Think very hard about giving your baby an Irish name unless you live in Ireland!

Lol I was going to say, had to reread my post and was thinking, "Eh?" Hehe.

Sorry, I meant Goosey Loosey in my first post.

I would have said that the true pronounciation of Caitlin was more like Coytchleen! That's how it was pronounced when I was reading Peig.

JodieG1, it depends where you are when you refer to cultural diversity. In my dd's class here in Ireland there are two English children, one black one white, two children adopted one from south america and one from taiwan, two latvian children and one polish child.

It was nothing like as diverse in her old school in sw London. Everybody was white, middle-class and English. It was not a private school either. Come to Dublin and tell me it's not culturally diverse!!!!!! There are 300,000 Polish people in the Dublin area, and that's just Polish people.

But if you want to use Irish names for your children, go ahead, that's clearly right for you and your husband. It just wasn't right for me.

My dd is called Caitlin and it's pronounced Kate Lyn. She's been called Cat lin before and various mis-spellings.

My grandparents were Irish so we wanted a name to reflect that but not too difficult.

Ds1 is Morgan and ds2 is Ethan.

Madame Cholet, I see your point but part of the issue for dh and I is that we are living a long way from where either of come from and although the place is beautiful, niether of us have any roots here. We are doing our best to ensure that our children do feel they belong here and that this is their home but we also want them to know that the family's roots are elsewhere and that they are part of that.

I think that England has become a somewhat nomadic country and most people have few ties to the place that they now live. I think that it is a good thing to give children a sense that they are part of a continuing history and tradition.

In addition, from what you say you live in Ireland. Dh is Irish and we have spent a lot of time there and I know that it is no where near as culturally diverse as England. Unusual names do not stand out that much here, they are generally accepted as part of the norm.

Blocky and wino, you are not wrong to feel it's 'grand' to have an Irish name in England. It is just my opinion that it was better to blend into England with an English name.

I agree with you in theory that nobody should have to just merge in. I never denied being Irish or lost my Irish accent! but at the same time, as a mother, my children came before any ideaology. I wanted them to be regarded as just like all the other children, not singled out as the Irish children iyswim.

Even if I'd loved Irish names for my own children and desperately wanted to use one (whilst living in the UK) I wouldn't have done so because I would have felt it wasn't my place to use them to challenge a current status quo! It's not their job to push back the boundaries. I wouldn't use them that way. In any respect.

Ninja, it's totally different for the simple reason that everybody here speaks English.
Nobody looks at 'Rachel' and thinks "oooh nope haven't a clue how you might say that!" But even Irish people might stumble over Maeve.

Their is a Latvian child called Rugile in my DD's class. That ls prounounced Loograylee-ah. And I know how everybody struggles with it..

If I had gone to live in Italy, I might have called my dd Sívia or Lídia rather than Sylvia or Lydia.

This is just the way I am. I'm not wrong, you're not wrong either !

Irish Legends for Children illustrated by Lucy Su.

Nametaken - DD2 got a pocket version of that book when we were in Ireland last summer and she has read it over and over again. The pictures are lovely too, aren't they.

Irish names are just gorgeous - my Mum's family is Irish (Mum's name is Carmel) and I have second cousins called Eoghan, Maeve, Grainne and Aisling... I love Eilidh and Aoife and would love to have them as dd's

thanks Rosa I won't feel so daft now when I'm reading the stories. The stories are lovely too.

To my knowledge, I am 100% English to the bone. DS1 has a Scottish name, DS2 Irish and DD Welsh

what a lovely lovely name Aofie[ee:fa]
But i must admit, i thought it was a-o-fee

I'll have a go for you. Although I can't guarantee perfect results.

Oisin - Usheen
Fionnuala - Finoola
Aodh - A
Fiachra - Feekra
Caomhog - Kwaveoag
Naoise - Neesha

While your on the subject of names can someone help me? I went to Cork at the week-end and brought the dcs a book called Irish Legends for Children.

Can someone tell me how to pronounce these names so I can read the book out loud to the kids.

Oisin
Fionnuala
Aodh
Fiachra
Caomhog
Naoise

thanks

While your on the subject of names can someone help me? I went to Cork at the week-end and brought the dcs a book called Irish Legends for Children.

Can someone tell me how to pronounce these names so I can read the book out loud to the kids.

Oisin
Fionnuala
Aodh
Fiachra
Caomhog
Naoise

thanks

To MadameCholet - if it's 'wrong' to have Irsih names in England - isn't it 'Wrong' to have English names in Ireland??

DH is Irish and I have a Caoimhe (Hi Keeva's mum if you're around) but we did spell it the Irish way..

People normally remember how to pronounce it, spelling is more of an issue but she's known since she was 2.5!!

DC2 is on the way and will probably have an Irish name as well - but I might choose one that's easier to spell.

Rosa, yes, pronounced Emily. (middle name is Rose - I got shot down in flames when I enquired how that was being spelt )

I actually checked in several Irish name books & websites, and being Irish myself had never encountered it. I think it is a shame, as there are so many nice Irish names, but I think it makes a mockery of things to start inventing your own spellings.

I have never heard of Eimile either Bluesky. Do they pronounce it the same as Emily?

"she presumed any child with an Irish name would be a bit of a scamp" That explains DS2 then...

I wanted to call BabyDragon Ciaomhe but as I have no Irish connections at all I thought it was a little harsh to unleash her on the world with a name no one can spell or say

We know an Emily, only spelt 'the Irish way' - Eimile.

FFS! Emily is the most English name I can think of, and there is no Irish version. It is completely made up.

When I feel like being deliberately provocative, I address cards to her spelt the normal way.

Dervla has lots of variants but Dervla is the most common nowadays.
I have to say, as an Irish person living in England who has three daughters with very Irish names, I take issue with quite a lot of Madame Cholet's post. I have very much assimilated; my husband is a home counties toff and I hardly ever dance barefoot across the fields anymore, nor is bacon and cabbage my idea of a gourmet meal. The children have been given Irish names as a tangible link with a culture that is part of their background, and that I want them to be aware of and proud of. I don't find people here (and we now live in the rural south-west) have a problem figuring out how to spell and pronounce their names. My children don't need to 'blend in a bit more' they are as English as Yorkshire pudding, but that doesn't mean they need to blank out their heritage completely.