Ruadhán as a name

I love it.
Our son is Ruaridh (Scottish red king) and I'm really surprised that most people say it right upon reading it (well they say Rory, not Roory, but I'll take that!). We're in SE, Home Counties.

I do like it and I like the spelling. I'm Irish and have given my son an Irish name. My only reservation is that the non-Irish among us will not emphasise the 'awn' in 'án' but instead it will come out like the word 'Ruin'. Worth considering! Or not. Honestly I think it's a lovely name but hope that's helpful. x

The pronunciation of the name is nothing like any of the examples you listed. Why would anyone get it so wrong?

Many people live or work or go to school with people from a wide selection of cultures. They find that getting names wrong doesn't make them look clever or superior.

As someone with an Irish name, including fadas, living in the US, I have to disagree that a name like mine is an affliction.

I’m Irish - it’s a beautiful name in Ireland with Irish people who can pronounce it especially with that spelling. Look at it please from your child’s point of view. Growing up with a name that no one can spell or pronounce (not because they are little Englanders but because it’s in a language they don’t speak) is a PITA. There are lots of lovely names out there / some nice ones on this thread. This is what your child has to live with not something to make you look interesting.

I live in Ireland, so I can pronounce it - and I love Roo as a nickname, and the only issue I have with the spelling is anything with fadas is going to be mis-typed basically everywhere else in the world - so as long as you're not uptight about that, it's lovely - I think I do prefer the shorter spelling if I'm honest (I have a long name - common, but still often mis-spelled, and we always prefer what we don't have)

I actually think it's the other way around - if the baby's a red-head it feels a little bit on the nose to name them 'red-head' doesn't it?

These threads honestly… “tell me what you think of this baby name but if you don’t like it you’re obviously prejudiced”.

OP - I don’t have a view on the spelling as I think it can be learned. But I do have a view on the pronunciation - I don’t like the “awn” sound. It sounds quite awkward to me, although I like Roo-ahn a lot.

But however little regard you have for people’s view on spelling, it’s his name and it’s him who will have to go through a lifetime of correcting people’s pronunciation and spelling it not just once but multiple times at once as it’s so unusual. Especially if it’s not even common in Ireland.

Probably not what you wanted to hear but you did ask.

I like it.

It's new to me.

In some countries it could sound like ..
Row on!
Ruin
Rohan
Rowan

Be mindful of where you live.

Likewise, I get agitated by blue eyed Hazels or miserable Felicities.

@ArtfullyDistressed seems like you have the prejudice

Aaand there we go. I suggest you have a flick through threads about Irish names. They drip with prejudice.

But do you know your baby will be red haired, OP? I get antsy at dark-haired Fionns, but I think Ruadhán would be definitely strange on a non redhead.

@ArtfullyDistressed anti irish because you might not like a name ? do grow up

why are you asking when you clearly don’t want any negatives ?

It’s a nice name, OP. Don’t listen to the Little Englanders. Anti-Irish prejudice raises its head fairly regularly on Mn.

I have a 5 year old Ruan, I love it as a name, we live in Ireland. Sometimes even his uncles get mixed up and call him Rían...

To be fair, it can get tedious! There was a thread a little while ago where the person lived in a Gaeltacht (Irish speaking area) and spoke Irish as a native language and she asked for second names to go with the name Ruairí that she had already chosen. She got responses to change the name because Diana in England found it tricky to spell….😂 just somewhat oblivious to other languages. Of course the vast majority of people are fully cognisant, but it does pop up at least one on most of these non- English name threads!

To all those who are going to say it's hard to spell please save your breath. If you had your way everyone would be called James Smith and if they weren't they would be forced to change their name to it. Have some confidence with names that aren't in the Top 5 each year please.

You can think it hard to spell and also not have 'a way' and want everyone to be called James Smith, or forced to a version thereof. One does not follow the other.

You can think it hard to spell and also have confidence with names that aren't in the Top 5 each year. Adding 'please' to the end of that sentence does not mitigate the rather snippy tone your OP conveys.

It sounds like you have made up your mind on the name - fantastic. It also sounds like you have formulated a robust (and rather previous) defence for its usage. So. Um. Well done.

I like it and considered it as a name, but British people tend to pronounce Rs differently to Irish people and that changed my mind - it sounded differently to me so might be worth checking out what it’s like it local accent.

actually went with an Irish name in the end and while some people get it right, some people still struggle so depends on whether that bothers you or not! In fairly liberal part of UK though, not too many of those “I’m in my sixties and have never met a person with a non-English name except saxe-coburg and gotha” type of people. If you’re in Ireland, obviously not an issue.

Now I know how to pronounce it (I'd have said Roo-ahn) I don't like it. There are nicer names out there imo.

Fab name.. in Ireland where it would be pronounced properly. But not for UK ears and to have to be continually spelling it, so annoying.

Pronunciation was given to aid the formation of an opinion on the sound of the name.

She wanted opinions on how the name sounded, not whether people used to the English language and its wacky orthography would be able to read a name from another culture.

The question of whether British people would be able to pronounce it if they encountered it only in writing is another matter entirely.

As I've said upthread, most British people are perfectly capable of committing the pronunciation of a name to memory after they've heard it a couple of times.

(People who can't remember names in general are a separate matter).

Isn’t the point that in her post, she felt it necessary to give the pronunciation? I’m not “little England” and am generally well educated on non English name pronunciations, I’m not sure I would get this one right.

I have a standard name with an unusual spelling, at 52 years old, it still pisses me off when people spell it incorrectly. Not sure why someone would deliberately do that to their child.

To be fair, that wasn't actually in her original post. It was a later addition.

It's a really handsome name