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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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Double3xposure · 11/12/2021 09:16

Unless you live in Ireland now and your son will live there all his life, it will cause problems.

There are many Irish boys names that are better known and more easily pronounced correctly by non Irish speakers.

MolkosTeenageAngst · 11/12/2021 09:16

I would have pronounced it Ollie-bear but I’m not Irish. I think if you’re not in Ireland it will probably cause pronunciation and spelling issues, I would guess your son would quickly drop his full name and just use the nickname Ollie.

Hairyfriend · 11/12/2021 09:14

I too initially read it as oily bear! Regardless if you live in Ireland, if he travels/works/lives outside Ireland, it will be a lifetime of spelling it out phonetically. I say this as someone with a 4 letter name who has had to spell it out my whole life- and its not that uncommon.

freelions · 11/12/2021 09:14

If you are in the UK I would stick with Oliver or choose something different

I would usually be an advocate of using the Irish spelling but Oliver has been a top 10 name in UK for many years so I suspect your son would have a lifetime of correcting people or accepting that noone is spelling or pronouncing his name correctly

I like Ollie but people will assume his full name is Oliver

shreddies · 11/12/2021 09:13

It will be a huge pita for your son for the whole of his life

whoopsnomore · 11/12/2021 09:13

@SoupDragon

why not just Olly or Oliver?

Because the OP wants an Irish name and they aren't 😂

Whoops Blush
PinkWaferBiscuit · 11/12/2021 09:12

To be honest Oliver is so popular that he will inevitably get it spelt as Oliver on every occasion and if he's going to just end up as Ollie then personally I would just call him Ollie. It will cut out a lot of unnecessary hassle for him and prevent him from a lifetime of having it constantly misspelt or spelling out his name.

DropYourSword · 11/12/2021 09:11

You have to take into consideration how much it will bother you and your son when no-one ever has a clue how to either spell or pronounce it.
People struggle enough with more well known Irish names such as Caoimhe and Aoife

M0rT · 11/12/2021 09:11

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?

SoupDragon · 11/12/2021 09:11

why not just Olly or Oliver?

Because the OP wants an Irish name and they aren't 😂

LynetteScavo · 11/12/2021 09:10

Unless you live In Ireland it's going to cause huge pronunciation and spelling issues.

whoopsnomore · 11/12/2021 09:09

I'm afraid I thought "oily bear" when I read it, why not just Olly or Oliver?

CampagVelocet · 11/12/2021 09:09

Are you Irish? Do you live in Ireland? If not, your child will have a lifetime of spelling it out. Most will assume it's Oliver.

polkadotpjs · 11/12/2021 09:08

I think it may get pronounced incorrectly but it's lovely 😊

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