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Baby names

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Original poster

Eirlys or Rose as middle name?

31 replies

Sailinghappy · 17/12/2018 02:29

Hello!

Looking for opinions , here’s the dilemma:

We are due our baby girl at Christmas. We love the name Athena Rose. However, Eirlys (Welsh meaning snowdrop) has a lot of family meaning and we are tempted to use Eirlys as the middle name instead since she’s due at this time of year. Does Athena Eirlys sound too “out there”? I think Rose is simpler and sounds better with such a statement first name - we just like the meaning of Eirlys really.

So... Athena Rose or Athena Eirlys? Wr don’t want two middle names.

Thanks very much! Smile

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MikeUniformMike · 22/12/2018 12:27

The Ei is a short Eh sound or like the ey in Hey!

BikeRunSki · 22/12/2018 06:25

Erilys - it’s beautiful, it has personal meaning and it’s far more unusual. It’s also my mum’s partner’s nickname for me, so I am rather fond of it.

Hopeful8813 · 22/12/2018 05:43

Eirlys was what I wanted if DS had been a DD so I would definitely go for that :)

Triskaidekaphilia · 22/12/2018 01:20

I have never heard the name/word Eirlys but think it's prettier than Athena Rose, which is lovely but as PPs have said I feel like it's overused. Athena is our name for a girl too Smile I'm considering Carol as a middle name after my grandmother and don't know if it fits but recently I've been thinking screw it cos how often does a full name really get read out/used? Except when they're in trouble Grin

bookworm14 · 19/12/2018 21:18

Eirlys is beautiful. Please use it!

mortifiedmama · 19/12/2018 09:44

DHs g'ma pronounced it like that TJsAunt but I don't know what part of Wales she was from! My friend from near Swansea prounces it more like Sailinghappy so yes, regional thing.

TJsAunt · 19/12/2018 09:39

Ah ok - Mum was S Wales so can only speak for that area.

Main issue for non Welsh speakers is the 'rrr' sound in the middle, without that it's just not the same IMO

Original poster
Sailinghappy · 18/12/2018 10:25

“AY” that should say

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Original poster
Sailinghappy · 18/12/2018 10:25

I think there are regional differences in pronunciation, but we pronounce it as “au” and so would our friends and family.

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TJsAunt · 18/12/2018 10:07

Eirlys pronounced Eye-rr-liss (v difficult to write phonetically!!)

Non native speakers tend to say Eye - a-liss IME? Not as pretty IMO

AlliKaneErikson · 18/12/2018 00:00

Eirlys is lovely (I’d forgotten about the Snow Spider!).

Cosmoa · 17/12/2018 20:27

Eirlys 100%

Rose makes me yawn.. So bored of seeing it now.

GoodHeavensNoImAChicken · 17/12/2018 20:21

Athena Rose is gorgeous

Lobsterquadrille2 · 17/12/2018 20:16

I really don't think it matters whether the first and middle names "flow" because middle names are so rarely used. Interesting regarding the correct pronunciation of Eirlys though - there was a girl of that name in my DD's class and she was known as Elise pronunciation wise - her mother was Welsh too.

bridgetreilly · 17/12/2018 20:11

Athena Eirlys Rose. Gorgeous.

BackforGood · 17/12/2018 20:05

I think it would be a real mouthful with Athena.
Though, as others have said, you only use your middle name on very rare occasions - but public ones.... graduation / wedding..... so it wouldn't matter too much if difficult for many people to say.

moredoll · 17/12/2018 19:50

If she is to be your first perhaps keep Eirlys in case there's a second?

CloserIAm2Fine · 17/12/2018 19:44

Definitely Eirlys

Rose is a boring filler name (although lovely), choose the interesting name that has meaning for you

mortifiedmama · 17/12/2018 18:26

Eirlys. Would be DDs name after her granny, but granny hated it so I'd feel bad giving her a name I knew her namesake hated! I love it though.

Original poster
Sailinghappy · 17/12/2018 16:27

We are set on Athena as her first name. Eirlys is pronounced “AYR-LISS” - think “hay” without the “h” then add the “r” sound and a soft “liss” like “kiss”. It is definitely a mouthful with Athena and Rose sounds much nicer in my opinion, but then I wonder if that matters for a middle name and if the meaning is more important? Hmmm undecided!

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RoomWithALoon · 17/12/2018 15:59

Eirlys Rose! At least I think so - how do you pronounce it? I remember this name from one of the Snow Spider trilogy, but don't know how you're supposed to say it!

Astronica · 17/12/2018 12:20

Eirlys for sure. Rose is the default middle name so loses its impact. I prefer the sounds of Athena Eirlys too.

TJsAunt · 17/12/2018 11:41

Eirlys was dm's middle name. It does look v pretty and the meaning is lovely - but it's very hard to pronounce correctly. That (and the fact dm hated it!) were the reasons we didn't use it for dd.

Also think that with Athena it's a bit of a mouthful - but Athena Rose is v pretty.

Original poster
Sailinghappy · 17/12/2018 10:36

Thanks all!! Eirlys has a lot of meaning for us and the family so it’s the nicer choice for that reason... I do think Rose is beautiful though, it’s my favourite flower and it sounds nicer with Athena? We are torn!

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Peachbubble · 17/12/2018 06:49

Eirlys, especially as she's a winter baby.

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