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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Daisy, Daphne, Fiadh

163 replies

Thefinalcountup · 30/04/2026 14:55

Any views on these names?
We have been obsessing over names now for months and we really have been through pretty much every name in existence.
Our baby girl is due soon and we really need to decide.

I love the sound of Fiadh (Fee-ah) and the meaning (wild or deer), and it's link to nature.
The only thing stopping us is we live in a England and the tricky spelling. I've tried it out on a few people and I get 'oh Thea' straight away, or confused faces, which could be irksome.

Daisy has always been a favourite of mine. I know some find it twee but I don't personally see it like that. My DH is struggling to get on board with it due to the twee factor.
Daphne is a name we both like but I'm finding hard to commit to.

Not really looking for suggestions as I've discounted everything else! Thank you.

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LancashireButterPie · 03/05/2026 16:50

Fiadh is a gorgeous name but becoming very popular in Ireland and quite popular in the UK too.
I'd worry that it's about to become the next Olivia.

CharlieBoo · 03/05/2026 16:32

My 17 year old DD is Daisy… she totally suits her name, it does help that she is girly though. We don’t know any others, although she said another Daisy had just started year 7 in her school. She loves her name btw

piscofrisco · 03/05/2026 06:37

Daphne is my favourite girls name. Ex dh wouldn’t have it.
Daisy is fine but a touch more commonly used .
Not keen on Fiadh , either sound of it or the pain it will be for her to keep explaining the spelling. Plus it will get shortened to Fi which you may or may not be happy with.

Sofasophie · 03/05/2026 03:49

Marianne is lovely!
And so many ways you can shorten it, Mary, Marie, Maria, Maz, Ann, Anna, Annie or just the full version.

Glad you’re dropping Daisy as it’s quite plain/ nothingness

Signout · 03/05/2026 00:56

They don’t sound similar in Irish accents to be clear. Not in the majority of them anyway,

Signout · 03/05/2026 00:37

eggandonion · 02/05/2026 22:09

Not in my accent! I will check my two Dub son in laws and my Cork born kids tomorrow. And husband who sounds like Gerry Adams.

I thought you had an Irish or Northern Irish accent @eggandonion, not an English one, so Ria and rear wouldn’t sound similar then.

eggandonion · 02/05/2026 22:09

Not in my accent! I will check my two Dub son in laws and my Cork born kids tomorrow. And husband who sounds like Gerry Adams.

Calliopespa · 02/05/2026 22:07

I like Hazel better than the others. Daisy is a bit wet, Fiadh has its own issues and Daphne honestly baffles me that it has ever come back in fashion because I find it extremely ugly-sounding.

Hazel is nice - and don't dismiss Marianne. It has a Jane Austen feel!

Signout · 02/05/2026 21:21

eggandonion · 02/05/2026 21:13

Ria pronounced Ria is nice but apparently it would be pronounced Rear?
Marianne is lovely...I like all the names suggested by op and Mr op!

I like Marianne too, it’s lovely.

Ria pronounced Ria is nice but apparently it would be pronounced Rear?
It’s the other way around from an Irish point of view. Rear in most English accents sounds like Ria as the second r isn’t pronounced (unless the following word starts with a vowel).

dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/rear

eggandonion · 02/05/2026 21:13

Ria pronounced Ria is nice but apparently it would be pronounced Rear?
Marianne is lovely...I like all the names suggested by op and Mr op!

Sparklinggreen · 02/05/2026 19:49

Love Daphne

bridgetreilly · 02/05/2026 18:59

Hazel Fiadh. Lovely.

Deadringer · 02/05/2026 17:58

Marianne is nice and could become Ria which sounds like Fiadh

eggandonion · 02/05/2026 12:15

Im Irish and in Ireland...but if I have a message to call someone called Niall then I can politely ask if I am pronouncing their name 'properly '.
I asked someone during the week if she was Rachel or Rachael. She seemed quite happy about that.

Coldbeans · 02/05/2026 11:15

Daisy is ok but I wouldn’t like to be called Daisy as a mid 40’s woman who is not a celebrity.

