which spelling......

[CakeandFineWine]

OK go name sorted me and DH can't decide on spelling so thought I'd hand it over to MN'ers to vote......

Orla Molly
Orla Mollie
Orlaith Molly
Orlaith Mollie

Cast your votes.............NOW Thanks

ps, just thought, if you spell it Orla, you can say, you know like the actress Orla Brady, the journalist Orla Geurin and the designer Orla Kiely??

If you spell it Orlaith, people might say, ah, like the big brother contestant!

Gut feeling is Orla Mollie

Agree, Orla is an acceptable spelling. Prefer Molly over Mollie.

Darn, is there a BB contestant named Orlaith?

I think I prefer Orla to Orlaith.

I have a Mollie. I much prefer this spelling and all the much older people I have known of with this name use the ie spelling; those with it as a nickname rather than full name have y spelling (IME).

Orlaith looks so much prettier to me. Wasn't there an Orlaith on BB - might have helped some people learn how to say it? Though I'm sure it won't be the easiest name to live with. Would prob only do it if I was Irish so there is some justification for it. Think I prefer Mollie to Molly.

ah ValiumSingleton got there 1st with BB... for what it's worth, I first heard of the name due to the BB contestant but could hardly tell you anything about her. Didn't watch it, just saw and heard the name around at the time. Think she was of the post-house exit Nuts photo-shoot ilk, though...

Orla Molly - I like authentic spellings, but intentionally gave DD the less authentic spelling of her name, as spent 27 years spelling my surname out to all and sundry. If I'd used the slightly more difficult spelling it would have annoyed me if people had mis-spelled it, as it is I quite like people who mistakenly use what I see as the 'proper' spelling!

Orla Molly

My daughter is Orla too. I had the same debate with myself as most of the Orlaiths I know spell it the latter way. I spoke to two of them and they advised me to go with Orla as it is easy to read and spell. They constantly get called Or-lathe and that's in Ireland!!

Our DD (due any time now) will be Orla. Contemplated Orlaith but decided against it as know I'll get irritated by it being spelt incorrectly, or by her having to teach her teachers how to say her name every new school year. I have a first name that can be spelt two ways, and a maiden name that people could either pronounce or spell correctly but not both! However, if we have another DD we plan to call her Niamh (which was our other choice for this baby but she just feels like an Orla already!) so would probably have the spelling and pronunciation problem, however it is a less unusual name so hopefully not so profound a problem.

I'd probably go for Molly rather than Mollie as, again, feel there is less chance of people spelling it wrong. However, as a middle name I suppose it will be written down rarely by others. Our DD will be Orla Grace so no alternative spellings for middle name to worry about! Although my cousin is due to have a little girl any time now too and I'm worried if she has her DD first she may pick my DD's name (not told our family baby's gender - want to surprise everyone) but as we already know her as Orla, and have her name on a baby towel and on a sign above her cot, it'll be tough luck and we'll just have two Orla's in the family!

Why not pick a boy's name as well and tell the in-laws that if it's a girl you're reserving the name Orla and if it's a boy the name .....whatever. You wouldn't need to let them know the sex and sis-in-law would know what to steer clear of! That's what I'd do anyway! Good luck!

I have Irish relatives (well, northern Irish...) and some of them say Or-laith when they see it written down. Another vote for Orla.

Thanks all,
Just google image searched Orla v Orlaith,
One has pretty print one has norks, think thats sealed the deal :)

QueenofP.... DH LOVES Niamh but we already have an Evie and just doesn't work......

My god how many Orla's are there amongst MNetters. It must be shooting up the name charts.
And Orla is not a made up spelling!

Orlas not Orla's doh.

Definitely Orla Molly. What a lovely name.

Orla Molly.

Orla Molly here too.

Orla is the modern Irish version. It's not made-up. Modern Irish tends to cut out the unsounded consonant combinations that the older spellings of names have -- the older versions of the name like 'Orfhlaith' tell you the meaning (it's a compound noun meaning golden lady/ princess) but leave you with problems pronouncing it if you don't know any Irish.