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Baby names

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Original poster

Sine?

143 replies

toucanem · 21/01/2021 15:09

Husband is half Scottish/ half Irish so we're looking for a traditional Gaelic name. Thoughts on Sine? How would you pronounce it?

We have a 4 syllable surname so want a one-two syllable first name.

Middle name will be a traditional Welsh name (my side), we're thinking Ffion, Alys or Elin.

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florascotia2 · 21/01/2021 15:54

It's Gaelic for Jean.
You can hear it pronounced by a Gaelic speaker here: learngaelic.scot/fichead-facal/ff-names-girls.jsp

As PP said, it's like Sheena, but not quite.
And as another PP said, it should have a fada on the 'i'

Coislaoi · 21/01/2021 15:53

Pronounced Sheena. A beautiful name btw

Fufumuji · 21/01/2021 15:49

We would pronounce it Seena

Why?

If you want an Irish name, it would be Síne and pronounced Sheena.

If you want it to be Sine said Seena (which absolutely nobody will), don't say anything about it being Irish, because it isn't. I'd be amazed if it had any scottish basis that way either.

TimeIhadaNameChange · 21/01/2021 15:48

In Scottish Gaelic it's spelt Sìne and pronounced sheena (well, close enough). It's my daughter's middle name.

Joolsin · 21/01/2021 15:48

I would pronounce Sine as Shinna unless you used the fada, Síne would be Sheena

SlopesOff · 21/01/2021 15:44

Sign.

I haven't seen it before and was thinking the end had been missed off and it should be Sinus.

HilaryThorpe · 21/01/2021 15:42

I read it as the Latin sine (seenay) which means without.

Edenember · 21/01/2021 15:40

I wouldn’t hazard a pronounciation without asking first, as I’ve not seen the name before and wouldn’t want to get it wrong.

KirstenBlest · 21/01/2021 15:40

I'm from NE Wales, Dewi gets said as Dowey by the non-welsh speakers.

It's a bit of a dad's name due a comeback, so it's good to hear of a young one.

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 21/01/2021 15:38

My thoughts were either maths or sin (sinful, sinning etc). Which is a shame, as it's a pretty name.

daisypond · 21/01/2021 15:36

Could you use Síle? Irish, though. I really like it, and I’ve wondered why other forms of it, like Shelagh or Sheila haven’t come back.

Outdoorsywithgin · 21/01/2021 15:33

I have a Dewi (I'm English, DH Welsh, live in SE Eng). He loves his name and is very resilient to the many varied pronunciations he is called, except for doo-ey.
We gave him two middle names so he has options later!

Personally, if I was naming another child, I would go with something that is Gaelic but familiar.

daisypond · 21/01/2021 15:32

I would guess at Sheen-ay. But it’s a guess. Does it have no accents?

Original poster
toucanem · 21/01/2021 15:32

Haha @Mischance of course I know how it's pronounced, I wanted to see how others would pronounce it and also see how many people knew the name.

We would pronounce it Seena.

Everything that's been said here has crossed our mind (even the trigonometry reference!). So thank you! It has made me re-think. I was never 100% but it's the closest name to what we've been looking for. I do think it's a lovely name though. Any other ideas?

OP posts:
AliceinBunniland · 21/01/2021 15:31

I would pronounce it like "sign"

Assume boys name.

I don't like the name but it's what you think that matters.

2bazookas · 21/01/2021 15:27

Look,if even her parents don't know how to pronounce the name, that's God's way of telling you to pick another one.

Don't lumber her with a lifetime of having to explain how to say it, correct people who say it wrong, spell it out , etc. Not to mention the endless lame jokes. and puns.

HelenUrth · 21/01/2021 15:24

Makes me think of trigonometry too.
If you have twins you could call one Sine and the other Cosine ;)

Changethetoner · 21/01/2021 15:22

Sine cos and tan. algebra? equations. triangles. I dunno, I failed maths.

Choose Shona, it's prettier. or Fiona.

Kitkat151 · 21/01/2021 15:21

@Kitkat151

I know a danish Sine..... she pronounces it Seena
She says people in the UK mispronounce it all the time.
hohohopeless · 21/01/2021 15:21

I obly know how to pronounce it as had a friend called Sine.

Sheena.

Iminaglasscaseofemotion · 21/01/2021 15:20

I wouldn't go for one name that would cause too much confusion on spelling pronunciation, never mind two.

emmathedilemma · 21/01/2021 15:20

I can't get past trigonometry either! I've never come across it in scotland or ireland so have no idea how to pronounce it other than how it's spelt.

nimbuscloud · 21/01/2021 15:20

My friend has a Síne - pronounced Sheena.

TalbotAMan · 21/01/2021 15:20

"Sine! Give us a wave!"

PolkadotsAndMoonbeams · 21/01/2021 15:19

I thought it was Sìne? Which I think is pronounced like Sheena.

Without makes me think of sine nomine/loco or sine curves, which would then be si-nay or sign.

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