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Baby names

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

Original poster

Neve/Niamh

84 replies

stellarfox · 12/11/2018 20:55

What do you think of Neve? I’m only a very small % Irish (mostly English) so I don’t think I could really use Niamh could I?

OP posts:
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RavenWings · 13/11/2018 09:10

And if you misinterpret jokey comments, that's really not my problem.

RavenWings · 13/11/2018 09:09

I'm Irish - I think if anyone is qualified to make comments about leprechauns, it's an Irish person. Find someone else to eyeroll at.

dropthemic · 13/11/2018 08:11

@RavenWings no i haven't had a humour bypass. Just Leprechaun comments are very annoying to me and insulting to me. No need to be rude about it. I don't believe I was rude to you. Not everyone on the internet is going to share your humour. Anyway for the OP I think using the NIamh spelling is totally fine. It's a much more common name outside of Ireland now

LittleMouseontheDairy · 13/11/2018 07:44

I’m in England and through work we have dealings with a Niamh and a Saiorse (both of whom are Irish). People regularly get both the pronunciations and spellings wrong. (I’m not confident I’ve got the latter right!)
I don’t even think Niamh actually sounds that nice tbh. It sounds like a nasal sort of whine (sorry).
I’m normally a fan of ‘if you can’t say anything nice then don’t say it’ but I do think it’s possible the spelling/ pronunciation issue will most likely be a reasonably regular issue so if that is likely to bother you then it’s worth reflecting on.

ems137 · 13/11/2018 07:21

My daughter is Niamh. Until she was about 6/7 everyone used to spell or pronounce it wrongly. Now, at 11 the name seems to be more common and most people get it right.

KipperTheFrog · 13/11/2018 06:57

Niamh is a beautiful name.
I've not got any Irish blood, neither does DH, but both our DD's have Irish names.

marl · 13/11/2018 06:51

I think the child will spend a lot of time being mildly irritated that other people can't spell it or can't pronounce it, unless you live somewhere where it is a more common name. Depends whether you think that is an issue.

lebkuchenlover · 13/11/2018 06:48

A lot of people wouldn't know how to pronounce Niamh, whereas everyone should be able to pronounce Neve. Unless your dd is growing up in Ireland.

Madeline88 · 13/11/2018 06:44

Niamh is lovely. I’m in NZ and lots of people have Niamhs and people know how to say it and spell it. Caused a bit of confusion when our PM called her daughter Neve, the media reported it as Niamh to begin with and at the end of her press conference she had to spell it out.

BikeRunSki · 13/11/2018 06:37

Niamh, and it’s anglicised variants, is very popular amongst my son’s peers. He’s 10, we live in West Yorkshire abd none of them are at all Irish! It’s a pretty name.

scissorspaperrock · 13/11/2018 06:35

I'm considering Neve/Niamh for my little bump. Where i live (Australia) Niamh would constantly be pronounced as ny-am as it is not as common as in the UK. So for a first name I would use Neve and as a middle name i would use Niamh. My hubby is Irish and agrees. Actually just last week his best friend was telling me how he tells the barista his name is Patrick because no one can prounounce/spell his traditional Irish name here and it isn't worth the bother.

Original poster
stellarfox · 13/11/2018 06:20

Ah thank you for all the responses, they are really helpful! I didn’t think it would be so positive a response but I feel like I can seriously consider it now so thank you

OP posts:
RavenWings · 13/11/2018 06:20

Leprechaun police? Really? 🙄

Did you have a sense of humour bypass or something? It was clearly a joking comment making up people who'll hunt down OP for using the name.

ReginaPhalange89 · 13/11/2018 06:04

Niamh is much better than Neve

Of course you can use it ! Niamh is quite a common name these days , i don't think it's strange to use on a non Irish girl !

LurpakIsTheOnlyButter · 12/11/2018 23:34

My SD is niamh. But no one can pronounce it written down, she gets called all sorts of random things.

As the owner of a name no one can pronounce myself, I have named my DC with nice, not Overly popular names that cannot be mispronounced

RCohle · 12/11/2018 23:31

Niamh.

I don't think anyone will be annoyed that you're not Irish but I do think your daughter will have to spend a lifetime explaining that she's not Irish and her parents just liked the name.

PennyMordauntsLadyBrain · 12/11/2018 23:24

Definitely Niamh.

Does my bap in when people badly anglicise Irish names.

If you like the name use the proper version (not aimed at you OP!)

Thetigerwhocameto · 12/11/2018 22:22

We have a Niamh, so totally bias but just couldn’t anglicise the name. You get a few people who have no idea where to start with pronouncing it, but once you tell them then they tend to remember. (We’ve had Nee-am-huh, Nemo, Naomi)

So yes team Niamh! (If I’m honest I 🙄 when I see Neve, Nieve etc)

HelenaJustina · 12/11/2018 22:21

100% Niamh

WhenTheDragonsCame · 12/11/2018 22:20

I have a Niamh. I'm English and my only claim to Ireland is great (possibly another great) grandparents who moved to Scotland where my nanna was born.

Some people don't seem to know how to spell it, niamph seems a popular choice, and when written don't know how to pronounce it, she got called Naomi at the weekend. She doesn't seem overly bothered though.

Didyeeaye · 12/11/2018 21:37

Niamh is much nicer than Neve. I doubt anyone will be too fussed you aren't Irish

Wombat222 · 12/11/2018 21:19

My friend’s daughter is Neve and I love it :)

dropthemic · 12/11/2018 21:18

@RavenWings Leprechaun police? Really? 🙄

kenandbarbie · 12/11/2018 21:18

The leprechaun police Grin

DramaAlpaca · 12/11/2018 21:15

Niamh.

Though I don't pronounce Niamh & Neve the same.

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