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Baby names

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

Maeve, Niamh, and names like them?

37 replies

Caimor23 · 11/07/2018 22:05

Hi all,

DH and I have fallen in love with the name Maeve for our future baby (if it's a girl, won't know until it's born!), and we also love the name Niamh. Only issue? I'm American and I know some of my American relatives will struggle to spell either of them correctly... They still don't spell my name correctly and I've been in the family for nearly 30 years now!

So, I'm wondering if any of you lovely people have any names that are similar to Maeve and Niamh that we can add to our "just in case the baby's not a Maeve" list? Relatively easy to spell and pronounce. Also, something that seems strong to appeal to the feminist in me and yet still feminine?

Big ask, I know.

TIA xx

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Caimor23 · 12/07/2018 22:57

These are all fantastic. Thanks so much everyone! We've added some to the list like Ailish and Aoife and others (DH and I are having a "discussion" about Dara and Fiadh haha).

Might be time to give my US relatives a lesson on Irish phonetics...and test the names to see how they stick! Though my mom (American) has already tried to pronounce Niamh as nye-am-ha faceplam and she's been a teacher for 40 odd years so has seen many a name...

OrdinaryGirl we're living in Scotland at the moment so we should be okay with the majority of the original Irish spellings... It's just my relatives and when we're living in the US that I'm a bit worried about!

Also, @drinkingteawhenitshot the essay's much appreciated!! Especially since you have firsthand experience using Maeve in North America. So no need to apologise. And I agree... If you couldn't guess from my mom's pronunciation of Niamh, we mostly get the same thing when we mention it. Also, I love the name Isla. And I don't think it would be dated! It's got quite a classic ring to it. And I know a Constance who is one of the loveliest people I've ever met... You really can go wrong with any of the names you have picked out for this baby :)

OP posts:
OrdinaryGirl · 12/07/2018 18:57

You didn't specify if you're actually living in the UK as an American. Depending on where you live in the U.K., Fia could easily be understood as Thea (more well-known here) or even Fear.
Love loads of names on this thread though - alas no baby girls 😭

ThatEscalatedQuickly · 12/07/2018 18:46

If you like Fiadh, what about Liadh, or spell it Lia. Pronounced as it's spelt - like Leah.

ILikeCodewords · 12/07/2018 18:40

I love Fiadh. Is it getting popular?

Last Irish baby girl I knew was Oonagh and initially I was a bit mmm, but it's really grown on me.

drinkingteawhenitshot · 12/07/2018 16:54

(Not saying that you should use the English spelling just because you live in England, btw-- meant really that we are not Irish and live in England, so there wasn't a compelling reason to use the original spelling for us. I love the original spellings and think they are gorgeous.)

drinkingteawhenitshot · 12/07/2018 16:53

Curious adulterousmuse about Irish phonology as a side point. When we named our daughter Maeve, we used the English spelling because we live in England (as did the person she was named after, so decision was easy.) But the name Maeve in particular is spelled a zillion ways in Irish it seems. I have met Meabh, Meadhbh, Maebh, etc. I would think it would be somewhat more consistent than that, but I haven't been able to find out the "real" spelling! Unlike Niamh which never seems to be spelled differently.

These names might be a bit dated in Ireland but not in the UK at all. Any name that is not just made up will sound dated to someone else. (E.g, Claire is not dated in the US -- it is a top 30 name there!) My name is Nicola, agree quite dated :).

jewel1968 · 12/07/2018 16:50

Adult - probably correct. Just not phonetic if applying English language rules which most people try to do. I do find people do continue to mispronounce their names for quite a while but it doesn't really bother them. Or at least they don't moan to me about it. And the key people in their lives do get it right pretty swiftly.

DaniCam89 · 12/07/2018 16:17

I love Maeve! I'm scottish but reckon that's quite straightforward in American to say?
Orlaith is lovely too and can be spelt few ways including Orla or Orlagh.
It was on my list but my polish boyfriend struggles to pronounce it lol

Sian and Sinaed are both lovely as well and easy to pronounce x

AdulterousMuse · 12/07/2018 13:20

So 2 of my kids have difficult to pronounce (not phonetic) Irish names.

They are phonetic, though presumably? but according to the (pretty consistent) rules of Irish phonology.

