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Original poster

How would you pronounce.....

59 replies

mintich · 30/04/2018 10:35

Alisdair
Struan
Seamus
Lachlan
Ruairidh

I'm Scottish and living in England.

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BoudicasBoudoir · 05/05/2018 13:48

Well I would say LACH-lan, with the ch pronounced as in loch and a definite ‘a’ sound in the first syllable.

Is there some confusion with Laughlin, maybe?

ratspeaker · 05/05/2018 13:45

Those are all names of people I know.
Lachlan is pronouced as spelt, the ch sounded like the ch in loch. Often called Lachie as knickname
Ruairidh- roor ay. To me Rory is a different name entirely
Seamus-Shay mus
Struan- stroo an
Alsadair- know a couple , most folk say Al a ster ( the s runs into the t) but one likes the D pronounced in his name so Al as dare.

Notso · 05/05/2018 13:23

Struan - as it looks
Just spent a good five minutes wondering how Struan could be pronounced 'as it looks'! Grin

I'd pronounce Lachlan as Locklan because I've heard people being called Locklan I don't know if it's a different name or mispronounciation but that's what sprung to mind. How should it be pronounced?

meala · 05/05/2018 11:53

Lochlan is a different name from lachlan I much prefer Lachlan pronounced lach-lan. There is no "ck" sound in either name.

SoupDragon · 05/05/2018 11:32

Can I ask why people pronounce Lachlan as Locklan?

BecUse the very first time I heard th name that is how it was pronounced.

BoudicasBoudoir · 05/05/2018 11:12

And I want to know about ’lock’ lan too, including why the hard ck sound in the middle?

Lookingforspace · 05/05/2018 10:17

Can I ask why people pronounce Lachlan as Locklan? It’s why we didn’t choose it as it drove dh mad despite him loving the name. I’d never heard of it so had never pronounced it anyway despite being English but I’d assume Lacklan as that’s how it’s spelt.

BrazzleDazzleDay · 04/05/2018 23:08

Im scottish, no particular accent.
Alisdair- a liz tir
Struan - as it looks
Seamus - shay muss
Lachlan - lack lan
Ruairidh - ru-ary or ru-ray

strawberrypenguin · 04/05/2018 23:08

Alas dare
Strew an
Shay mus
Lack lan
Rory

SmiledWithTheRisingSun · 04/05/2018 23:02

Alisdair - ali stair
Struan - strew Ann
Seamus - shay muss
Lachlan - lock Lann
Ruairidh - Rory

I'm a Londoner

Original poster
mintich · 04/05/2018 22:59

Yep getting a fair idea of what names would be a bad idea! I do have some easy to pronounce names on my list too.
After all this, I'll probably be having a girl! There aren't many Scottish girls names on my list and I'd like more but that's a whole other thread!

OP posts:
Thetimehascometo · 04/05/2018 22:52

@mintich some lovely names there (I’m sure you’ve seen enough variations of pronunciations now)

Just a thought. I’m a teacher and will occasionally come across names I’m unfamiliar with. But you only need to correct people once or twice and they should then be able to at least say it correctly. (I have a total block with the ‘b’s and ‘c’s in Rebecca so will not suggest they will spell it correctly!)

MaisyPops · 04/05/2018 22:42

Alisdair - al-is-ter
Struan - stroo-an
Seamus - shay-mus
Lachlan - lac-lan (but with the a being half way between an a and a o)
Ruairidh- rory

mummabearfoyrbabybears · 04/05/2018 22:37

My daughter has a very English name but it's unusual. You say it how it's spelt and she still gets called other similar more common names Hmm

RideOn · 04/05/2018 22:24

?Al-lis-ter or I'd wait until someone else said it, it looks like Alistair
Stroo -an
Shay-mus
Lough-lon
Ror-ree

Lookingforspace · 04/05/2018 22:17

Dh is Scottish and liked Lachlan and DS came very close to being named that.
What put him off is that English people seemed somehow to pronounce it Locklan. Dh says it’s a Scottish name and in Scotland they pronounce is as it’s spelt. I knew to pronounce it Lachlan from watching Neighbours and Home&Away Blush

Groovee · 04/05/2018 22:10

What about Murray or Euan?

TheTroutofNoCraic · 04/05/2018 22:08

Alisdair- Al-is-dare
Struan- Stroo-an
Seamus- Shame-us
Lachlan- Lah-lan (I can't type the gutteral 'ch' sound!)
Ruairidh- Roor-ee

I'm Irish btw

Wildlingofthewest · 02/05/2018 17:01

What about:

Archie
Angus
Charlie
Callum
Cameron
Donald
Duncan
Ewan
Finlay
Douglas

Loads of Scottish names you can have that don’t have any pronunciation issues!!!

Original poster
mintich · 02/05/2018 16:41

So difficult as I would really prefer a Scottish name but want one that I won't be forever explaining, and also sounds ok with an English accent ....specifically Essex!

OP posts:
emanresu1998 · 02/05/2018 10:57

I’ve got a Ruairidh and it’s no bother at all! Although we are in central Scotland to be fair and there’s loads of them round here - at a recent English wedding some people did struggle! I think it’s the best one Wink

The others I’d pronounce as they are written really.

Sugarpiehoneyeye · 02/05/2018 10:22

Go with Hamish OP. 😄

DollyLlama · 02/05/2018 08:43

Alice-dair
Stru-arn
Shay-mas
Lack-lan
Roo-aird (this one I haven't got a clue at all to be honest)

Sorry I'm probably way off the mark with all of those!

BoudicasBoudoir · 02/05/2018 08:37

If you’re going for Alasdair, please don’t say ‘AlasDARE’... like on the Archers. All the ones I know, and as a Scot that’s quite a few, are pronounced like AL-aster, with the stress on the first syllable.

Original poster
mintich · 30/04/2018 16:31

I think I can safely say that Ruairidh is out 😂

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