I didn't think this name would be so unpopular

It's not a hard name. I'm not familiar with it, but surely you'd only need to be told once?

I think it is a lovely name, would never think to pronounce it as Silly-an.

Sorry but I'm Irish and I thought it was Sillian for a long time until someone corrected me one time!

Admittedly I would have pronounced silly-an but I’ve never heard this name before. People will only need to be told the right pronunciation once, and I think it’s a lovely name!! I don’t think he will have trouble at school because people will soon learn how to pronounce? There’s names from all cultures that are possibly harder to pronounce and you wouldn’t say they’d have problems at school because of them.

@Thisismytimetoshine - Hardly unexpected, surely??

Hardly unexpected that they wouldn't know how to pronounce it initially. However, completely unexpected that they would continue to mispronounce once corrected. None of the sounds in the name are difficult for an English speaker.

If pronounce it like Jillian but with a K.

If English people can get used to Niamh and Siobhan, then Cillian shouldn’t be too tricky!

do people in the UK have a problem with the name Conor, do they pronounce it Son or?

The general rule in English is when a single c comes directly before the letters e, i or y we use the /s/ sound.

In other cases we use a /k/ sound.

I know how to pronounce it, and I’m English. Cillian Murphy is well known.
^ Me too.

I think it's a lovely name btw.

Jaysis there's lots of Irish names I thought might cause issues in the UK but I never thought Cillian would be one of them! Domhnaill? Yeah. Sadhbh? Of course. Caoimhe? To be expected. Bit not Cillian! You learn something new every day.

OP, I'm like you; it wouldn't have even occured to me that people would find it hard so I wouldn't have checked.

Why would it be hard for him in school? Surely he'll just have to tell the teacher his name once and that'll be that?
I'm Irish so would know the name well but am so surprised that so many in the UK wouldn't know it.

Killi-an

It's rally not that hard, and Cillian Murphy is well known enough for a fair chunk of people to know it from that...

Honestly, if you've corrected them once, I'd play hard ball, because it sounds like they're making a shitty point - funny how common this is!

'Oh sorry, we'll give visting/Skypeing a miss for the moment, at least until you can manage his really difficult name - we wouldn't want him to get confused! Sure we'll see you soon...' :)

I know how to pronounce it, and I’m English. Cillian Murphy is well known.

Agree with Enko.

They are thick, obtuse, or just being difficult because it's an Irish name.

I know, because of my Irish connection. I wouldn't expect anyone English to have heard of it, or pronounce it correctly.
Hardly unexpected, surely??

I would say silly ann.

It'd be hard for him in school.
Sorry

I thought it was silly-un

But C followed by o is normally a hard C like cot or con. Whereas c follows by i is usually soft like civil or circle.

Would know it was a K and think it is a lovely name. Just correct people when they get it wrong and they’ll soon get it right. If anyone is being deliberately obtuse, just explain it is K as in cat and they’ll stop with their silly “but C is always pronounced Sss” nonsense! Your son is carrying some of his dad’s heritage and that’s a beautiful thing, don’t let others spoil your joy.

When I started work and was young and unworldly, I came across a 'Ceri' and thought it was pronounced 'Seery'. Everyone laughed at me for being thick.

Now I look back and can't believe I didn't realise - but we all come across names we haven't encountered in our lives, and sometime we pronounce them wrong. But we learn from it - and move on, and don't make the mistake again.

Your son has a lovely name! Even people with the most obvious names still have to spell them out over the phone - don't give it a second thought. His peers and friends will soon learn - no-one else matters. Don't worry about it.....

Its rude though if family have heard they way you want it pronounced, yet still say it differently.

It's not just that they want it pronounced that way, that's the way it is meant to be pronounced.

Surely they first found out the name verbally, so would have heard the correct pronunciation from the start? Did somebody then see the spelling and decide to pronounce it differently?

It's a lovely name but I'm afraid I would have mis-pronounced it. I am crap at working out how to pronounce unfamiliar words/names though.

I've never heard of Cillian Murphy.
I do know that the Celtic languages have two groups, one which pronounces C soft as in a Scottish football team, and the other hard as in the more usual way of pronouncing Celtic.
Now whether this is going to be a real issue depends - where exactly in the British Isles you live, where your families come from. Anyone English should be ready to adapt, but some other areas may find it harder depending on their experience of a different Celtic pronunciation
But then I've had a lot of people mispronounce my surname all my life, despite the fact it is pretty phonetic..

It's pronounced Killian. There's no soft c in Irish.

The family must be spectacularly thick to keep up the soft C even after being told how to pronounce the name.