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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Original poster

AIBU about Caoimhe

175 replies

Littleturkish · 10/01/2015 05:29

DH and I have taken a long long time to choose this name, Irish heritage on both sides, Irish surname (and maiden name!) I love this name.

When DH agreed, he didn't realise how it was spelt. Now he knows. He thinks we should pick a different one. I have first hand experience of having a difficult Irish name to spell and think it will be fine.

AIBU? I don't want to start finding a new name all over again- is Caoimhe that awful to spell??

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Koalafications · 10/01/2015 08:02

Please do not anglicise the spelling! It would ruin a beautiful Irish name.

strawberryblondebint · 10/01/2015 08:11

It's the best name ever because it's my eldests name. She has been able to spell it since she was 3 and she loves it. We aren't in Ireland but I am Irish and wanted her to have an Irish name. It's a beautiful name and I have had no negative comments. Do it. You will have to spell it for some people but so what

HaveTeaWillSurvive · 10/01/2015 08:20

I know a couple with a caoimhe, hadn't come across the name before but when the did the email/Facebook thing the just included (pronounced kweeva) which did the job nicely for anyone unfamiliar with the name.

I think it's a beautiful name and I'd stick to your gins

HaveTeaWillSurvive · 10/01/2015 08:20

guns definitely don't go for gins!

HaveTeaWillSurvive · 10/01/2015 08:21

they x multiple - clearly I haven't finished my cuppa yet

cavamonster · 10/01/2015 08:22

I don't know it really irritates me having to constantly spell my surname (which isn't even that difficult?!) and from my own experience my cousin (not close) has a child named this, I have never met her in person only seen her on Facebook and you have just really surprised me on the pronunciation - I all of a sudden feel like its a different person I just assumed it was kye-o-me!!

Lottapianos · 10/01/2015 08:23

I have an Irish first name which is said differently to how its spelt and as an adult, its a total pain in the butt! Your daughter will be spelling her name and correcting people's pronunciation for the rest of her life. If you're planning on living in Ireland I would say go for it, but in the UK, just bear in mind that it may be a massive drag for her when she's older

HellKitty · 10/01/2015 08:28

It is a beautiful name but I have a relatively common first name, it can be pronounced one of two ways depending on one letter - which my parents left out. I have spent 47 years correcting people, all through school and as an adult when people see my name before I say it. It has been tiresome!

olympicsrock · 10/01/2015 08:30

Actually I think you would be saddling g your dd with a really difficult name her whole life unless you live in Ireland. I know how to spell and pronounce aoife saoirse niamh orla etc but I had no idea if this was even a boy or girls name. Show it to your non iris colleagues and friends.

lunar1 · 10/01/2015 08:31

I think it depends where you will live. My parents gave me a Russian version of my name. Which would be fine in Russia, but we are not in Russia and I spend my entire life correcting my name and its a complete pain in the bum!

I should add though we have no Russian connections, my parents just wanted to be different, so that is different to your situation.

ihave2naughtydogs · 10/01/2015 08:36

It is a lovely name, I saw the name on a lunchbox at nursery and asked the teacher how it was pronounced My name is Iona and I am always being asked to spell it .

Only1scoop · 10/01/2015 08:44

I love it....but I love it in Ireland where there are no spelling in issues....

GlitzAndGigglesx · 10/01/2015 08:49

I love the name. Don't let the spelling dismay you. I have one of the easiest names to spell in the world but people still throw in extra letters or call me alternatives. Irish names should be kept to their traditional spelling they're lovely

Only1scoop · 10/01/2015 08:51

I worked with a Grainee once who used to spend the whole day being pronounced 'grey knee'.

We wore name badges and correcting passengers was not really the done thing.

LoveWillTearUsApart · 10/01/2015 08:54

There is a Caoimhe at my son's school (England), and I don't think there have really been any problems. There's the initial introduction, which is obviously verbal, and then some surprise when seeing it written down, and that's pretty much it.

Much less hassle than Tallulah and Talullah who are both in one class!

SunshineAndShadows · 10/01/2015 08:55

I think if we all took the route of 'only giving anglicised names/spellings' because we live in the UK then names would be much less interesting and names like Sinead, siobhan or Niamh would never have become 'known'. The world is increasingly international and I'm often meeting people with unusual (to me) names. It's much nicer than everyone being called John or Sarah.

My surname is a noun which always foxes people and despite it being a word in daily use I always have to spell it. Also my first name is a name that only exists in the UK and is quite well known but it is almost impossible to pronounce properly in Europe or Asia and as I've spent most of my adult life living overseas, being given an 'English name' by my English parents who live in England hasn't helped at all on the spelling/pronounciation front.

Choose a name you love - but it might help to ensure that you and your DH have the rudiments of Irish spelling so that you can explain to you DD why her name is spelled and pronounced as it is

nobutreally · 10/01/2015 08:57

Dd knows a Caiomhe with - it was tough when they were learning phonetics, and to a British eye, it looks somewhat like a random selection of letters! But I think it's a really pretty name, and the one I now loves her name.

I have to google check the name regularly for dd, but otherwise, not a big issue that I know of.

weeonion · 10/01/2015 08:57

Little Turkish - dd1 is a caoimhe so I declare an interest! We have never had any real problems with it (although our doctor has always pronounced her a "coal-ham-he" !!)

she has got used to explaining it and from she was a toddler has been able to spell it for folks.

if you love it - go for it.

nobutreally · 10/01/2015 08:59

I should say -she has a similar background - Irish heritage, now England based

Greencurtain · 10/01/2015 09:05

I would have had no idea how to pronounce it. Why would you choose a name for your child like that, knowingly setting her up for a lifetime of explanations? I'm assuming you are not in Ireland (?)

Honestly I think it's over complicating life completely unnecessarily. It's not a name for you, it's a name for your child and she may be the sort of person who wants to do all that explaining. Even people who are familiar with the name might then ask oh we're you born/did you used to live in Ireland.

My name has a "variant" spelling. I got sooooo tired of people asking about it that I got to the stage when I was a teen when I just said "my parents were not thinking straight when I was born". Or "I have no idea why they did that". Honestly, neither do they, I've asked them. They were disagreeing over name choice and when I was born, they both gave in and each called me the name the other had chosen.

Seriously call your baby Emma or Grace or something lovely and straightforward.

BMO · 10/01/2015 09:15

I have a very common name that has two spellings (think Claire/Clare) and still have to spell my name every time.

skylark2 · 10/01/2015 10:25

I think it's a little odd picking a name "because of your heritage" when it actually has so little connection with your heritage that you have never even seen it written down.

I think it's a nice name for people who actually have that connection with it and like it as a name as a result. Your DH isn't in that category.

Whyever would you need to "start all over again"? Just go back to the stage you were at before you decided to use Caoimhe. Presumably you chose it from a shortlist of two or three? Pick a different one of those two or three. (Though actually it doesn't sound as if you'd spent much time thinking about it, since your husband had never even seen it written down.)

Viviennemary · 10/01/2015 10:28

Nobody will have a clue about how it should be pronounced. No point in setting a person up for a lifetime of explanation of spellings. Life is quite complicated and difficult enough without making it worse.

BMO · 10/01/2015 11:17

What about children with Polish/Somali/Chinese names - should they anglicise them too to avoid having to spell it out?

QuickNameChange6666 · 10/01/2015 11:46

Exactly BMO. I don't see why Irish names should be anglicised at all. And there's enough proof just on this thread that you can have an English name and still have to spell it, in fact I have a differently spelt English name which I have to spell all the time and i like that it's different.

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