I didn't think this name would be so unpopular

Aww congratulations my little boy is also called Cillian and he’s 10 months old and we have had exactly the same since he was born. Now all the family, friends and nursery all pronounce is correctly it feels a little better.

Every time someone gets your name wrong, you cringe.

I have an Irish name and live in the US. No cringing here. I think you'd need to be a very shrinking violet indeed to have any response other than a polite and slightly louder introduction of yourself, with a smile. Most of the time you can let it go completely if someone is in the ballpark.

I've only ever seen it written down and my guess would have been Silly-un, sorry.

@OchonAgusOchonO

There seems to be a certain type of English person who deliberately refuses to learn how to pronounce Irish (and presumably other foreign) names. You only have to look at the bastardisation news readers and politicians used to make of Haughey's name. Yes, it's difficult but none of the sounds are alien to an English speaker.

Or that old chestnut, Éire Eerie.

My cousin has a small son called Cillian, I think most of the family were unsure how to pronounce it initially but don't have a problem with it now. I feel more sorry for his poor Uncle Iain!

I know because of Cillian Murphy but I would ask how to pronounce it

I thought it was pronounced Silly un,but if I was told the how to pronounce it I would pronounce it correctly, I think they are doing it on purpose which makes them sound pretty immature

It's a lovely name. I'm Irish so know how up pronounce it and so will everyone that's important to him in his life. My name is unusually and gets mistaken from time to time but it doesn't bother me in the slightest and is a great conversation starter. Congratulations on your new baby

Isn’t it Kill-ee-an?
It was on our metaphorical list too when our first DD was born (before we knew gender) and that’s how we would have pronounced it

I would pronounce it killy un...as silly un doesn't sound right...
I have the same issue with some of my friends and my son. I called him Bowie as in bo wee. But some people say it as in wowie but with the b. I named him after David bowie and have named him how it is meant to be pronounced but dont get too uptight when people say it wrong as I know everyone has their different way of pronouncing david Bowie...so I just say call him Bo. Maybe get your fam to call him killy? Or whatever the nickname is for him

I would have said Silly Ann at first too but, once corrected, I wouldn't purposefully say it wrong again! I now know that if I see this name it is pronounced Kill Ian, so I will get it right from now on.

I don't watch Peaky Blinders and I'd never heard of it so would have gone for Silly-an. However, once corrected, I would know better! It's a lovely name btw!

It’s a great name OP. I hope those people haven’t upset you. It’s a lovely name.

Btw - it's a lovely name, OP.

@spookybitches

Just tell them it’s pronounced Gillian as in the actor Cillain Murphy from Peaky Blinders.

Tell them to google him & then say don’t embarrass yourself by pronouncing it Cillian in-front of people.

Don’t bother correcting them, once is enough. As they are either;

a) trying to annoy you
b) not too worldly when it comes to names

Seriously who pronounces Cillian.....Cillian! Don’t second guess the name of your child because of other people. Your child, your choice of name. Which BTW is lovely. Congrats.

Honestly. People are idiots!

I would've thought most people would be familiar with the name Cillian because of Cillian Murphy - or perhaps it's just me with a massive crush on him

I also worked with a lovely Irish man called Cillian in my 20's a long time ago so have long known how it was spelled/pronounced.

Cillian is one of the bog standard Irish name though. Why can’t your family pronounce it?

My teenaged nephew Cillian is born & bred in The UK (admittedly in a city with a lot of Irish heritage) and has no difficulties with people pronouncing his name. He will he grand.

Monoglot good word, not heard it before!

@Aglet - Not sure a name that's pronounced kill is great.

It's not pronounced kill. It's pronounced kill-y-un.

Not sure a name that's pronounced kill is great.

I’m sorry to say, but choosing Cillian instead of Killian means you have set him up for a lifetime of correcting people

Sigh. There is no K in the Irish language, and the OP is not obliged to anglicise a name in case monoglot English people find it Too Hard.

Kill ian - i thought everyone would have heard of it by now because if peaky blinders - I've never seen it and i know who he is. Some people are just tools. Tell them once how to pronounce it and if they say anything else just reply with... WHO?

Kill-ee-un is how i would pronounce it.....questioningly.....after pausing to deliberate on it before I actually spoke.