I didn't think this name would be so unpopular

My friend Cheryl from childhood would agree, she got fed up of being called Sheryl.

kill e an, but i only know that because of Cillian Murphy. believe it or not most names are mispronounced, just keep correcting people. We have a Helena (hell a na) but we get the eastern european pronunciation (hel-ayna) all the time.

Sorry I haven't read the full thread. I would have pronounced it Silly-an in the first instance. I knew of Cillian Murphy but never heard his name spoken. I think what is key here is that after correction they continue to do it. If I was corrected on somebody's name I would never continue to mispronounce it, I would make a point of pronouncing it correctly in future! They must be doing it on purpose, which is not only annoying but really sad for you coming from a family member.

@eggandonion - DD2's friend in Cork is Eye Leash, but I knew one in Belfast who was more Ay Lish (rhyming with Hay).

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.

@DaffodilThatch - I believe her mother was a native Irish speaker so assume it's an accepted pronunciation

Eye-Lish is a bit of an anglicisation. Eye-leash is more correct. The Irish spelling is Eilís. The accent on the i elongates the i and changes the sound of it.

DD2's friend in Cork is Eye Leash, but I knew one in Belfast who was more Ay Lish (rhyming with Hay). But Cillian is much more standard.

I love the name and would know how to pronounce. If your family are continually getting it wrong after being correct they are doing it on purpose.

BBC Radio 1 presenters tend to pronounce it Eye-lish.

Another mispronounced one is Camila Cabello. Which should be pronounced Cam-ee-la Cab-ey-oh. And is most of the time. But so many radio presenters (local radio) call her either Camilla as in Camilla Parker-Bowles or Cam-ee-ya.

Actually she prefers Eye-leash rather than 'lish'

@whatdoyoudonow I know an Irish Eilish who pronounces it I (or 'eye')-lish. She lives in Ireland, a lot of people call her aye-lish so she has to correct them. I believe her mother was a native Irish speaker so assume it's an accepted pronunciation... maybe @mathanxiety can confirm!

@spookybitches - are you going to tackle your parents about this? They are being shockingly disrespectful.

I'm half English and half Welsh subject to a load of anti Welsh stuff from the English side and anti English stuff from the Welsh side growing up. Despite that, no-one on the English side were rude enough to deliberately mispronounce or misspell my Welsh name. You need to nip this shit in the bud before your DS is old enough to realise and be affected by it.

I was 10ish when the first Harry Potter book came out and I spent the first 3 or 4 books reading it in my head as Hermy-own. Only when they got super famous and people started talking about them more did I learn my mistake, and by that point the proper pronunciation just sounded so wrong!

Wait, how do you pronounce Billie Eilish?

I actually thought it was Ellish until just now 😅

And I have learnt Niamh - although I might mis spell that a bit like Ruairi

That's quite a misspelling 🤣 (yes, I knew what you meant but I couldn't resist)

I have know lots of Penelopes in my life (never met a Persephone, and wouldn't have known how to pronounce it until I was told). Aoife - I still struggle with despite knowing a little one, the letters just sound for such different sounds to those I'm used to. Cillian I now know, but different celtic languages do vary as to whether the C is hard or soft. Deirdre - I first came across this in Coronation street, and she was not pronounced in the Irish way. Domhnall - I don't know, never met one, and would feel very nervous of trying - as I'd be sure to mispronounce.
But Siobhan - I can do! I have known a few.
And I have learnt Niamh - although I might mis spell that a bit like Ruairi

@Hayfevered I dint mean specifically about Ireland ( and I know almost nothing to be totally honest) but I meant generally. It amazes me that my DH assumes everyone knows xyz when I haven't even heard of it.

Percy phone like telephone? Penny Lope? like antelope? It is yeah, as they say in Cork.

🙄

Percy phone like telephone? Penny Lope? like antelope? It is yeah, as they say in Cork.

I would pronounce it Killian. My youngest is named Brené and unless people hear us say her name, they mispronounce it. I thought with the accent that would happen x

Seriously, if English people can manage Persephone and Penelope they can do Aoife, Cillian, Deirdre, Domhnall, and all the rest of them.

Those two more closely follow English phonics though. With Irish names like Saoirse, I know how it's pronounced but I can feel my brain simply inserting the whole thing in one go rather than knowing how to sound it out if that makes sense. It feels different to how I read English words.

I do agree that the problem is "won't" rather than "can't" though. Obviously accent is always going to make a difference but everyone can pronounce them

I would pronounce it Kill ee an... it's a lovely name!

Teenagers really don't! They say I- Lish

So do DJs don't they?

They can't or won't pronounce Deirdre correctly either. I once had a university tutor who insisted that he could not hear the difference in pronunciation between "Deedrie' and 'Deirdre' despite being corrected by the rest if of the tutor group.

and if the entire world can pronounce the Eilish /Eilis in Billie Eilish I cant see why Cillian is such a puzzler ...

Teenagers really don't!
They say
I- Lish

Cillian -Silly-an
Cilla - Silla