Keane or Kieran?

Most of the (many) Kierans I know in Ireland do spell it with the K, but they're mostly middle-aged and I think the C spelling is the more popular now.
@SeanChailleach Where I am (Munster) Kieran and Ciarán are pronounced differently. Ciarán is Keer-AWN with the emphasis very much on the second syllable. Kieran is Keer-ann/Keer-un. Further up the country (eg in Galway or Dublin) it's more KEER-awn (for all spellings in my limited experience, but that may not be true always).
Á is pronounced differently in Ulster Irish and won't give you the 'awn' sound there afaik.

Keane is a surname. Cian is nice, but pronounced a bit differently to Keane.

I like Cian AND Ciaran. Do not like Keane. I agree with others regarding the spelling, but if you want to spell Kieran with the K, I see no issue with it.

@J0y , Darren is of celtic origin, probably welsh, Julie is french, Ian is from the scottish Iain. The names now seem dated.

Kevin is from the irish Caoimhín. I think it has a nice sound but it also seems dated

Stop it @mathanxiety now I won't be able to stop wondering about the spelling for hours.

I prefer Kieran. I haven't heard Keane used as a name.
Ian is Scottish @J0y.

No to Keane.

Kieran is OK, but Ciaran is better imo.

It's more authentic even though I'm guessing you'll pronounce it Keer-un instead of Keer-awn and won't use the fada on the second A.

What nationally is Julie? Or Ian? Or Darren?
I would have thought they were English

@Foxesforme , Hamish isn't particularly popular, and I'd just think that he had some scotting connection. Kasia, I'd guess to have some Polish connection.

If the names had been given just because the parents liked the name, I'd think it a bit strange, especially if they anglicised the spelling or pronunciation.

Would it be okay to say the name Hamish is linked to being a dodgy, unsavoury character?
Or that the name Kasia implied a drunkard or a druggie?

If not, why is this situation different?

If I had to choose, Kieran though I'm not keen on either. Ciaran is a nicer spelling but I think I prefer Cian.

Keane makes me think of the band. Not sure I'd like to be called Keane, it's a bit like a virtue name, but not sure being keen has great connotations

@Foxesforme I do sort of see your point but I think you are overthinking it

@Mummysharkdoodoodoodoodoodoo
Yes, I know you're talking about how the names are perceived in England.

Look, I understand that you don't see the problem and that's concerning and why I'm still here. If you just said you didn't like the names - fine. If you said you met a Kieran who you didn't like - fine. It's the generalisation and stereotyping that are the issues.

These are names that are clearly from an identifiable ethnicity and you said that they put you in mind of unsavoury types, and were connected to drunkenness and drug-taking. I'm surprised that you can't see why people are upset by that.

It doesn't even matter if the particular people sporting the names were English and not Irish (though how you can be so certain of their ancestry I don't know). The names thenselves are clearly identifiable as Irish.

Go to your Irish parent or Irish cousin and recount what's happened here...

...someone suggested Irish babynames for their baby

...someone else said those names were associated with being dodgy, with drunkenness/cocaine use

...ask them what they think of that.

I think you might be surprised by their answer. What you're saying on here is not benign.

@J0y , I tend to think of using a name from another culture to your own to be a bit tacky.

Kevin, Kieran, Karen, Julie, Ian and Darren were nice, fresh-sounding names when I was a kid, but now they seem dated and get sneered at

There are enough British people labelling Irish names (not French or Danish or any their other neighbours) lower class without you leaving on board too. It's not drama to observe that you are compounding prejudices not fighting them.
@Mummysharkdoodoodoodoodoodoo

I CLEARLY SPOKE ABOUT THE USE OF KIERAN AND KEANE IN ENGLAND. I EVEN MENTIONED ENGLAND IN THE INITIAL POST AND SPECIFIED THAT THEY WERE ENGLISH. I AM IRISH! I AM NOT PREJUDICED AGAINST MYSELF AND MY OWN FAMILY!

Do you understand yet or are you going to keep being a drama llama and pretending not to understand for the sake of the drama?

In fact, I’m done here. I’m not going to be told I’m prejudiced against myself just because some bored drama llama wants some drama 😂 I’m not even going to bother looking at this thread again because that’s enough drama for one day.

Only on Mumsnet could not liking a name turn into you being told you’re prejudiced against yourself and your own family and home 😂

Bye!

Keanu

@Mummysharkdoodoodoodoodoodoo
The spelling Kieran is very commonly used in Ireland (bit dated maybe) and Keane is a well known Irish surname. Just in case you didn't realise.
Didn't realise objecting to obvious prejudice was 'being a drama llama' but there you go.

Cian is way nicer

They're not though.

If the poster had asked about Cian or Ciaran I'd have said 'nice names'.

As I said, I AM Irish. I grew up in Ireland for a good percentage of my life! Most of my family are Irish. My parent is Irish. I am not bloody prejudiced against myself and my own family.

The ONLY Kierans and Keanes I know are NOT Irish. They're dodgy English guys.

Stop being a drama llama and making an issue where there isn't one.

I have a Ciaran he’s 11, lovely kid it’s just a name. I prefer this spelling than with K., no shaved head etc think that’s horrible to say about a baby/child.

Keane is ok but ciaran:Keiran is nicer

Wow
The only Kieran I know is a vet. So predictable to read that it's looked down on on mn

I imagine a shaved-headed baby, waving large fists, sucking a dummy and wearing a football strip

I don't associate the name kieran with anyone dodgy at all and god knows I've been in some rough pubs in my time. I do think it's a bit dated though. I've never heard of anyone called Keane and don't think it works as a first name at all

Slippery slope, I meant.

Neither for preference, they’re both on the slippery close towards Kai and Kayden.

Kieran is slightly more bearable, but Keane is a really rough name. I think of Roy Keane. I imagine a shaved-headed baby, waving large fists, sucking a dummy and wearing a football strip.