I didn't think this name would be so unpopular

I’m absolutely stunned that so many people don’t know how to pronounce Cillian... Op even if your family didn’t know, surely once you told them it’s a soft C sound then that’s easy enough to remember?

It's not though, is it? It's a hard c.

Oh, the irony.

^ my post should say hard c

I'd assume Kill-e-an.

But even if people get it wrong to begin with there is no excuse for getting it wrong after you've told them how it's pronounced.

I have a name that's about 50/50 on whether people get it right first time, and then I married into a surname with a similar hit rating. It's just one of those things you get used to and isn't a big deal, so don't worry about that.

You have every right to be irritated with your family for getting it wrong after they've been told though!

I would guess it is pronounced with a hard C so Killian.

It’s hardly one of the Irish names that’s hard to spell or pronounce, nor is it one that has strong regional variations in pronunciation. Cian, Ciara and Cillian all have that hard c.

Lots of names have different pronunciations. If we can cope with Sara (Sar to rhyme with car) and Sarah and Mia (My-a) and Mia (Me-a) then surely pronouncing c as k isn’t beyond us?

Relatives who have been told, repeatedly, how it’s pronounced and keep mispronouncing it are either exceptionally thick or arseholes. Possibly both.

Your family are being silly

Calling your child Cillian is not trying to be different. It is using a name from a non-English culture.

I haven’t read the thread after the first 20 or so posts but I’m absolutely stunned that so many people don’t know how to pronounce Cillian. Is it really that unusual? I’m English and I’ve heard it lots. Not top 10 lots but I’ve come across one every couple of years.

Op even if your family didn’t know, surely once you told them it’s a soft C sound then that’s easy enough to remember? Otherwise they’re just rude.

Sorry 0P get used to it, this will happen for the rest of his life. What starts off as parents trying to be different ends up as a pain in the arse for the poor soul stuck with a name very few can spell or pronounce.

It’s not unpopular - it’s uncommon, that’s why it’s mispronounced.
When you said it was ‘unpopular’ the first name which came to mind for me was Meaghan.

I imagine they're using it as an unkind nickname, OP. Nip it in the bud or it'll stick. They'll probably refer to him as Silly 'un amongst themselves forever though.

@pallisers yep that’s fair enough. Doing it once is understandable, continuing is just ignorance

I don’t know why Irish people assume English will be able to pronounce names that don’t read phonetically at all. Obviously, as soon as I’ve been corrected I never do it again, because I’m not rude

We don't. We do know that Irish is a foreign language to you. We just presume that you will ask how to pronounce the name and not continue mispronouncing it (as OP's family seem to be doing).

Silly-un

Taking Cilla Black as my point of reference. Sorry

Love the name and know several people called this. Never hear anyone pronounce it with an S sound. I have a difficult Irish name and live in England. People get used to it.

Sillian would be a nice name too

I have an unusual name and have had to correct it all my life, school, uni, employment, meeting new people etc...it gets a little tiring and people will also make jokes like haha where did your parents find that however having an unusual name also has it perks! I wouldn't worry about it too much, people mispronounce even common names!

Im from Ireland myself and Cillian is quite a popular name here. Its pronounced killy- an.

I have a neighbour called Leonard, pronounced Len Ard. I don't call him Leo Nard as in Leonardo. It's not difficult to learn.
How many names used in England are English? Christopher, Philip, Lydia, Esther, Ptolemy, Phoebe? A few like Ethelred are.

I know it is Kill-ian but my english brain wants to say Sill-ian.
I actually prefer the sound Sill-ian to Kill-ian, seems unnatural to say Kill-ian.
I know its just because the name's Irish but I'm not!

Kill-ian but I'm from Glasgow where half the place thinks they're Irish.

Irish names are difficult - I know the more common ones like Niamh, but for anything less than mainstream, I always have to ask!

I take it that it's just your family who can't pronounce the name and your OH's family can pronounce it because their side is Irish? If your DS has an Irish side, he's going to grow up knowing lots of people who share the same pronunciation woes!

@Annamaria14

Those are all Ca - Like Cat

Ci is more usually S - Circus, Circadian, Circuit

I automatically thought it would be Silly-Ann, and was wondering why you were asking, OP. On paper, it's a nice name, though.

I wouldn't have had a clue from just seeing it written down, but surely you told your relatives?