Nice Irish Names?

[HillyHolbrook]

We have a very traditional Irish surname which is a 'Mc' name but it's more a Muc than a Mac IYSWIM.

We're having a little girl, and we really can't decide on a name. We have some picked out, but we really want to explore some really nice Irish names too, as DHs family history is very interesting, one of his relatives is in the history books, even, and it'd be a nice nod to his heritage and also mine on my mums side.

The names we have already are Ava, Claudia and Mia, just so you can see our tastes. Our boys name will be Ezra if we ever have a DS.

Sorry to be picky but Erin isn't really a name, it's an Anglicisation of Eireann, meaning Ireland. Again to my mind it might have republican connotations. I think Aoife or Eimear (you could spell it Emer to make her life easier!) would go beautifully. Niamh also a good option because folk know how to pronounce it these days, I'd avoid a name that requires constant spelling out assuming you love in the UK. Btw I always thought Fiona was Welsh?

Grainne is another lovely name.
If you're going to go for an Irish name, get the spelling right, Ava, would be spelt albha, as there's no V in the Irish alphabet. There's actually only 18 letters, so for instance irish names beginning with K rather than C aren't spelt correctly.

Was Roisin suggested?

Mairead (can't put the accents on) is a beautiful name. I know a woman with this name. She has the most beautiful voice and pronounces it Ma......raid. She says the 'raid' bit in a quite languid way quite long but always sounds as if she is announcing something special (actually she does think she is something special but that's neither here nor there I suppose)

Very Irish. Easy to pronounce and pretty!

Fiona was invented by 19th cent writter Willliam Sharp who created it to use as his own pen-name. He wrote passionate/mystical Celtic Twilight novels as 'Fiona MacLeod' (who became a sort of alternative identity/personality for him). The secret was not revealed until after his death in 1905.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Sharp_%28writer%29

Sharp was probably inspired by the Celtic name Fionnuala (meaning: 'fair shoulders' ie 'beautiful'), anglicised in Ireland as Finola and in Scotland as Fenella.

The chap who 'invented' the Ossian poems was James MacPherson:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Macpherson
William Sharp edited some mock-Ossian material, as well.

Welsh Mumsnetters please correct me if I am wrong, but I think the Welsh equivalent of Fiona is Ffion.

We're going for Claudia this time round! Not Irish, but we feel it's 'her' name now after talking about it.

I do love lots of these names though. I wouldn't have thought of many of then myself. I'll definitely keep some in mind for future DDs

Claudia is gorgeous! And works beautifully with the surname .

If you're a descendant of the Terence Mc I'm thinking of, he was an admirable man.

Shannon is Irish but without the spelling problems most other Irish names have.

I know an Irish lady called Briege. Is that an Irish name? I think it's quite nice.

DH is Talcum He's the only Terence Mc in the history books so I'm sure it's the right one

When I saw your comment on the 'I'm on' page Microchips I thought you'd said 'Beige' Briege is lovely, actually! Very different. I googled it and it is Irish, it's a variant of an Irish surname.

She's definitely a Claudia though, and besides, Claudie Mac sounds really cute DH has started calling her that already! Can't wait to meet her now!

Briege is a phonetic spelling of the Irish name Brighid or Bríd (not an Irish surname).

I think Claudia goes really well with the surname, and Claudie is a lovely nn.