I didn't think this name would be so unpopular

Yes, I think it's key to make it perfectly clear to family that their continual mispronunciation isn't some kind of hilarious family joke, and that you expect them to get it right. We had a similar issue (mispronunciation as protest) from DH's parents when DS was born, despite the fact that we're all Irish, and it's an Irish name.

I think the mispronunciation stemmed from the fact that it's a comparatively unusual name, and the ILs think that names other than Seán are a sign you're getting above yourself. It was a form of protest against us thinking we were 'special'. We sat them down and said firmly that it had gone beyond a joke, we knew they were not stupid people, and we expected them to pronounce their grandchild's name correctly. It worked, eventually.

In Ireland one of our public health experts is Prof Cillian de Gascun, allegedly known in his lab as Gazza. So we can cope with complicated names in Ireland, and Cillian is on the news most days.
He is quoted in the Irish Times article today on lifting restrictions, by possibly allowing adult siblings and cousins to mix as we progress through lockdown. But not strangers and randomers. I wonder if he said randomers, he's quite posh.

I'm so glad you're sticking with it too. As a mum of a 2 month old Cillian I have followed this thread closely as we are having similar issues with pronounction.
Still glad we chose it though

I'm glad you're not caving in OP and changing the spelling of Cillian, or the name itself.

Good idea to speak to your family. Make it clear that you expect them to make an effort to get it right.

It's not much of an effort - first time I saw Cillian Murphy's name I though 'Sillyan' too, for all of about 30 seconds before I thought, it's Irish I bet it's a hard C like in Welsh (which also doesn't have the letter K), googled it to confirm and no issue remembering since!

MikeUniformMike Hah! I like what you did there. Silly me! You’re right - I should know better!

@MollyButton, there is no soft C in any Celtic language.

I can't understand why you can't just hear Aoife 'Eefa" and then repeat it. How is it causing you problems? You don't have to figure out Irish orthography (though it's very straightforward and consistent). Just take the spelling at face value and say the name the way you heard it.

How did you manage to learn to spell in English, with its many strange combinations of letters, including silent Ks and Bs?

Ian is two syllables for me also.

E-En.

I've never heard Ian pronounced with 2 syllables. It's pronounced 'een'

How do you pronounce it?

Ee-An. Like Ian Wright the footballer. I have an uncle Ian. Definitely has two syllables m I've never met or heard of an 'Een'.

I'd pronounce Ian as Ain like Ian Paisley I can't imagine it with two syllables.

I've only ever heard Ian pronounced Ee-an.

@BrooHaHa - But Ian does have two syllables... How would you even say it with one?

I've never heard Ian pronounced with 2 syllables. It's pronounced 'een'

How do you pronounce it?

But Ian does have two syllables... How would you even say it with one

Yan, or Yun.

Accents are great aren't they?

It's not Ian as in Ian Paisley, it is two syllables rather than one

But Ian does have two syllables... How would you even say it with one?

It fazes me that teachers say that something doesn't phase them.

I would know but I am Irish! My child has an Irish name living in England and people get there in the end with pronouncing. Lovely name I think!!

Maybe it says something about food in the 50s?

Can't believe your 8 year old doesn't like it. It was our big treat when we had visitors from Ireland, or someone in the family came back from a holiday in Ireland. I haven't had it for years.

Hayfevered one side rhymed with pulse, the other had a k at the end more like dilsk from what I remember, going back over 50 years here. The Ulster side had the k.

@1forsorrow, how else can you pronounce dulse other than to rhyme with ‘pulse’? Or ‘eww, gross’, as my eight year old calls it...

The other mystery was my Ulster cousins telling me I was a left footer but if anyone asked I was to say I kicked with the right.

I never knew there was a left and right. I'd only ever heard protestants described as kicking with the wrong foot. I'm from the Republic though, so most people here kicked with the same foot.

Pronounced with a hard k like the gorgeous Cillian Murphy from Peaky Blinders! I’ve come across the name before that too. Beautiful Irish name. To be fair though my son is Gunabhiram (Guna for short) chosen by my Indian husband. I knew no-one would know how to pronounce it. However as a teacher I see so many unusual names that it doesn’t phase me. At least your son has an established Irish name (not a made up one or a mis-spelling of a name that already exists). These days anything goes and having a lovely Irish name shouldn’t make you think twice. Once you know Cillian, it’s easy to remember and now you’ve educated 630 people via this thread

That would be the Ulster Irish, the bane of every leaving cert student who is not from Ulster (they include a bit from each dialect in the Irish aural exam). It's quite different to the other dialects, I assume there is a Scots Gaelic influence on it. I can imagine, my mother was a protestant from Ulster and my father a Catholic from the Republic. I was born in England and spent my childhood in a state of confusion. Funnily enough religion never caused a problem, how to pronounce dulse however was a constant issue with the two families, didn't stop us eating it. The other mystery was my Ulster cousins telling me I was a left footer but if anyone asked I was to say I kicked with the right. If they'd just said if anyone asks you kick with the right it would have been so much easier.