Page 2 | Opinions for triplets!

CultraSloan · 2023-12-29T18:59:18+00:00

We are blessed enough to be having triplets due next month - a boy and two girls! 90% sure that DH and I are certain on their names but something in me keeps saying that they’re just not right. I’m Irish and he’s English, living in Northern Ireland but planning a move abroad in the future so we’ve chosen names that represent both our backgrounds yet are still quite mainstream and (hopefully) easy to pronounce. Any opinions good or bad very welcomed! Conor Alexander Maeve Isabel Beatrice Fiadh (pronounced Fia, as in Mia)

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MalcolmTuckersDisdainfulSneer · 31/12/2023 16:32

I thought con meant "idiot" in French, not cunt (scuse language)! Does it mean both?

MerryChristmasToYou · 31/12/2023 16:16

@CultraSloan , Con in French is the C word.

Original poster

CultraSloan · 31/12/2023 14:28

Marynotsocontrary · 31/12/2023 03:28

Actually Conor isn't great in French, sounds like connard.
Might be relevant in Canada, I'm not sure. Sorry.

@Marynotsocontrary We’ll be in Vancouver, it would worry me slightly if we were heading to Quebec but I think it’ll be fine there. As long as it doesn’t literally mean something rude such as Pippa it doesn’t really bother me. Potentially sounding like vs meaning are two very different things

OP posts:

Original poster

CultraSloan · 31/12/2023 14:25

TwirlBar · 31/12/2023 03:22

Doesn't Pippa mean something rude in a couple of languages though?

@TwirlBar I had completely forgotten about that aspect of Pippa, thank you for reminding me! Firmly crossed off the list, such a shame as it’s a lovely name

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MalcolmTuckersDisdainfulSneer · 31/12/2023 11:01

harrietm87 · 31/12/2023 10:49

I guess you’re saying that you find the Belfast pronunciation of Maeve unattractive?

I am from Belfast and know loads of Maeves of all ages, pronounced in that way (obviously) and it never occurred to me to take issue with it. “Meeav” is not less correct than “May-v” - they are both Irish pronunciations of an Irish name.

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Yes, I don't really like it in my accent tbh. It sounds harsh. In other Irish accents I love it and also in how I imagine it would be in a Canadian accent.

Same as I don't like how I say Lucas and Howard (lick-us and hard)

I'm not asking you to agree with me.

But it did affect the names I chose. My dh is English and I wouldn't have named our son Cormac either for example as it becomes Cawmac in his accent. He also wouldn't let me use any Irish names he couldn't spell easily. I know and you know that Saoirse makes sense in Irish but to him it is say-oh-irs. Like seahorse. He said Saoirse like seahorse 😳. Yes, he could have learned, but he wanted something he could get immediately as that would mean everyone reading our dcs' names would get it immediately. I didn't care so much about that but he did. Just like I would care about 'meeav' and you wouldn't

MerryChristmasToYou · 31/12/2023 10:52

Marynotsocontrary · 31/12/2023 03:28

Actually Conor isn't great in French, sounds like connard.
Might be relevant in Canada, I'm not sure. Sorry.

Con is definitely not a good name in a French-speaking country

harrietm87 · 31/12/2023 10:49

MalcolmTuckersDisdainfulSneer · 30/12/2023 17:59

‘’Meeav” is just Maeve in a Belfast accent - nothing wrong with that!

I'm from Belfast 😂. Of course I don't think there's anything "wrong" with my own accent. But it does affect pronunciation. It wouldn't put me off a name I absolutely LOVED but it would be something I'd consider.

It's the same where I now live in SE England. Names like Theodore become something along the lines of feeyodaw or names beginning with H lose the H sound like 'arry Pottah, Allanah becomes Allaaahna. "Nothing wrong with that", but it's something I'd consider (and did consider when I named my dc - had to sound nice to me in the local accent and my own Belfast accent).

I guess you’re saying that you find the Belfast pronunciation of Maeve unattractive?

I am from Belfast and know loads of Maeves of all ages, pronounced in that way (obviously) and it never occurred to me to take issue with it. “Meeav” is not less correct than “May-v” - they are both Irish pronunciations of an Irish name.

Marynotsocontrary · 31/12/2023 03:28

Actually Conor isn't great in French, sounds like connard.
Might be relevant in Canada, I'm not sure. Sorry.

TwirlBar · 31/12/2023 03:22

Doesn't Pippa mean something rude in a couple of languages though?

Original poster

CultraSloan · 30/12/2023 23:10

@KnittingKnewbie Most likely Bea or Issy/Izzy - the Beatrice that I knew as a child was nicknamed Izzy and I’ve always loved it!

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KnittingKnewbie · 30/12/2023 22:45

CultraSloan · 30/12/2023 21:59

DM has now thrown in a curveball!

She has suggested Pippa Maeve, we both quite like it too! It’s a name I’ve had my eye on for a few years, especially for the meaning. What does everyone think? It would solve the ‘odd one out’ issue however I do still think that Maeve as a first name is gorgeous. Very torn

So:
Conor Alexander
Pippa Maeve
Beatrice Fiadh

Conor, Pippa and Beatrice are lovely together

Would you use Bee as a nickname? So cute

Original poster

CultraSloan · 30/12/2023 22:15

itsgettingweird · 30/12/2023 22:07

Charlotte and Beatrice were both on my list

So I'd go for

Charlotte Meave
Beatrice Isobel

Conor Alexander

@itsgettingweird Charlotte is lovely, it’s been on my shortlist since I can remember. Only reason I wouldn’t use it is here in NI Lottie as a nickname (which is what I’d want to use) would be butchered into ‘Loddy’..!

