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Baby names

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

Original poster

unusual pretty irish girl names

92 replies

mum4five · 15/05/2015 19:50

hi im 38weeks pregnant an looking some unusual girls names

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SisterJulienne · 16/05/2015 14:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

StAlphonsosPancakeBreakfast · 16/05/2015 14:08

I think there's a very clear gap between the kinds of name an emigrant or second-generation Irish person somewhere outside Ireland might consider acceptable and what an Irish person in Ireland would consider. Like Nuala would be like calling your child "Maureen" or "Angela" or "Mildred" or something in the UK. Grin

Macushla is an example of a name that would not ever remotely crop up for consideration in Ireland.

KatieNanna · 16/05/2015 13:38

Caraiósa

bluewisteria · 16/05/2015 13:32

I have a Macushla, means pulse, pronounced as it looks. It is also beautiful song by opera singer John McCormac.

LemonYellowSun · 16/05/2015 10:59

I like Nuala and Mairead

StAlphonsosPancakeBreakfast · 16/05/2015 10:53

Ceelay! Good heavens, where did she get that pronunciation from???

Floggingmolly · 16/05/2015 10:44

Cee-lay. Hmm Yes, there are two ways to say it.

The right way, and the wrong way.

AliceAnneB · 16/05/2015 10:41

The woman I know called Sile pronounces it cee-lay. I'd never heard it before I met her. Is it not possible there are two ways to say it?

orflaaaa · 16/05/2015 09:35

To answer your question OP my favourites are;
Siún
Nollaig(maybe wrong time of year)
Sadhbh
Ailbhe

orflaaaa · 16/05/2015 09:17

Erin really isn't an Irish name. Like Shannon or Colleen it's something people of Irish decent have come up with.
I live in London and both my daughter and I have Irish names. It's really not that bad.

thegreylady · 16/05/2015 08:54

What about Erin?

ApocalypseThen · 16/05/2015 08:34

If you're 38 weeks, Siún might be nice. Just because it rhymes with June, when she'll probably arrive.

looki · 16/05/2015 00:34

Sile (cee-lay). Lovely name with a lovely meaning of "pure and musical".

Even the recommended pronunciations are mispronounced which might be a good indicator as to why some names are better left unused! Sile is pronounced the same as Sheila and it would not be considered particularly pretty or unusual by most Irish people.

squoosh · 16/05/2015 00:28

Orchil? Is that an actual name or one you've just made up post-pub?

cerealqueen · 16/05/2015 00:23

My surname is irish and I have to spell it al the time. Doesn't bother me.

I love the names Orchil or Eithne.

cailineile · 16/05/2015 00:21

I think Nabla is an Irish version of Mabel

Theimpossiblegirl · 16/05/2015 00:08

If names like Maude and Mabel are making a comeback why not use an Irish name that some people consider an old lady's name if you like it?
:)

LucyBabs · 16/05/2015 00:03

My name is constantly misspelled even by Irish people but I like correcting them and telling them the meaning to my name. Does it really matter I can never understand why it bothers people. Each to their own I suppose.

cailineile · 15/05/2015 23:51

Muireann
Doireann
Niamh
Mairead
Cait
Muiriosa
Damhnait

Koalafications · 15/05/2015 23:50

I really like Nuala but I had a thread on here about using it and well, let's just say it isn't on the list anymore. It was quite a robust telling off! Grin

MitzyLeFrouf · 15/05/2015 23:44

It's fine to choose a name from your culture that other people might have a hard time pronouncing just as it's fine to pick an easy to spell name thinking it might make for an easier life.

I'd go for the easier to spell option, but that's just me. I don't think there's anything wrong with choosing to call your child Caoilfhionn or Katarzyna.

MitzyLeFrouf · 15/05/2015 23:39

Do people from Poland, Africa, Russia etc think hmmm maybe a lot of people won't be able to spell my child's name?

Yeah, I'd imagine many of them do and choose names that are popular to the country they live in.

emmelinelucas · 15/05/2015 23:37

What I was trying to convey is that my parents gave me a traditional, Eastern European name.A family name that meant a lot to them. It sounds lovely, but doesn't look like anything written down how it is pronounced.
Grrr...I have to spell it out all the time and it is continually spelled wrongly.
The C and the Z are constantly transposed. There are 4 of them in my name.And lots of vowels.
It is confusing

LucyBabs · 15/05/2015 23:28

Do people from Poland, Africa, Russia etc think hmmm maybe a lot of people won't be able to spell my child's name?

I'm Irish, have an Irish name and don't give a crap if you can't spell my name but I will happily spell it for you, if you can't spell it Smile

mika2 · 15/05/2015 23:20

Fia/Fiadh
Sadhbh
Neasa
Naoise
Laoise
Liadan
Doireann
Muireann
Ide
Saorlaith
Ailbhe
Aoibheann

Sorry can't do fadas!