Name to go with Irish named DS

[youarethequarry]

My DS has an Irish name with traditional Irish spelling (the same name as Una Foden from The Saturdays has just picked for her new baby).

Living in England (with Irish DH) the name has caused no issue when spoken aloud but people (understandably) ask how it is pronounced when they see it written down. It doesn't really bother us and we love the name.

We are now expecting DC2 and have no idea what name to pick. I am not against continuing the Irish theme but wanted some other options too. We love Orlaith for girl but that's the only name on the list. Nothing at all for a boy! We don't like royal names (and these really wouldn't fit at all with DS1) but don't mind some of the traditional ones. We rule out anything on the top 10 lists as find them a bit safe.

Any ideas of names that compliment DS1 whether Irish or not?

Thanks!

Can be spelled Orla too.

I know, I spelt it Orlait above though.

We now know we are having a girl and have decided on Saoirse! I always pronounced this in the way the actress Saoirse Ronan does: Sir-sha/Ser-sha (to rhyme with inertia as she puts it) but see some people say it should be Seer-sha. Is it just an accent/regional thing?

I am not keen on Sorcha as an alternative as I would pronounce this Sorka and I don't really like the hard 'K' sound.

Ooh congratulations!

What about maebh, Eaodin ?

Is there a bit of political connotation with saoirse ?

Mairead

Fionn

I think Saoirse did have once upon a time , my DH put me off it , that's why we went with Orla. It's a beautiful name , good choice OP.

Oh no no no - do not call your child mochusala -
It is a term of endearment - yes a kindof diminutive term of endearment too, to an Irish speaker - sounds very wrong as a name!

I think it was (is?) the name of a magazine associated with the IRA as it means freedom but I don't believe the name is overly connected to that alone and living in England most people would not make this association.

So 'sir-sha' is a completely acceptable pr?

Orlaith is still up there Ken if I lost my nerve with Saiorse!

DH said where he's from it would be considered a very 'up the Ra' name . But that's in South Armagh and don't think it's that widely known . I'm going to live my love of Saoirse through you OP !

I have a Méabh and a Rónán. Had these on my list: Orlaith, Saorise, Aoife, Sé (shay). We live in NI and some struggle with reading Méabh aloud.

Not bothered about pronouncation or difficulty growing up as I have a really boring name and was always jealous of those with unusual names growing up.

Oh soarlaith was another one I came across which I liked. Pronounced (sear-laith)

Saoirse would be an IRA name to me as well, and not just because of the magazine. Sorry OP.

Saoirse is a lovely name. The word itself in Irish is usually pronounced seer-sha, though in some accents it does sound more like sir-sha. That might be where Saoirse Ronan for her pronunciation, but seer-sha is definitely more common than sir-sha.

It is not, under any circumstances, pronounced say-r-sha... as I have heard on occasion on British tv

*got her pronunciation...

I've been living in England for the past three years, and I did not realise how much I disliked my name until I moved - it's Gráinne (grawn-ya) and I get called granny on a regular basis! My partner and I, he is irish also, are In two minds as to whether or not we should name our child with an irish name since we will be living in England!!

My favourite girls' names is Aisling. And I love Eanna and Enda for boys, but I'm sure they'd cause a lot of gender confusion in the UK!

Orla is nice but Aoife and Orla is a bit too matchy matchy

I have to agree with squoosh, I live in the ross o'carroll kelly stronghold and my friends' and neighbours' children go to colaiste iosgaín and I would still do the sideways eye roll at Machushla!

Go for something easy to spell in the uk like Cormac or Lorcan
(if it's a boy). If it's a girl, Maeve is lovely.

Enda is nice, if you're not put off by Enda Kenny! Eanna is too like Anus.

Enda mightn't cause too much gender confusion now Luca is used so often.

Grainne use Gracie in the UK?

I was living in the UK and I was going to call my dc Clodagh or Diarmuid. Two fabulous names that would go down very well in Ireland but they were met with wrinkles of noses in the uk. To my horror people confused clodagh with Claddagh!! that put me right off Clodagh!

i still don't like Saoirse but I think a lot of people who use it now wouldn't have a clue it was the name of an IRA publication.

It's not just that it was an IRA publication, in my experience it's a popular name among those with hard line republican views.

I love Saoirse, no one I've ever mentioned my love of the name to (in London where said child will live) have made an IRA connection. I pronounce it Sear-sha. It will probably be my DD2s name. DD1 will be Caoimhe. Or Róisín. Or Ornaith. Or Líadan...

Ciara is a beautiful yet underused name where I live...only ever met two. It's high on my list should I have a daughter.

Ciaras and Keiras aplenty here. Names are definitely regional.

Oncemore, it 's an honesty you wont hear un rl but u have heard it here.