DH and I are Irish, and our English-born son has a very unusual Irish name and surname, and people manage fine. No, they generally won't know how to pronounce it the first time they encounter it, but I think you'd have to be a very fragile flower indeed to find that crushing.

jewel1968 · 12/07/2018 11:16

So 2 of my kids have difficult to pronounce (not phonetic) Irish names. I have a very unusual (although phonetic) name that requires constant explanation. On the positive side nobody forgets my name which in a large work organization has benefits. Downside is the constant explaining but it is character building and a great conversation starter. I say go for the original spelling

itbemay · 12/07/2018 10:12

Clodagh is beaut @sugarpiehoneyeye

MikeUniformMike · 12/07/2018 10:04

Isn't Maeve an anglicised spelling?
I would avoid anything that could be mispronounced or misspelt.

RedDwarves · 12/07/2018 09:51

Maeve is dead obvious. I can't see Americans struggling with it.

implantsandaDyson · 12/07/2018 07:52

Etain
Emer
Dara (I know it mainly as a boys name but I know a couple of baby girls recently with it)

They are easy enough to get your tongue around. I'll be honest a lot of the Irish baby names like Niamh, Clodagh, Caoimhe I find quite dated. Not granny chic but a bit like Joanne, Nicola, Claire - very of their time.

drinkingteawhenitshot · 12/07/2018 03:35

Also, sorry for the essay, but DH is half-Indian and none of his relatives seemed to struggle either once they were told once.

drinkingteawhenitshot · 12/07/2018 03:32

Oh fun question I have a Maeve! We are not Irish at all it was the name of our midwife. :) Not a name we'd considered before but we absolutely love it.

That said, I had had Niamh on my list, but dismissed it because of the lack of Irish connection. It is a gorgeous name. BUT I am so glad I did not use it! We lived in Canada for two years (DH is Canadian) and anyone I told about the name looked at me like I was insane and asked if I made it up! It really has not hit North America yet (or at least Canada, maybe the US has more Irish-Americans though.) It will, I think, and you can be a trailblazer, but it's the kid who has to explain all of the time not you.

You could spell it Neve, but I think that ruins it a bit. Also, Neve Campbell, the only Neve most people will know of, is actually "Nev" -- her name is Scandinavian. So it actually might not help with pronounciation in the US.

TBH more people struggled there with Maeve than I thought -- she got Mauve and all sorts. It really isn't hard though and is pretty phonetic and most people just needed telling once. Never had an ounce of trouble in the UK.

Names on my list for this baby are Isla (gorgeous, but very trendy -- worried it may date badly), Nina (family name, but also love the Simone connection), Cerys, Constance, Isobel (family name, DH hates), Freya (DH hates), Anna (DH thinks is boring) and Beatrice (DH also hates.) I'm secretly hoping I can steal the midwife's name again.

Congrats! I'm biased but I would go with Maeve!

StrawberryCat · 12/07/2018 02:51

Miriam
Freya
Corrine
Sian

HeyDolly · 12/07/2018 02:16

Erin?

Very simple to spell and easy to pronounce!

MrStarkIDontFeelSoGood · 12/07/2018 01:02

Actually thinking about it we might both be right as I would pronounce Kiefer not as Key-fer but Keefa.

Does that make more sense? I definitely wouldn’t pronounce as FER or FAR

mula · 12/07/2018 01:01

I have Fia (Fee-ah), very easy phonetically. and perhaps easier than Fiadh - both are Irish names pronounced the same yet mean different things.

MrStarkIDontFeelSoGood · 12/07/2018 00:46

I’ve always said Aoife as described never heard it said FAH and I’m half Irish Confused

AdulterousMuse · 12/07/2018 00:21

Please don’t butcher an Irish name just because your relatives can’t pronounce it.

Honestly, who couldn’t get their tongue around Maeve, anyway? Spelled in that anglicised way it’s phonetic and single-syllable! Caoilfhionn or Lasairfhióna or something I could understand being an issue for someone who wasn’t familiar with Irish language phonetic rules.

Caoimhe is pronounced nothing like either Kiefer or Keavy. It’s regional, like quite a few Irish pronunciations, and is either, roughly, QUEEV-uh or KEEV-uh. Second syllable is a schwa in both.

user1483390742 · 11/07/2018 23:44

Aoibhin? Pronounced Eev-een

Thetimehascometo · 11/07/2018 23:37

All about Niamh, it’s our DD’s name... if we have another girl she is likely to be Orla, Phoebe or Beatrice 🙃

NyaNinjago · 11/07/2018 23:07

MrStark that is not how you pronounce Caoimhe or Aoife Confused. OP Síofra (shee-fra), Clodagh (clo -da) and Clíona (clee-uh-na) are all gorgeous names too.