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itsgettingweird · 30/12/2023 22:07

Charlotte and Beatrice were both on my list

So I'd go for

Charlotte Meave
Beatrice Isobel

Conor Alexander

Original poster

CultraSloan · 30/12/2023 21:59

DM has now thrown in a curveball!

She has suggested Pippa Maeve, we both quite like it too! It’s a name I’ve had my eye on for a few years, especially for the meaning. What does everyone think? It would solve the ‘odd one out’ issue however I do still think that Maeve as a first name is gorgeous. Very torn

So:
Conor Alexander
Pippa Maeve
Beatrice Fiadh

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doggiedude · 30/12/2023 21:15

My son shares a house with an Irish guy in Vancouver..he is going back next week and will ask him what he thinks 😂Son absolutely loves life in Vancouver. He had already been skiing before coming home for Christmas.

mathanxiety · 30/12/2023 21:08

Oldermum84 · 30/12/2023 15:56

I love them. Please don't do Fiadh as a first name - no one will pronounce it correctly and she'll be forever annoyed.

I disagree. They're hoping to move to Canada.

Also, I've seen posta here on MN asking how you pronounce Maeve, a perfectly phonetic spelling. You have no idea what name will be illegible to people who struggle with basic reading or memory.

I don't think parents should pander to parochialism or to the inability of people to remember a pronunciation they've been told. If they can manage Penelope they can deal with Fiadh.

MerryChristmasToYou · 30/12/2023 21:07

I wasn't aware that Xochitl and Boleslaw were names, but apparently they are

mathanxiety · 30/12/2023 21:04

MerryChristmasToYou · 30/12/2023 13:17

Don't forget, your children will be in class with children from all sorts of different heritages, with names like Xochitl, Boleslaw, Aadhya, etc.
Really?

Yes, they will.

They are hoping to settle in Vancouver.

Any large city in North America will have children of a huge range of ethnic backgrounds.

mathanxiety · 30/12/2023 21:01

CultraSloan · 30/12/2023 16:07

@Oldermum84 Thank you - that’s my train of thought too. It’s lovely but I really don’t feel it’s right as a first name. If we were planning on living in Ireland it would be alright but in the north and Canada (and wherever else she decides to go in the future!) I feel it would be an issue. DM has an uncommon and hard to spell name, nobody can ever pronounce it and she’s spent her life resenting my grandmother for giving her it! I’d hate to do something like that to one of my own DDs x

Edited

There's sometimes a mental block about name spelling in Britain and Ireland, and 'unusual' names too. Maybe it's parochialism, maybe something else.

Don't underestimate the openness of mind you will encounter in Canada.

harrietm87 · 30/12/2023 19:57

OP I’m in Belfast and I know about 6 Fiadhs under the age of 5! It is a big trend - it’s one of the most popular girls names in Ireland as a whole.

If these are your first babies you’re probably not as clued into the common names as you soon will be.

Original poster

CultraSloan · 30/12/2023 19:21

harrietm87 · 30/12/2023 17:19

‘’Meeav” is just Maeve in a Belfast accent - nothing wrong with that!

the traditional spelling is Meabh btw OP, or Meadhbh (not Maebh) - sounds like you’re better off going for the Anglicised Maeve.

Conor (with that spelling) and Maeve are classic Irish names that have stood the test of time. Fia/fiadh is much more recent/trendy and extremely popular. I’d go with Beatrice over that though I do think it’s a bit of a strange combo with your other two choices.

@harrietm87 Fully aware of that. Up here in Belfast Maeve & Meabh are by far the most common spellings. Maeve is most phonetic so less likely to cause pronunciation or spelling issues in the future, hence why I prefer it. The only Fiadhs I know are both Irish Water Spaniels! Not a trend here just yet but I’m sure it’ll come

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MalcolmTuckersDisdainfulSneer · 30/12/2023 17:59

‘’Meeav” is just Maeve in a Belfast accent - nothing wrong with that!

I'm from Belfast 😂. Of course I don't think there's anything "wrong" with my own accent. But it does affect pronunciation. It wouldn't put me off a name I absolutely LOVED but it would be something I'd consider.

It's the same where I now live in SE England. Names like Theodore become something along the lines of feeyodaw or names beginning with H lose the H sound like 'arry Pottah, Allanah becomes Allaaahna. "Nothing wrong with that", but it's something I'd consider (and did consider when I named my dc - had to sound nice to me in the local accent and my own Belfast accent).

Chestnutsroastgreen · 30/12/2023 17:23

Lovely set of names

harrietm87 · 30/12/2023 17:19

‘’Meeav” is just Maeve in a Belfast accent - nothing wrong with that!

the traditional spelling is Meabh btw OP, or Meadhbh (not Maebh) - sounds like you’re better off going for the Anglicised Maeve.

Conor (with that spelling) and Maeve are classic Irish names that have stood the test of time. Fia/fiadh is much more recent/trendy and extremely popular. I’d go with Beatrice over that though I do think it’s a bit of a strange combo with your other two choices.

luckyladygal · 30/12/2023 17:15

I love Fiadh and it fits beautifully with your 2 others names.
Congratulations 3 little babies, how lovely