Having doubts about chosen Boy's Name

I'm from Northern Ireland and have just recently met my first Donnacha, honestly I don't like it...

When I hear the woman shouting at her child I cringe completely (although that might be due to the mother not the name) I don't like the sound of it.

I don't like it and he probably won't either.

I speak as someone who has grown up in England with a Welsh name that no one can spell or pronounce correctly.

I really love it. Donny and Don are lovely nicknames too.

There has been a Donncha and a Donnacha on the Ireland rugby team in recent years, pretty sure rugby is popular in London/Surrey area and some people will know the name that way. It's a strong name and if you love it I think you should go for it!

I've never heard the name before but I like it. However, your child will certainly go through his life repeating his name, spelling it out, etc. (and you will have to do the same for the first few years of his life before he can speak for himself). As someone with an only slightly unusual name who always has to repeat it and spell it for people, I can tell you it can be quite annoying. So for me, a name has to pass the "What?" test. In other words, it has to be a name that will not cause people to say, "What?"

Obviously, you may not feel this way at all and may have a higher tolerance for the "What" factor. And as I said, I think it is a very nice name.

I like it, but I live in Ireland so know it as a boys name

I love it. It's one of my favourite boys names. Donnchadh is on the very short list for any future DSs, but I am in Ireland. Outside of Ireland, I would definitely still use it but would probably go with the spelling you're considering.

I'm surprised at all the bad reactions to it here, I think there's such a strong, pleasing sound to it. And it doesn't sound the least bit feminine to me, but maybe that's because I'm familiar with it as a boys' name.

'Most MN'ers will tell you its awful and they can't pronounce it though (why the think this is a problem or anyone but them, I'm not sure).'

It is a problem if you have a name that people can't pronounce. Constantly being called the wrong name or having to correct people is tiresome and sometimes embarrassing. The same goes for spelling.

It can be a problem if you have a child with a name that no-one can say or spell correctly as well, although how much it annoys you will depend on the individual person.

(I think Donnacha is actually very easy to pronounce btw).

I don't hate it, and I'm sure people would get used to pronouncing it.

That said, I don't like it very much either - sorry

I had never heard of it and would have assumed he was a girl.

I know 2 Donnacha's, one 3 and one 5. One of them lives in Ireland so not especially unusual there. The other lives in Australia and has one Irish parent, I suppose it's unusual there. He has a nn which isn't related to his full name but I don't think his full name has ever caused too many problems! To me (Irish) it doesn't sound unusual and I think it would be relatively easy for non-Irish people to pronounce. Consensus on here seems to be that people don't like it but I've seen much worse names suggested on this forum ;-)

It's a perfectly normal and common Irish name.

Most MN'ers will tell you its awful and they can't pronounce it though (why the think this is a problem or anyone but them, I'm not sure).

If you like it, use it. In RL, people just need to be told how to pronounce it once, and thats it.

My DS has a Donnacha in his class (West London/Surrey borders).

He's a sweet boy and I really like the name now, but when I first heard it I did think it was a girls name (and insisted DS must be confused when he told me that Donnacha was a boy!).

Donnacha's mum is Irish and it sounds much nicer in her accent than our London ones imo.

it's a no from me
don't like the way it looks or sounds

I quite like it. I used to live in NI so I knew how to pronounce it.

I like it, I went to school with one, it was shortened to Don occasionally. There's a few in my daughters primary school (NI), as far as I know they're not shortened at all.

I'm in Ireland so I'm familiar with the name.

I would write the spelling phonetically as DUN-a-ka. The 'a' is a short vowel, as in 'cat'.

I know a few boys with it, though to be honest it's not a name I particularly like. It was a difficult name at first to my English ears, but I soon got used to it, as will people in the UK if you use it.

There are various spellings - I know a Donnacha, a Donncha and a Donnchadh.

The version you are planning to use would be the one I prefer out of the three.

If you love it, go for it. There are so many 'unusual' names around these days and Donnacha is no harder to get used to than any other name that is slightly 'different'.

I really like it..... and I'm from the North too and don't associate it as a girl's name at all.

Ludways - I had a wobble at 40 weeks and changed the name I'd had for my DC.

I'm thrilled I did it. I'd been ignoring a lot of people saying 'yes, it's nice, but it's a serial killer name IMO'.
Now when I hear the nam I feel relief because they were right! It is a serial killer name and I can't think what on earth I was thinking when it was my No1 choice for 40 weeks!

Oh, and of course you don't need to decide now.

We were unsure all through the pregnancy about our boy's name for number 2. After he was born we still weren't sure if we could land him with such a mouthful but it was a family name. in the end, after a week of him being unnamed, we decided to go with it, and now he's definitely a Cory/Cornelius.

Humm, not one I've ever come across (grew up in the North) and I would guess that pronunciation.

However, I think the bigger problem is that your son will be assumed to be a girl as the name ends with an 'a' and looks similar to other girls's names.

I had a name for dd right through pg, had a wobble at about 38 weeks and changed it, wish I'd stuck with my original choice.