Laiken

[bac1985]

Is this a unisex name?

We are thinking of using the name for a boy.

Laiken Frederick Coughlin.

Thoughts?

Maybe an east-west, north-south thing, Redhead. Really, really don't wish to criticise your experience. Scottish and Gaelic pronounciation is intensely local.

But just to show we north-westies are not alone:www.forvo.com/word/lachlan/

Do you mean 'latch-lann'?

Or are you talking about a difference in A and O vowel sounds?
(Lachlann vs Lochlann)

All the people in that link are from different countries, none of them Scotland. That might be the way it is said in your small part of the country, but not in the rest of it.

Math I've never heard the name pronounced with a 't' in it. It is the difference between the a and o vowel sounds.

Math I - and my neighbours, whose surname it is, would say 'LOCHlann'.
On the other hand, a close friend, brought up in Glasgow, would say 'Lawchlann'. I am, however, perfectly prepared to believe that some other Scottish people might say 'Lach-lann', where Loch = Lackh. It's just not my experience, or the local general rule where I live. HOWEVER, customs and practices vary.

I always assumed the 'ch' in Lachlan was pronounced as the 'ch' in loch, so Lachlan with a soft 'ch'. Not that I've ever heard it said aloud.

KatieKaye so they say Lachlan with the "La" having the same sound as latch or land or lamb?

Just to clarify - I'm not doubting you, just trying to clarify as I've never heard it said that way!

I wasn't really clear -- CH as in church would give latchlann.
In English the /ch/ sound is what you find in 'church', at both ends..

In Scots and Irish the /ch/ is the sound in 'loch' -- a 'kh' sound.

When someone said it is pronounced as it is spelled, I wondered if that meant using English or Scots pronunciation of /ch/.

Wrt the vowels, I would pronounce it with a U sound for the O if it was spelled Lochlann ('lukhlann'), as the Irish pronunciation of O is close to a U sound, and actually Lochlann is the Irish form of the name.

Spelled Lachlann, I would pronounce it lokhlann (not a long Glaswegian A). A short O sound, not A as in lamb. This is probably me imposing an Irish pronunciation on a Scots name.

If you google it, there is a youtube pronunciation guide that says Lachlan with the "a" sounding like language or lasso! Well there you go - I've never heard it said that way and it's incredibly polar around here!

I meant Scottish pronunciation as it's a Scottish name.
Lachlan - "la" as in lackadasical
"Ch" as in loch.

Not to be confused with surname Loughlan, which is said loch-lan.

Where about in Scotland are you, math? So far we've got loch-lan in the north west of Scotland and lach-LAN elsewhere in Scotland on our Mumsnet guide! But the YouTube version is the one Redhead and I both know.

Not in Scotland at all!

I would put the emphasis on the first syllable. This would be the Irish pronunciation of the name (which is derived from lochlannach - 'Norse' or 'Scandinavian', and Lochlann - 'Scandinavia') and the original Irish version of O'Loughlin, which is O Lochlainn, referring to ancestors from Scandinavia.

I definitely use the Irish vowel sounds.

It is interesting how names are pronounced differently. I'm thinking of Co-lin Powell and Ian (pronounced Eye An) Zierling. Each to his or her own.
Scots do have some peculiarities, such as Dod for George. Never worked that one out!

Hi all previous posters. What's really interesting - and encouraging IMHO - about all this is the fact that local differences still survive and thrive in this world of globalisation. Long may they flourish!

how very true!

What about Larkin?

It's amazing that even in a country as tiny as Scotland there can be these differences and that people in different areas aren't even aware of the differences!!

Also amazing that the rest of the world seems to have adopted only one of the pronunciations!

Morgan Spurlock's son is called Laken.

In some Irish accents, Lakin would mean leaking and a leak would be a lake.

Ly - Ken. That sounds quite nice. In Norway.

But she is going to get Layken? Laken? Ly-lay... How do you say your name... All her life. Pick something amazing, by all means! But how does it sound in your head?

Lambeth, in Norway, laken means bedsheet

I know a boy Laiken. It seems a perfectly good name. No raised eyebrows. A few people inquiring as to where the parents heard the name, but that's all.

I say use it if you like it. Nothing wrong with it. It fits with modern trends, but is a bit more unusual and distinctive.

My 25 year old niece is Laken...her mum named her after a character from a US drama....I am used to it now but thought it was a bit odd for a while...