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Baby names

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

Original poster

Please help me with the spelling of Kieran!

63 replies

KatieLouiseW · 04/12/2015 20:14

So, I love Noah! It's 100% being my bump's name, if it's a boy! Xmas Smile DP prefers Kieran, but is happy with it being a middle name Xmas Grin I like it, so me too - my question is, should we go with Kieran, or the original spelling - Ciaran? (We have no Irish connections) x

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PrincessPunzie · 10/12/2015 13:23

Ciaran for me - like Ciaran Hinds the actor, who is lovely!

LadyMaryofDownt0n · 09/12/2015 23:06

Ciarán I don't care that some knob thinks it's a "chav" name

It's a lovely Irish name, one of my favourites..

SueGeneris · 09/12/2015 21:08

There's also Kiran which I believe is Indian. I know one male and also one female. Both adults.

LapsedPacifist · 09/12/2015 21:03

I have a Ciarán - he HATES it when people spell his name with a K.

pineapple95 · 09/12/2015 20:56

In primary and secondary schools, I've taught Ciaran, Kieron, Kiaran, Kiron, Keiron and Ciaron!
Personally, for no real reason (ie not going on the character or behaviour of the children!) I like Ciaran.
I guess it's just your choice!

myotherusernameisbetter · 09/12/2015 20:54

oops - crossed - I should type faster...

I have a Ciar since we had to compromise between Dh wanting Ciaran and me wanting Keir or Kerr. Actually I wanted Struan but that was vetoed.

myotherusernameisbetter · 09/12/2015 20:52

flora - you mean Keir not Kier and that's the point I was making earlier, if you spell it Kier you are taking the argument back to square one.... :)

florascotianew · 09/12/2015 20:50

Sorry - in above message, for 'Kier' please read 'Keir'.

Both Keir and Ciaran are nice names, IMHO.

florascotianew · 09/12/2015 20:49

Re earlier post, the Scottish name Kier is not related to the Irish/Scottish Gaelic name Ciaran.

Kier comes from the Scots surname Kerr, which comes from a Norse word (often pronounced Carr) which means rough boggy ground. (Hence a plantation of Alder trees, which like wet conditions, is often known as an 'Alder Carr'.)

Ciaran (can't do fadas on this machine), as others have said, comes from an Irish/Scottish Gaelic word Ciar meaning black or dark-haired.

Pranmasghost · 06/12/2015 23:09

I love the look of Ciaran and am less keen on any of the K versions this is probably because in the last primary school I taught in there were two naughty boys named Kieran and Marlow!

MartinRohdesBellybuttonFluff · 06/12/2015 22:24

I only like it spelled Ciarán but then I'm Irish too.

myotherusernameisbetter · 06/12/2015 22:17

batime I wouldn't let the facts get in the way of slagging of people for being illiterate though... Hmm

Never mind upsetting Keira Knightley's parents. I am sure Mr and Mrs Hardy might have had a bit of an issue too, or maybe Mr and Mrs Starmer..

SparklyPenguin · 06/12/2015 22:16

There's a Ciaron in our family. But I do like the 'Kyran' spelling too.

Rinceoir · 06/12/2015 22:13

I didn't know mumsnet had an irrational hatred of k names. It has an irrational dislike of Irish names also often.

badtime · 06/12/2015 22:10

Casta, in German 'ei' is pronounced like 'eye', but not so much in English where it is not really standardised - receive, eight.

myotherusernameisbetter · 06/12/2015 13:08

I would expect that the "ei" spellings come from the totally different strain of the name which comes from the Scottish name Keir (pronounced Keer) rather than the English bastardisation of the Irish name Ciar or it's diminutive Ciaran. So, it's not wrong to spell it that way or pronounce it that way either.

CastaDiva · 06/12/2015 12:36

Katie, exactly - 'ei' is pronounced 'eye', not 'ee', which makes me think that the parents of the little Keiras and Keirons are not terribly literate. Yes, looking at you, parents of Keira Knightley.

Not that Kyra isn't a nice name, actually, but why would you mis-spell an actual name and then insist on the original pronunciation, which doesn't match your spelling?

harrietm87 · 06/12/2015 11:44

Ciaran definitely. It's an Irish name and the Irish language doesn't have a letter K.

Youareyou · 05/12/2015 18:45

You should know that mn has an irrational hatred of K names op.

HerbieRidesAgain · 05/12/2015 18:22

DS is Kieran, friends GS is Keiron.

babyblabber · 05/12/2015 12:56

Ciaran looks much nicer to me but I'm Irish.

CastaDiva · 04/12/2015 23:39

Ciaran. Kieran at a pinch. The other variants are illiterate.

WhyCantIuseTheNameIWant · 04/12/2015 23:07

Ciaran if you have Irish history.

Kieran if you have English.

I know one spelt keeran. which I think looks awful, but I don't think his parents are the most literate people

messystressy · 04/12/2015 23:03

Ciaran, it was on my baby name list (DH Irish). In the end, went with something similar.

IoraRua · 04/12/2015 22:58

Ciaran (with fada on second a - my phone refuses to do it). Far, far nicer.