i am so pleased to have that cleared up. i know a woman of that name and i can't ask her to tell me her name again (gaels are funny about that ime) so was going by how others pronounce it. i myself call her Mye-mumble in the hopes of fudging it.

so it's My-rut? (still not nice, btw).

OhBuggerandArse · 15/11/2011 12:21

Oh Aitch, no! Broad vowel at the end, so it is 'ut' (dammit, why can't I do a schwa on this keyboard!) not 'itch'. And you were doing so well at the pedantry!

JaxTellerIsMyFriend · 15/11/2011 12:20

well thank god there are some ignorant people naming their children Mhairi and Mairaed/Mairead and liking it.