Irish mumsnetters-Ishka?

*Bainne is milk, not Báinne. typo.

I came across someone called Iska recently. I didn't get to ask what language community they were from, although it's unlikely that they were Irish. Something East European I think but could have been Scandi.

I love names ending ishka, ushka so it's a yes from me. Tashka, Mishka, Pashka. Although I think they are diminutives in Russian or something Slavic.

Báine - "whiteness" is an Irish name listed in Ó Corráin and Maguire "Irish Names", but not Báinne - "milk". Lachtín, Lachtna, Lachtnán all meaning milk are names though.

Ishka is not an Irish word.
No letter K in Irish.
If I saw that spelling for a child's name .I would think you were daft.

What about Vaha @BorderlineHappy ?

Just don't give Beatha as a middle name😂

Even better!

Did they have a sister called Cáca Milis?
Reminds me of Joe Rooney's stand up sketch about Trinity students called uachtar reoite, etc.

I'm Irish and I think of the water bottles branded Ishka from Aldi.

If you lived in Ireland and called your DD Ishka I would think you had called your dd water. My grasp of the Irish language is terrible but even I know that one. Also that brand is in my local garage.

But as and Irish person who lived in oz, if you introduced your dd to me as Ishka I would not think it had any connection to Ireland at all.

If you like the water connection how about after a river Clodagh/ Avoca/ Shannon?

That's bad. At least Uisce is a legit, if little used, name.

Did they have a sister called Cáca Milis?

I’m Irish and would probably think it’s Scandinavian or Baltic if I saw it. I have seen it used as a dog name but certainly wouldn’t associate it with Ireland.

Yes I would assume it was a (nice) name from another culture/language and either wouldn't notice that it sounded like uisce or more likely would notice and think it mildly amusing.

Not something I would ridicule but also not something I would remotely link to Ireland or the Irish language.

Don't do it. I know someone is a similar situation to yours. They named their child Bainne (Milk)

Fiadh is the most popular girls' name in Ireland at the moment, it's pronounced Fia (which I'm sure is a legit name in other countries )so you could just go with that.

Fia is legit in Irish too.
Fiadh is the older spelling and it's more popular as a name, but Fia is also correct.

If I met someone called Ishka I would think it was a foreign name, maybe Russian or Scandinavian. The connection with uisce would pass me by totally.

I can imagine someone tweeting 'I met a person called Ishka today' and it going viral on Irish Twitter to much hilarity.

If you want something with an Irish connection but that will be easily spelt in Australia I'd go for something like Tara or Orla or something like Dervla that's been anglicised but not in a crazy looking way. (Dervla Murphy died yesterday and that's why it came to mind). Fiadh is the most popular girls' name in Ireland at the moment, it's pronounced Fia (which I'm sure is a legit name in other countries )so you could just go with that.

But not Ishka...

It's not an Irish name but sounds like the Irish word for water. Use it if you like it but don't say it's Irish because it's not. Like others have said there isn't a 'k' in the Irish alphabet.

😁

I prefer Bainne (pr. bonn-ya)

I think with that spelling no one would regard it as Irish so if choosing a name in order to represent heritage I'd try again. And yes, I do think it would considered a bit odd in Ireland, can't say regarding UK but again with that spelling I'd imagine it'd be considered Asian maybe? Or another made up name. I wouldn't use it as I wouldn't call my child Water, maybe something like Bláithín or Bláthnaid.

I'd just assume it was a name from some other culture (slavic maybe?) as I've never heard it as a name and the word water obviously doesn't have that spelling. It's not awful though..

Dd has an Indian friend called Ishika.

I do think the name would cause some confusion in Ireland because of the meaning of the word uisce, which sounds the same as Ishka (as pp have said). I think the sound of the name Ishka could be more problematic here than the spelling really, as most people would know uisce to mean water, even if they hadn't come across the bottled water brand.

I have occasionally heard people ridiculing the name of Ishka bottled water too, as they don't like way the spelling uisce has been changed/anglicised.

There is also a bottled water brand called Fíor Uisce. I had never heard Uisce used as a person's name until this thread, but a quick google shows that the name Fíor Uisce (True or Pure Water) crops up in Irish Folklore as the name of a princess in a story about the origins of The Lough, a small lake in Cork City. I don't know how old the story/legend is, but it was included in a publication of folklore in the 1820s. (Apparently, the story has been an inspiration for work by the musician John Spillane too.)

I think it's a great name. For bottled water.

Dunne's stores and Tesco stock it so it would be a no from me.

Reading the word feels like they have shredded the Irish language apart it makes me quiet sad.

Gaeilge is a soft language which conveys so much more than the more abrupt English language. My opinion is if you want to use an Irish name respectfully use it's authentic form.