Niamh or Neve?

[seashell81]

This is high on my list if bump is a girl and i'm just wondering which written form people prefer. Would Niamh cause problems with pronounciation (we do not live in Ireland)? Also if you know any other spellings for the name please let me know bit.ly/1qCmhkD

Ooh even harsher .

Niamh - its pretty popular now in UK so pronunciation wouldnt be a problem. Neve just doesnt look right

There's a Nieve in DS's class. I'm told it's a Spanish name, unrelated to Niamh (of which we know several who are 5ish - in Yorkshire!).

Neve = Neve
Niamh = Ne-uv

Niamh is lovely and the spelling is well enough known

Do any other Irish people find it funny that Irish names like Niamh/Orla/Aoife are now seen as trendy and exotic in the UK?

To me they're just steady, sensible names but utterly unexciting.

I used to like the name Sylvie till someone told me it was a Brenda style name in France. Put me right off it.

Neve literally means snow in Portuguese.
But you sound the first 'e' like in egg and the second 'e' like normal e pronunciation.

Babymummy I think it's sad that you didn't choose a name because you didn't want your DD to "explain it" her whole life. To me that is one of the points of choosing a name that reflects heritage.

Our Eilidh has lived in four countries at the ripe old age of five and doesn't have any qualms about saying "no, not Eeeeley! Aylay". It's also helped her confidence I think.

It's a global world these days ffs.

That said it's nice to go home to Scotland where people just say it without questions.

Imo- Niamh. If people don't know- teach them. Seriously can't believe in this day and age someone would pronounce it Nyam. Lot of idiots about.

There are also a lot of 'idiots' who pronounce it 'Neev'...

I'm in Scotland and know a few Niamhs. Never heard it pronounced 'Nee-uv' with two syllables though - it's always pronounced 'Neeve'. I guess everyone's getting it wrong!

I was under the impression that Neve was pronounced 'Nehv'. A much prettier sound IMO. I understand the name puritans who dislike Neve because it's not 'right', but if you prefer the 'Nehv' (to rhyme with Kev) pronunciation, then go with it. If you prefer 'Neeve/Nee-uv' then spell it the original way. It's very popular and will be understood by most folk that aren't daft.

Niamh. And can I add, please not Nevaeh (Heaven spelled backwards). Makes my teeth tingle!!!

Bad time at least Neev is closer than Nyam. Not sure why you've put idiots in inverted commas.

Lot of people pronounce it just neev in ireland too.

I know it is strictly speaking NEEEuv but neev is not wxactly wrong. Far from it.

Squoosh, yes, for me they are too solid to justify whole threads!!!

But then Siofra and Senan and new irish names (new in usage) some of them sound to me like niamh must sound to people in uk. I hate senan with a passion!

squoosh

I've wonder the same re names which are totally run of the mill in Ireland being exotic in the UK.

I know I always do a bit of a face when say, Seren and Osian are suggested on here as being unusual. They're most certainly not so in Wales!

Newgold, I put 'idiots' in quotes because I don't think that ignorance of a single specific fact (in this case, how to pronounce Niamh) makes someone an idiot.

Nobody knows everything.

Daftspunk, have you read your daughter the story of Tir na nOg?

I only made the second comment you bolded, not the first and it kind of looks like the same person made both comments. I don't think Neve looks ugly, I just think it looks a bit unaware or disinterested or something.

Well it was 85 in the top 100 last year so it's that popular really. Just small pockets where there is an Irish diaspora and their descendants I think.

I vaguely knew someone years ago who was called Niamh, she introduced herself as Ny Am Uh, at that time I'd never seem it written down so had no idea she was in fact calling herself the wrong way. Her mother obviously gave her the name but had no idea how to pronounce it.

lizcurly, no I haven't read that to her. Sorry if my bolding was a bit misleading - I just didn't realise some people had such strong views on the name!

I can assure you I'm neither unaware or disinterested though. We just chose the name for our dd because we liked it, not for any spelling or pronunciation issues/difficulties she may encounter as she grows up.

Niamh - it is fairly common so people outside Ireland recognise it. I really don't like Neve.

I personally would spell it Niamh...

But does anyone know why it's perfectly OK to spell Orla and Maeve that way, even in Ireland, but Neve/Neave is a total travesty?

I think that's because {disclaimer, not sure really, just a feeling} those simplifications were implemented decades ago by various Irish language enthusiasts and academics themselves in a simplification/evolution of the language. It was not done as a move to make the names fit the rules of English phonetics . I know growing up in Ireland, I knew Orlas and Maeves and Niamhs! Obviously, with Orla, the simplification is closer to taking letters off the end of the word, not making it conform to the rules of English phonetics!

Also, even in written Irish, it does get simplified, by The Irish I mean. Not me obviously I'm no academic. But I mean, old Irish texts would have a different more old fashioned correct spelling.

You're right though, it does make the reaction to Neve or Shinaide seem snobby and hypocritical. I could never use Neve myself, but I don't really see why an English person would feel obliged to conform to Old Irish texts. An English person can if they want to change a foreign name so that it fits the rules of English phonetics.

You're completely right Liz, nearly every language has it's own version of Matthew for instance. Matthew is merely the anglicised version and not it's original form.

I'd have said Niamh but I think Neve is perfectly ok now! Lol