Daphne is pretty but every Daphne I know, all of who are in their 50’s and 60’s goes by Dee, DeeDee, Daff or Daphy because they don’t like Daphne.

Fiadh probably will be mispronounced or misheard but loads of names are. One of my kids has what I thought was an easy to pronounce biblical name and it’s often misheard. However children have school friends with all kind of names and all different spellings. Most people get used to it.

Signout · 02/05/2026 10:16

eggandonion · 02/05/2026 10:05

I have only ever known one Neale. Lots of Neil's. And Irish Nialls pronounced Neil as well as pronounced Ni.all. And Cornelius known as Neil.

Niall is actually pronounced Nee-ul (ie Neil) in Irish. The usual pronunciation is an anglicised one.

FleurDeFleur · 02/05/2026 10:06

eggandonion · 02/05/2026 10:05

I have only ever known one Neale. Lots of Neil's. And Irish Nialls pronounced Neil as well as pronounced Ni.all. And Cornelius known as Neil.

Ok. However, I can guess how "Neale" is pronounced, couldn't you?

eggandonion · 02/05/2026 10:05

I have only ever known one Neale. Lots of Neil's. And Irish Nialls pronounced Neil as well as pronounced Ni.all. And Cornelius known as Neil.

FleurDeFleur · 02/05/2026 09:55

eggandonion · 02/05/2026 09:47

I worked in East Anglia in the eighties. Two colleagues had Polish names. One was Estonian. One's name was spelled Neale after an Australian tennis player. There was a Welsh man called Bryn and we didn't get muddled and call him Brian. However did we cope?

Well, tell that to a significant number of the people I've come across in my life who definitely couldn't cope!
However, I think Bryn and Neale are very straight forward names, which match English phonetic spelling.

eggandonion · 02/05/2026 09:47

I worked in East Anglia in the eighties. Two colleagues had Polish names. One was Estonian. One's name was spelled Neale after an Australian tennis player. There was a Welsh man called Bryn and we didn't get muddled and call him Brian. However did we cope?

RegalDiamondMonster · 02/05/2026 09:40

Thefinalcountup · 02/05/2026 08:55

This is really helpful thank you! This is making me warm to Hazel a lot more.
I may need to drop Daisy as DH just seems to be so disappointed at the thought of it. I'm not sure I can force it. He likes Skye or Hazel. He's also suggesting Marianne randomly which has family meaning.
I imagine a hazel to have brown or hazel eyes and brown hair. One of our kids looks like that, one is a blonde and one is strawberry.

Show quote history

Marianne is a great name. I'd choose Fiadh or Marianne out of your list.

FleurDeFleur · 02/05/2026 09:26

eggandonion · 02/05/2026 08:25

Are Irish names the only names people on mumsnet can't spell or pronounce? The UK is a pretty multi cultural place ...

Try growing up with a Polish name!

Signout · 02/05/2026 09:25

Hazel is lovely.

Always reminds me of the poem The Lost Heifer by Austin Clarke,
’And the watery hazes of the hazel
Brought her into my mind’

(The lost heifer symbolises Ireland.)

eggandonion · 02/05/2026 09:10

Hazel and Carys are names I would have named two extra potential daughters!
I should encourage my kids to use them...yes I know I had my opportunity!

Original poster
Thefinalcountup · 02/05/2026 08:55

mathanxiety · 02/05/2026 01:57

Hazel mythology and folklore | Trees for Life https://share.google/cqeVF2jtd2nh4FZlq

Yes, my memory served me right. The hazel tree played a very significant role in the story of Fionn Mac Cumhaill and maintained its importance in relationships between mortals and the inhabitants of the otherworld down through the centuries.

This is really helpful thank you! This is making me warm to Hazel a lot more.
I may need to drop Daisy as DH just seems to be so disappointed at the thought of it. I'm not sure I can force it. He likes Skye or Hazel. He's also suggesting Marianne randomly which has family meaning.
I imagine a hazel to have brown or hazel eyes and brown hair. One of our kids looks like that, one is a blonde and one is strawberry.

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