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?

Seorsia (incorrect spelling- seer sha pronunciation)
Aida

Naomi
for girls

arran
kieron
Rory
Aidan
for a boy

I've a lot of Irish family who, if they lived in England would be constantly correcting people on how their names are supposed to be said. e.g. most English folk just do not know that Grainne is pronounce a bit like "Grawn-ya". Having spent most of my life correcting people over my name, and even on one occasion missing a smear test because the nurse mangled the pronunciation so badly that I didn't even recognise it as an attempt at my name, I'd say do the kid a favour and whatever you go with, pick one that people in the country where you intend to raise it will be able to pronounce.

No. Approx 8% of children go to fully Irish speaking schools, which would have to be supported by home usage, and their popularity is growing.

Far more give their children Irish names.

I'm not sure what your point is?

Not necessarily. Even idiots can pronounce Orla, Nora, Cara, Lorcan, Conor, Ronan without any issue.

Maeve is one of the most popular girls names in England now.

Sinead, Siobhan, Sean - most people are familiar. Aoife, Niamh, Saoirse, Cillian becoming more common too.

Also not everyone is closed minded and unable to learn new things.

I work at a secondary school (UK) and we have a Y11 student, of black african decent, no Irish heritage whatsoever and her name is Cliodhna.

1.5% of the Irish population speak Irish at home.

i know Chinese kids who go to a Gaelscoil. No Irish at home!

The r’s in names like Orla and Lorcan mean they’re pronounced quite differently in England and Ireland though.

I’m aware of that but it’s an accent difference (and tbh if OP is English she won’t even realise it’s a difference), rather than someone absolutely butchering Lasairfhiona or Muireann or something.

Here is my idea, just choose the name you like from one of the 100s of countries in the world.

Don't bother about: i have to give this name to honour this side of the family, and that name to honour that side of the family.

Focus on you child not honouring other people.

This is a map showing the percentage of people who speak Irish very well (according to the last census, so self reported). It may be mostly within the school system it’s spoken, but the figures vary between 6 and 21%. The gaelscoileanna do great work. Obviously many more people speak some Irish too but not to that standard.

Unsure what the second heritage is for your forthcoming child - my old boss was Indian and his wife was Welsh. They went with Dylan for their son as Dilan and Dhillon are popular Indian names.

Have you got any dual heritage names you like?

Yes but that applies to every word with an r in it.

I don’t believe that you are interpreting it properly. 1.6% are fluent. The above poster asked who uses Irish on a daily basis outside of school.
Another poster said that 6% of children are educated through Irish and to do so are supported at home. I know many kids who were and are educated (at primary level mainly) through Irish and they do not speak Irish at home. And many of them have the option of continuing to an Irish speaking secondary school and chose not to as it can have a negative effect on their written and oral English.
As you pointed out, the census is self reporting. I can guarantee that nowhere near 20% of the Irish population can speak Irish very well or that 20% can speak Irish with even an adequate level of comprehension at all. In 2024, just over 2% of the Irish tv audience tuned into the Irish language tv channel.

Yes, I know the map shows a different thing, not the numbers who speak the language at home.

However, my point is that just because only 1-2% speak Irish as a first language doesn’t necessarily mean only 1- 2% are able to speak it reasonably well. With the increase in the numbers attending gaelscoileanna, more and more people are speaking it well as a second language. Still low percentages of course, but getting better all the time.

Also, many people who speak Irish poorly as a second language still regard it as a very important part of their heritage.

I just think that pp saying only 1% of the population speak it at home is a bit dismissive. It’s accurate, but not the full picture iyswim.

I just think that pp saying only 1% of the population speak it at home is a bit dismissive. It’s accurate, but not the full picture iyswim.

It isn't dismissive when its factual

Regarding the increase of numbers attending Irish speaking primary schools, this is partly due to 'white flight', smaller classes, higher grants and funding. This increase is offset by the number (one in seven) of secondary school pupils gaining exemptions to drop Irish altogether. People citing dyslexia as their reason to drop Irish take up another European language which highlights the issue that is Irish is simply not seen as a living language nor a benefical language to have, along with there being numerous issues surrounding how it is taught in the curriculum.

Well we can agree to disagree. A lot of Irish people see the language as an important part of their heritage and, while there are of course multiple reasons why people send their children to gaelscoilenna, the love of the language and the wish to pass it on is an important one.

I agree there are numerous issues in how Irish is taught in English medium schools. I think one reason people drop it is because the poor teaching combined with high curricular expectations mean students find it difficult and the LC is a race for points.

There's not a human outside of a small section of Africa, who's heritage is originally from the place they currently are. Who cares, well apart from Americans who are obsessed with that kind of nonsense.

This!
I'm Irish too, not living in Ireland. I have an Irish name and find most people are intelligent enough and polite enough to make a solid stab at it once I've introduced myself.

Just don't look up names on dodgy 'Irish Baby Names' or 'Names for your Celtic Prince/ss' sites.

And avoid Gobnait.

It hits differently when it's an R in a name. To Irish ears, it sounds really strange.

English at home? Or just Chinese?

If just Chinese, they've chosen schools where the other parents have made a thoughtful and deliberate choice to send their kids there, so they can expect the kids to be motivated, with parents invested in their success.

Even if they speak English at home, they've identified schools whose communities are highly motivated.

Almost half the population of Northern Ireland identifies as Irish despite over 100 years of living in the UK.

What about Cara for a girl? It’s Irish for friend and is easy to spell and pronounce. You could also consider Una or Orla, and something like Comac or Conal or Niall for a boy?

I have a slightly unusual Celtic name that doesn’t sound like the spelling and it is a pain sometimes. I have given my own children names that are firmly in the top 10 - names that will take them from rock band to board room without anyone batting an eyelid.

I don’t think this is what the OP was after when she innocently asked for Irish baby names 😂

It really doesn't.

Why are folk so hung up on “consigning your child to a lifetime of having their name mispronounced or misspelled”? There’s people with all sorts of heritages with names that aren’t familiar but you wouldn’t tell a Sri Lankan to call their child a different name or whatever. I have a 4 letter Celtic name that I always have to spell and always have to correct pronunciation. So what?!