Active discussions

Help protect children from gaming harms.

Take our survey

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Baby names

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

Original poster

Baby name Oilibhear?

189 replies

Juliette222 · 11/12/2021 09:06

Hello!
I wondered what you think of the baby boy name OILIBHÉAR? (pronounced Olly-vare).
We wanted to find an Irish name. I like that it has the friendly nn “Ollie” but an unusual longer name. But keen to hear what others think ….?
Thank you! :-)

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
Zilla1 · 11/12/2021 12:43

Perhaps a Gaelicised Cromwell for the middle name?

PussyCatEatingPigsInBlankets · 11/12/2021 12:42

Lizzie Oops. Blush
Oh well, I guess some of the Horse Racing commentators need a little help their too.

MoreCraicPlease · 11/12/2021 12:39

Also Irish so I knew what the name was but I wouldn’t use it. It looks a bit pretentious if I’m honest.
If you want Irish, go with Oisin, Fiachra, Fionn or many of the lovely Irish names available.

MargaretBall · 11/12/2021 12:36

Whether the OP uses Oilibhéar or not , I think Oilibhéar can be viewed as an Irish name , albeit not a common one- I’m guessing the Cromwell link may be a reason for this in the past couple of hundred years. In general names are not unique but one culture , they are taken around the world as people move, for trade / colonisation/ migration. The names traditionally seem as Irish are names from the Middle Ages and before , so may have their origins in Ireland/Norway/ France (Normans) and of course Christianity . Stephanie is an interesting one though as Stephan /Stiofán would have been imported along with Christianity but for whatever reason wasn’t either recorded or used in a female form.

LizzieAnt · 11/12/2021 12:34

@PussyCatEatingPigsInBlankets

Oisin is a fab name and a rather good NH jockey too Grin

I'd pronounce it Ocean with a little more emphasis on the flat "a", if that helps.

There's no flat 'a' in Oisín though. The second syllable is pronounced 'een'.
Topseyt · 11/12/2021 12:31

Oisín is a great name. I first came across it when I met DH's young cousins in Ireland many, many years ago. One of them was called Oisín. I think it has a lovely ring to it.

Oily Bear (yes, that is what it looks like)? Not so much.

My top Irish boys' names would probably be Oisín, Seamus, Sean etc.

tazzy73 · 11/12/2021 12:30

I'm Irish in Ireland.
I could read it and know it meant Oliver in Irish but I have never seen or heard of this being used in Ireland. It's a real Irish name according to Google.
Think this will be very hard on your child and on constantly trying to explain the spelling.
Oisin is a beautiful name.
Taz.

PussyCatEatingPigsInBlankets · 11/12/2021 12:28

Oisin is a fab name and a rather good NH jockey too Grin

I'd pronounce it Ocean with a little more emphasis on the flat "a", if that helps.

ErrolTheDragon · 11/12/2021 12:26

Oisin is nicer, and easier for most English by analogy with Roisin which is pretty well known. I think there's a similar Welsh name isn't there? And if it is mispronounced, it's not going to be a fairly innocuous rhyme with 'hoisin' not daft like 'oily bear'.

Ariann · 11/12/2021 12:24

I'm Irish and have never heard of this name. Hard for him to spell and his friends will call him Oily Bear. it's rather pretentious on your part.

SamhainToImbolc · 11/12/2021 12:24

Oisin is a lovely name. But he will be forever having to correct teachers who think it's pronounced like the French for bird Blush

JudgeJ · 11/12/2021 12:21

@shreddies

It will be a huge pita for your son for the whole of his life
This was my first thought, we gave our daughter a middle name from the country where she was born and she hates it. I once had three Siobhans in my forn, none of which was correctly spelt, he will either detest having to spell out his name and correct errors or he will love being distinctive!
Thadhiya · 11/12/2021 12:21

I knew someone with a non-Irish name - let's say, Stephanie - and then her parents "made it Irish" but without knowing Irish, so it really just looked very long and strange. That meant that English speakers could make no link at all with the faux-Irish word and the sound of Stephanie, often pronouncing the word as best they could to make an unpleasant sound, and in Ireland, Irish speakers pronounced it either with their best guess or could easily tell it wasn't an Irish word or name, or even following the rules of Irish, so she said she often felt like she had no name at all.

JudgeRindersMinder · 11/12/2021 12:21

Just call the poor kid Oliver ffs…he’s going to have a life time of nicknames and having to correct people and spell his name out.

LittleDandelionClock · 11/12/2021 12:21

100% no. As pps have said, he will spend his whole life with people spelling it wrong, and calling him 'Oily Bear.'

Remember Eoghan from X Factor? He was called Eggnog by everyone on social media. People eventually forgot his name was Eoghan.

Don't do it @Juliette222. Even if you DO give him this name, he will be known as Ollie in no time at all. (That's when people are not calling him Oily Bear!)

LittleDandelionClock · 11/12/2021 12:20

Noooooo!

WakeUpLockie · 11/12/2021 12:18

I'd say Oisin and Roisin are pretty well known in the UK so would be less of an issue.

ItsDinah · 11/12/2021 12:17

Well, it's a fine ecumenical gesture if you live in Ballymena.Do you have any family surnames or significant Irish place names that would work as a forename? I can understand wanting to give a distinctive name that reflects your heritage,but think he'd just wind up being called Olly,which defeats the purpose.

theSunday · 11/12/2021 12:14

Oisin is ok, but yes, he’ll have to spell it forever. Not having a clear identity (‘what’s your name again’) isn’t ideal for confidence, IMO

Mamette · 11/12/2021 12:14

Well Oliver Plunkett is a saint isn’t he? And there’s a lot of schools called after him, his English-language name too.

theSunday · 11/12/2021 12:12

Oily Bear? Sorry, don’t do it.

daisyhead08 · 11/12/2021 12:10

Our local Gaelscoil (Irish medium school) is Scoil Oilibhéir, so it's definitely a name alright. Oisín is my favourite boys' name, pronunced uh-sheen here.

Mamette · 11/12/2021 12:07

[quote NamechangeApril21]@mamette people in West Belfast most definitely have Irish names.[/quote]
Oh I know that. I just can’t think Oliver or a gaelicisation (sp?) of Oliver would be top of the pops in west Belfast.

Adelaide97 · 11/12/2021 12:06

I like Oisin and Osain.

EmmalinaC · 11/12/2021 12:06

Oisin is beautiful.

I would stay away from Oliver. Times may have changed but my 84 year old Irish father still mutters 'murdering English bastard' whenever he hears the name Oliver.