Naming my mixed race child and Irish name?

[ihateyousarahm]

I'm pregnant with a child who will be mixed race. My family are Irish but we've lived in England for a couple of generations.

We want to respect the heritage and name our child a traditional Irish name. Some people have said it will be hard to pronoumce as it's an Irish name and we don't usually see the name and others have said it's a mixed race baby so don't. However when I said what name we should use, they don't know.

A girls name like Charlotte etc is English and although we have both lived in England for a couple of generations I'm torn.

Ideas please?

I am not sure what relevance your child being mixed is? I do think the comments about pronunciation are fair but it just means she spends her life telling people how to pronounce it, which is fair.

My child is mixed race. We chose a name that both sides of the family would pronounce pretty much the same.

Use the name you like. Your baby might end up living in the USA, or Ireland, or China, or Italy. You can't give them a name that will universally be pronounced correctly. We've all come across names for the first time and had to learn how to say them.

That said, I think 'respecting the heritage' is a bit of a po-faced reason for using the name, especially if your family left Ireland generations ago. As I said, use the name you like, but don't pick an Irish name with difficult spelling just because you're 25% Irish or whatever.

I think Irish names are beautiful but you are consigning your child to a lifetime of having their name mispronounced and misspelled.

Did you have particular names in mind? A lot of Irish names are very fashionable now and people know how to pronounce them.
What heritage is the dad, could there be a name which exists in both cultures?

Just pick a nice name. Not sure why you need to mention that the child will be mixed race?

Think it very much depends on the name.

Siobhan or Niamh isn't that unusual and most people in England will know how to pronounce them but names like Caoimhe, Fiadh, Cliodhna would make daily life tricky in England

The child being mixed race isn't relevant but having a name no one can pronounce or spell will be a pain for the child.

OP I'm Irish and you're welcome to honour your heritage by giving your child an Irish name. Nothing feckin po-faced about it 🙄. And you can be mixed race and Irish so don't see what the issue is with that for other people.

Congratulations on your pregnancy and enjoy choosing a name 💐

The child being mixed race is relevant because our heritage isn't from the UK so to respect one would mean ignoring the oth of

Also Irish and I agree. I don't think (generally speaking) a lot of Irish people have issues with people using Irish names. It's a compliment really

My Irish grandmother's name was Charlotte

Irish names go in and out of fashion at home. Fiadh (pronounced Fia - meaning deer) is popular at the moment. For a boy I like Lorcan.

Fiadh is popular, as pp have said. As is Aoife.
What's the other part of your child's heritage?

You could always have an Irish name as a second name and choose a name from your partner's family as a first name. I don't know what names are on your partner's side but sometimes there might be an Irish equivalent.

Not necessarily. Is the surname obviously if the other culture. Could they have a middle name from that background? It doesn't mean your ignoring it.

What is the other race? We might have suggestions that give a nod to both cultures/can be easily pronounced and spelt in both languages.

I'm Irish in Ireland, dh English, my dh absolutely loved the name Sadbh (pronounced sigh-ve) when he heard it for the first time in our dd1 creche. I did love it too but just knew his side would have difficulty spelling and pronouncing it so we opted for something Irish but easier to pronounce and spell.

Go with what you want. I’ve always suffered with rogue letter I in my name, particularly with the dawn of email (I was there). Then despite having a pretty common and very straightforward family name, I still have to repeat and spell it as for some reason people mishear. Go with something that is meaningful to you.

Honestly, just give your child the name you want to. DD2 has a Spanish name as I am half Spanish. The name is four letters long and people still mispronounce it, including my in laws.

There are Irish names that are easy to pronounce - Declan, Lorcan, Cara, Tara. And plenty that are well known - Sean, Aoife, etc. Or some that have a well known anglicised spelling but recognised as Irish e.g. Sheila or Patrick. But use the name you love - if you want a Caoilfhinn or a Maedb or a Tadhg go for it.

Yep, I did say use whatever name she liked... But I'm Scottish and 'honouring your heritage' through a name is unnecessary and a bit tired IMO. Do it if you like, but given that OP has reservations I mean she shouldn't feel she has to use an Irish name to honour her heritage. Your existence is proof of your heritage.

Lorcan is also one that's spelled how it would sound in English so maybe good if you live outside of Ireland and don't want too much confusion around the pronunciation

Use the name. The people who matter will learn to spell it and pronounce it.

I find it interesting that say your family IS Irish, despite generations having lived in England. I’m in the same position, but I would say my children and I are English, with Irish roots… Anyway, how far back does your partner’s heritage go and don’t they want their heritage reflected in the child’s name?

So would you say a Chinese looking family are English? Or can they not keep their Chinese background?

Yikes. Nationality, citizenship, ethnicity and heritage are all different things. 'Chinese looking' is quite an offensive thing to say. You may want to do some work around this before your baby is born.