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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Osian

63 replies

Edenember · 29/04/2021 10:17

How is this pronounced? I realise there’s an anglicised pronounciation which is usually spelled Ossian pronounced how it looks. But is this pronounced o-shan/shun or Oh-shan/shun?

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JudgeMeNot · 02/05/2021 00:11

Welsh friend pronounces it O-Shan

Original poster
Edenember · 01/05/2021 22:31

@BlackCatsRule88 I haven’t found a boys name I like so much in a long time. I very much agree with your user name btw. Good taste all round.

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BlackCatsRule88 · 01/05/2021 21:05

Its a lovely name and it would tempt me. I was going to add - watch the third season of Keeping Faith as there’s a character on there by the name of Osian, but I see that’s already been mentioned.

CaffiSaliMali · 01/05/2021 12:32

I like the nickname Oshi for Osian. Sounds cute on a toddler and smaller child and they can go by Osh or Osian when they're a teenager and adult if they prefer.

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Edenember · 01/05/2021 08:19

@Lenny86 it’s lovely isn’t it. Oshi is sweet too 😊

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Lenny86 · 01/05/2021 08:06

We are in England and are thinking of using this name with the nickname Oshi. As others have said I think the name will be pronounced “Oshun”

KirstenBlest · 30/04/2021 10:34

إشَن is how I would transcribe it.

KirstenBlest · 30/04/2021 10:30

It wouldn't have a waw, it would have an alif with a damma. The a sound would be a fatha.
وشان (noon alif shin waw) would be OOshahn

PuttingOnTheKitsch · 30/04/2021 10:18

@KirstenBlest

I like Twm too CaffiSaliMali, it is so cute.

Osian would not be arabic Edenember, as there is no O equivalent letter. The nearest would be Ushn.

Waw creates a double oo sound and the letter o is used in Arabic to English transliteration regularly though. Unlike the letter p, which genuinely doesn't exist in Arabic.
Original poster
Edenember · 30/04/2021 10:08

@KirstenBlest to me it does.

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KirstenBlest · 30/04/2021 10:07

It doesn't though.

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Edenember · 30/04/2021 10:06

@KirstenBlest Jesus. I said it looks Arabic written down.

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Original poster
Edenember · 30/04/2021 10:02

@Frazzled2207 true. It comes out as a schwa, the most common vowel sound in English. English must be an absolute nightmare to learn as a foreign language.

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KirstenBlest · 30/04/2021 09:43

I like Twm too CaffiSaliMali, it is so cute.

Osian would not be arabic Edenember, as there is no O equivalent letter. The nearest would be Ushn.

Frazzled2207 · 30/04/2021 09:31

I’m Welsh (living in England) and had this on our list.
OSH-Ann
But English people can’t pronounce the /ann/ sound unless it’s the stressed syllable. See also Bethan. They end up sounding like OSH-un, BETH-un

Original poster
Edenember · 30/04/2021 09:27

@CaffiSaliMali I love it. It would never come out Osh-ann here, never ever. But I like it as Oshun / Oshen too.

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Original poster
Edenember · 30/04/2021 09:23

@LizzieAnt Thankyou for that 😊 I love Oscar as well. Prefer Oskar spelling as a nod to Viking ancestry but it would be a case of constant corrections.

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CaffiSaliMali · 30/04/2021 08:57

Osian is indeed OSH-ann as Kirsten says. Great name, in my top 3 with Tomos and Macsen.

I'm in England so they would inevitably get Osh-un, Thomas and Max-un from some. But Osh, Tom and Macs are good nickname options. If I had a Tomos I'd call him Tŵm for short.

I think Osian is easy to pronounce once someone knows how it is pronounced, it's not immediately obvious if you're not familiar with Welsh but OSH-Ann isn't hard to remember. Go for it!

LizzieAnt · 30/04/2021 00:44

The name certainly migrated to Sweden (along with several other names) following the popularity of James McPherson's epic 'poems of Ossian' at the end of the 18th century. Napoleon was a big fan apparently. He even suggested Oscar as a middle name for a godson - Oscar being the son of Oisín (aka Ossian) in Irish legend. The godson later became King Oscar I of Sweden.

Original poster
Edenember · 30/04/2021 00:05

@IamnotwhouthinkIam really? I wonder if it’s a name that’s occurred independently then or whether it’s somehow migrated. To me, if I didn’t know it was Welsh it could easily be Arabic on appearance only.

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IamnotwhouthinkIam · 29/04/2021 22:32

I've only heard it pronounced OSH - an (but I'm in Wales so it may be different elsewhere). I've read it's well used in Sweden and Brazil too for some reason!

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Edenember · 29/04/2021 18:34

@KnowlWay I love it!

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KnowlWay · 29/04/2021 17:28

Lovely name. Said a lot in Keeping Faith!

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Edenember · 29/04/2021 17:27

@iklboo it’s lovely isn’t it ♥️

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ILoveShula · 29/04/2021 17:18

The stress is always on the penultimate syllable.
Seren is SER-en not Ser En or SerENNE

The only exceptions I can think of are Llandaf and Caerdydd. Llandaff and Cardiff follow the Welsh pattern. If anyone knows why these two anomalies, please let me know. I suspect that the names are closer to the original names.