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Baby names

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

Original poster

Need some nice Irish names..

87 replies

mica23 · 05/11/2008 12:42

Dont know sex of the baby yet but would like to give it an Irish name.DP is Irish but no help!!Thank you..

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vixma · 07/11/2008 22:06

Shannon

MrsNormanMaine · 07/11/2008 21:55

Iona is Scottish - after the island. But lovely.

MrsNormanMaine · 07/11/2008 21:54

I met a little girl called Ethne the other day - thought it was lovely. DS is friends with an Aoife and I like that too.

Oisin (I'd say Osh-een) is cool. Have you seen 'Into the West' - charming film about two little kids - and has Gabriel Byrne in it. One is called Oisin - Ozzy for short. I know a very charismatic 6 months old baby with eyes like Yoda and a black hoody. He lives in Dublin and is called Oisin - got to love it.

3xyummymummy · 07/11/2008 21:50

I love Caitlin, quite popular it seems in recent years. I also love Iona, I think it is associated with the word blessed. It was our choice if we had a girl, but we had a boy instead (and called him Josiah, not an irish name!)

purpleduck · 07/11/2008 21:32

my dds middle name is Maevelyn - i had no idea you could spell it with all those d's b's and h's !!

TheMoistWorldOfSeptimusQuench · 07/11/2008 21:26

I met a fantastic elderly lady called Ethne (Eth-nee) recently. Apparently Ethne was an Irish Queen or a goddess - she wasn't quite sure

But anyway, I thought it was a lovely name for a lovely person

Liffey · 07/11/2008 21:23

That's why I always suggest to people that they should feel free to spell Maedhbh 'Maeve' and Dearbhala 'Dervla' and so on.

There was an article in the paper the other day about how 'we' (Irish people) can't spell Irish names, so I definitely wouldn't expect British people to be able to do it.

purpleduck · 07/11/2008 21:17

I like Louhgjhhtvnvnhdfrhhve

pronounced "Louise"

I'll go now

mamalovesmojitos · 07/11/2008 21:03

caoimhe is my dd's name but we pronounce it kweeva, pronounciation depends on the part of the country.

just in case you needed that pointless info

Umlellala · 07/11/2008 17:23

Ohhhh I LOVE Irish names but no Irish at all in my family so wouldn't use...

Off top of my head, like Aithne, Aoibhe (Eefa) and I adore Caoibhe (keeva).

(apologies for spellings/approximations of pronunciation)

Liffey · 07/11/2008 17:05

Galwaygirl, do you write 'ye'????!!!

I remember thinking it was quite sweet hearing people say 'ye' but then I was snooping over a girl's shoulder in college and she wrote ye. I thought that was extremely funny at the time

I used to think I spoke perfectly, but 15 yrs in the UK made me aware of my various mistakes. Everybody makes different ones and we don't notice our own. I split my infinitives apparently.

Liffey · 07/11/2008 17:02

Yes, northern Irish people pronounce oven (part of the cooker) not uvin but Oven, like almost rhyming with em,,,,, Boffin.. So maybe they do the same to Oisin.

galwaygirl · 07/11/2008 14:00

PS. Liffey, we all say ORE for R in my part of Galway and we are by no means posh and the rest of our accent isn't similar to the D4 one so I don't think it's an American thing

galwaygirl · 07/11/2008 13:57

I think most of the ones I know have been covered already. Some I don't think I've seen are:

Boys - Dualta, Art, Seoirse
Girls - éibhín, Sadhbh

Never thought Ailbhe (pronounced Alva) was unusual but may be because it's a family name for us.

Also, don't know anyone who wouldn't pronounce Oisín Usheen - maybe it's a Scottish/Ulster Irish thing to pronounce it Osheen?

My favourite for a boy is Lorcan and for a girl Clodagh or Béibhinn.

Liffey · 06/11/2008 19:47

I don't honestly!! That's the Dort/Ross O'Carroll Kelly accent. It didn't exist 40 yrs ago apparently. NObody knows where it came from!! I think it came from all those students coming back from their year in America

D4 is a 'purer' more neutral accent. I do not say ORE for R. I hate that!

Turniphead1 · 06/11/2008 19:14

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Liffey · 06/11/2008 18:36

Oh in Dublin 4 we say Eejit !

I would say Liadan a bit like Leah but with din at the end. But the emphasis very strongly on the LEE. LEE-adin.

Turniphead1 · 06/11/2008 18:25

Hmmm I think the correct pronounciation would be "Ayjit"

Liffey - would you pronounce it "Lee-ah-dun" or "Lee-ah-dan"?

Liffey · 06/11/2008 18:22

Eejit? No that's too poncey.

LadyLauraStandish · 06/11/2008 18:19

I so wanted to call my ds1 Cillian but dh refused!!

Love Saoirse too.

Swedes · 06/11/2008 18:15

I love Eejit.

Liffey · 06/11/2008 18:15

ps just realised I came across another at younger dc's tot group. it's on the rise here I think.

Liffey · 06/11/2008 18:14

I know a Liadan. SHe's just left my dcs' school. So, about 12.

Turniphead1 · 06/11/2008 14:39

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cremolafoam · 06/11/2008 12:29

boys
Oisin
Fionn
Donnchadh
Lorcan
Naoise
Ruairi
Séafra

girls
Clodagh
Derbail
Eibhleann
Eimear
Grainne
Ite
Medb
Saorla
Bláthnaid
Máda