Stressing out about whether to use Gaelic name when living in England

I love the name.
I think that it would actually be fine, people manage far more unusual names.
You might be surprised how simply leaving it to circulate gently in DP's head with little further discussion might cause him to like it more...

I live in the NE England and there's a Ruaridh in our toddler group. It was the first time I'd heard the name and I think everyone has to ask either how it's pronounced or how it's spelt. I really like it and most people you should only have to tell once. If that bothers you though maybe you should avoid it. I think Ruairi is a bit easier to spell/pronounce without help but people would still say it wrong and I personally prefer Ruaridh.

OP You say that you like the fact that Ruairidh will be 'unique and unusual'. However, to most English speakers, that will not be the case. They will equate Ruairidh with the English version Rory which is fast growing in popularity.

Ruairidh still a fine name. But, spelled the English way, it's not all that 'unusual'. Rory was a top 100 name in England and Wales in 2013 (the latest data released): www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-318125

I have an Irish name, as does my DD. Living in London. Her name does get mispronounced, but after a few goes most people get it close to right. It does sound different in an English accent (as english people don't seem to pronounce the letter r if it's not at the start of a word) but it's a name we love.

'I love that it would be quite unique and unusual down here.'

You may love it, he very well may not love it so much when he's older! I have an Irish name with Irish spelling and I live in London and it is a pain in the ass. Like Monstrous, I use the English version of my name outside of work.

If you husband is dead against it I think you'll need to start looking for a new name.

Personally I wouldn't give a child a name that would invite daily 'how do you spell that/how do you pronounce that's. I'm certainly not saying people shouldn't choose 'foreign' names for their children but I know from personal experience how wearing it can get.

In English and, in my head, I know how to pronounce Ruairi. However, I can't say it without sounding like I'm saying Rory with a dodgy Scottish accent (dodgy on my part!). I think it might take a lot of repetition to get it right.

I do love the name though.

Think really hard about how much mispronouncing it will annoy you and whether you can take it.

I've got an English name and a foreign name. I much, much prefer the foreign one but people just cannot pronounce it. Even worse, it is a tonal thing so many people can't really hear the difference between what they are saying and what I tell them. Some have actually started arguing about the pronunciation once they've seen it written down, despite never coming across the name before.

So, I don't use it. I use the English name I don't even like. Better that than 12 mini-rages a day about my name.

We're using a Welsh name (as I'm Welsh), although we are living in England. I don't see anything wrong with it really. I know to begin with you may have to tell people how to pronounce it properly/spell it (as we will have to with our name), but I reckon after a few attempts it'll be fine!

I could have SO written this thread, I love it but hubs and his family are English and it sounds like they're trying to say brewery with their accent ..... It's the only name I ever imagined for a boy and the alternatives like Rory just don't cut it.

I don't know the answer but just wanted to say I sympathise!

Go for it! It's much nicer/softer than Rory and ppl will get used to it. I have an Aoife (and live in england) and although ppl often hear Eva initially most ppl are familiar with it. I think Gaelic names are becoming increasingly popular as ppl look for more "unusual" names.
Good luck convincing your DH though! I did find that as the weeks/months progressed the names I loved earlier on were struck off the list by the end and others grew on me over time so hopefully you and your DH will both end up with a name you love in the end

I'm English, never heard the name, but just wanted to say if you use it it might be better to put the dh on the end.
Makes it more obviously Gaelic, which helps at guessing the pronunciation IYSWIM. Which actually isn't too different to what I guessed, so it's not too random from my perspective!

We have a Ruaridh and very rarely have any problems with people not getting it, mostly we get compliments on his lovely name

Both are great names. Rory is easy to say and very easy to spell. Rhuari will require explanation and learning to spell but so many names do.

If it helps I know quite a few Rhuairidh's who are called Rory (RO-ree) at work or wherever they live now but are Rhuairidh (ROO-a-ree) to family in Scotland.

And yes "Ru" is a lovely nn.

Much as I love the name, in my experience it's one that just sounds awful in an English accent (sorry, English people!). It just contains too many sounds that are totally different in that accent, i.e. the 'r' and the 'oo' sounds.

If that won't bother you then that's fine. And NinjaLeprechaun's "brewery" example above would definitely help - a good explanation of the sound.

I'm a Scot in the South East married to an English man. That's the name we're going for if bump's a boy. I got DH to agree when he was drunk after a Calcutta Cup!

I'd go for Rory, this is why DD isn't called Aoife, which I love, but I could foresee all sorts of problems living in England.

If your DH isn't convinced it sounds like you'll have to let it go, or at least put it on a maybe list and concentrate on finding a name you both love as much as you love this one. It's hard and I had to let go of my very favourite name in pregnancy as my DH just didn't like it. It's better to find a compromise than name the baby something your DH isn't keen on and always be aware of that.

Having said all that, it's worth keeping it on a maybe list and revisiting closer to the time - he might change his mind!

The most interesting explanation I've heard for how to pronounce Ruairi is that it's "brewery without the B". It works for me.
I like the name, and don't think it should be too difficult for people. My Rs always try to come out as Ws, which makes both Ruairi and Rory complicated, but I don't think most people have that issue.

I think people would cope with the spelling, and get the difference from Rory (i.e. RER-y rather than ROAR-y) but they might not pronounce it perfectly iyswim (I'm English and I suspect I don't) and you will have to spell/explain it a fair bit.. I guess you just have to be realistic about how much this will bother you and whether you are willing to accept it.

Yes, Rory is Roar- ree and Ruairi is Roo-ree. With some Irish accents they do sound quite similar but there is a noticeable difference!

We have an Irish name for DS, despite me being Welsh and DH being English - and we live in England. DH's mum's family were Irish and we just love the name so went for it. Don't regret it at all and at least it's not boring. DS may think differently when he has to spell it out seven billion times, mind you.

But I still maintain it's better than my boring common name. Which thousands of years ago was Hebrew. Names, like language, evolve.

Ruairi is a lovely name.

Are Ruairi & Rory said very differently? What is the difference? Would an idiot like me be able to hear the difference probably not

I come from an immigrant country where people often anglicised their names to fit in. I don't know people who regretted doing that, although they like to remember what their name was before (Abramovitch became Abrams or Paniyota became Patricia, etc). So I don't see it as a problem to anglicise the spelling. Now living in the UK, I'm used to changing my ways to fit in here, too.

Forgot to say, we live in England!