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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! :-)

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NamechangeApril21 · 11/12/2021 12:04

@mamette people in West Belfast most definitely have Irish names.

BeardyButton · 11/12/2021 12:04

I’m Irish. Never heard of it. Seems like pretentious Oliver to me.

clartins · 11/12/2021 12:01

They’ll moan as a child about not finding their name on the carousel of tat but if you like it don’t worry about it. It’s a lovely name.

Nasturs · 11/12/2021 12:01

Oisin = Weesin or Oysin in my mind.

LizzieAnt · 11/12/2021 12:00

Sorry, cross post MargaretBall

BrightonOrLancaster · 11/12/2021 11:59

How about Finn? It's cute for a boy and nice for a man and is impossible to fuck up in any language

FrangipaniBlue · 11/12/2021 11:58

Oisin is lovely!!

MargaretBall · 11/12/2021 11:57

Cross posted with lots of others I see- but use it is you like it OP , and feck the begrudgers

LizzieAnt · 11/12/2021 11:57

Oilibhéar is older in Ireland than some pp think, as shown in this link -

www.libraryireland.com/names/men/oilibhear-oliver.php

Indeed, lots of well known Irish names are of foreign origin. Liam, Seán, Máire, Séamus, Siobhán all have a foreign root, there are many others.

That said, Oilibhéar isn't used widely in Ireland today (outside the classroom situation). Olly Bear may cause problems in the UK (though it's cute on a child Smile). Oisín is nice, again you'll have pronunciation issues where you live, but whether that bothers you or not is up to you - and your son, of course.

Oncebittentwice · 11/12/2021 11:57

@Juliette222 I love both names- absolutely gorgeous Smile

MargaretBall · 11/12/2021 11:56

Nothing to do with the storm last week but how about Barra or longer variations of it - Bairrfionn,Fionnbharr, Finbar/Finnbarr, is you want something that is easy to pronounce but not dissimilar.

I wouldn’t get too het up about name origins either, names evolve and few names are totally unique to one culture , most have been adopted and adapted as people have moved around the world historically. They can provide interesting insights into the history of the area you live in. Oliver is not an English name , it’s earliest origin is likely old Norse which makes it a contender in the list of Irish names and is an anglicised version of the French / Norman version . Lots of Norman names in Irish . And of course there was Oliver Plunkett ( Oilibhéar Pluincéid )Have a look at your local area, usually there’s names associated with the area( saints/ families) or even the history of your surnames for inspiration ( in the tradition of Dindsenchas )

Contactmap · 11/12/2021 11:55

It looks incredibly pretentious. Rather like some of the 'unique' name spellings but with a veneer of pretend class.

CliffsofMohair · 11/12/2021 11:52

@Naillig222

"it can seem like a gaelicisation of Oliver". There's no seem about it. It IS béarlachas. Oili in irish doesn't even make an olly sound.

Oisín is lovely. Use the fada on the second i though or else it would be ush-in and not ush-een.

Languages evolve though and take from others . Béarlachas isn’t inherently bad or wrong. In saying that I know someone who uses an Irish spelling for Maisie and every time I see it written I think ‘Massy’.
OrinoccoFlew · 11/12/2021 11:51

Is it not just Oliver with a different spelling? I read OilyBear. Sorry

BrightonOrLancaster · 11/12/2021 11:49

How about Cuchulainn

CliffsofMohair · 11/12/2021 11:48

@Changingtheweather

Love Oisin Would worry about Oliver variants in Ireland Are we going Cromwell or Plunkett?

I may be overthinking this

🤣

There are a fair few Olivers/Ollies knocking about Irish primary schools these days. I don’t think Cromwell is the first connection these days. Murs possibly.

Cailin66 · 11/12/2021 11:46

@Juliette222

Thanks so much for all the posts guys - very helpful comments :) We are Irish but living in the UK. Very good point it can seem like a gaelicisation of Oliver.

Another name we like is Oisin - I wonder if you also think this will sentence the poor little guy to a lifetime of spelling issues in the UK?

Oisin is a beautiful Irish name. There is also a beautiful fable to it. The first name you picked I’ve never heard of.
godmum56 · 11/12/2021 11:43

@fallfallfall

Sadly I thought this was a joke I read it as Oily Bear.
me too, I thought it was a "mil has nicknamed my baby Oily Bear, AIBU to hate it?" thread.
Naillig222 · 11/12/2021 11:42

"it can seem like a gaelicisation of Oliver".
There's no seem about it. It IS béarlachas. Oili in irish doesn't even make an olly sound.

Oisín is lovely. Use the fada on the second i though or else it would be ush-in and not ush-een.

CliffsofMohair · 11/12/2021 11:42

@M0rT

I'm Irish so automatically pronounced it as you've written but I have never heard of it and if I was introduced to someone with that name would assume it was supposed to be French. Is it actually a name or have you gaelicised Oliver?
Real name! Several long-standing Gaelscoileanna with that name!
fallfallfall · 11/12/2021 11:41

Sadly I thought this was a joke I read it as Oily Bear.

Adelaide97 · 11/12/2021 11:39

I would go for Oliver. It’s a lot more well known and everyone will know how to spell it.

Tilltheend99 · 11/12/2021 11:37

Irish names are lovely and this one seems unusual. I agree that to a non- Gallic speaker like myself I would be seeing the word bear in there when trying to work out how to pronounce it.

I think if you are willing to ‘put in the work’ of correcting people a lot then go for it but don’t forget that your son will have to do the same.

Speaking as someone with a longish name that is a Scottish variant that most people in England don’t know, I still regularly think in my own head how to spell my own name etc

RestingMurderousFace · 11/12/2021 11:35

Olly Bear is a gorgeous name! 😆

SpanishGoatFlower · 11/12/2021 11:34

As someone with a name that no one can pronounce or spell (Gaelic), don’t do it

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