Come and tell me these names are awful.

[SmugairleRoin]

Well hopefully you won't think they're awful but am going through girls names now and would like you all to pick as many holes as you can in them, so I don't end up picking something dreadful.

If you have any suggestions for the name I'd be very grateful for those too! :)

So we have:
Mariela
Amara
Lila/Lara
Etain (my phone is refusing to include fadas...)
Saoirse
Liadain
Lena
Juliet
Allegra
Reeva
Soraya
Jane

And that's it so far...apologies I know that's quite a few!

I do really like Jane. It is so refreshing after all the flouncy, frilly, cutsie names that have abounded in recent years and it will be sure to stand out.

Juliet and Jane are the only ones I like on that list. Rest I would not touch with a barge pole for any child

Cad mar gheall ar Sibéal?

It's Kwee-va like you said also! Very soft first syllable. I know a Keeva alright but it's spelt that way. .

Both Kweeva and Keeva are correct.

We'll have to agree to disagree! I don't think any dialect for example would say 'Cen 'key' ina bhfuil tu?' However I will admit my Caoimhe knowledge comes from a very pedantic native speaker who can't stand incorrect pronunciations!

God I love Jane!

Liadan is so beautiful (although I'm bias as it's DD1's middle name)
Étain is also lovely

Or what about
Fiadh
Caoilfhionn
Ciara (although they are a dime a dozen in Dublin)
Aoife
Siún

Mariela
Amara
Lila
Saoirse
Lena
Juliet
Allegra
Reeva

IMO are the nicer part of your list. I never cared for Jane to me it is way to plain and very much a middlename named after type name.

Of the above I think Lena or Juliet would be the easiest to live with they fall firmly in the unusual but not weird category same with Mariela. With this I mean everyone have heard of the name but may not have met one. I think the others all have a bit of an angle. I do adore both Allergra and Reeva though (and Saoirse is just gorgeous)

It's Keeva or Kweeva depending on which part of the country you are in. You can disagree all you like but there are thousands of each who I would think know rather more than you.

Ok. Don't see the need for the tone! Like I said I take my lead on it from a very particular Gaelgeoir!

It's insulting of you to inform people they can't pronounce their own (or their childrens) names, so its tough on the tone.
Do you not realise that the different dialects all sound different? Your one friend presumably speaks just the one form, so how you would imagine that extends to everyone is beyond me.

I like Amara best

You know how in Japanese there's no or little difference between L & R, they have to work really hard to learn the difference?

And then Polish has all these subtle u-o sounds, we English speakers struggle to hear.

Or me, I had to work really hard to hear the Scottish ch (like Loch). There's a similar sound in German.

So it sounds to me the Keeva-Kweeva thing is to do with sounds that do or don't exist in the natural Irish language.

Which is Why it's a questionable idea to use traditional Irish spellings when dealing with English-only speakers. You're wanting sounds they won't expect. If you want it said a certain way by native speakers of a specific langauge, spell it phonetically in their language.

My cat is called Mitzy and she is beautiful ! I like Soraya, I have a friend called Soraya and she is very beautiful, classy and a lovely person x

Mitzy is a fabulous name!

I don't agree with anglicising Irish names, or Polish names, French names etc. Orla for example is fine, it's not too anglicised imo and still very closely resembles Orlaith, but Saoirse or Etain spelt phonetically would be awful. So if she does get an Irish name I will spell it the Irish way, as she's an Irish girl, born in Ireland.

Anyway. I'd pronounce Caoimhe as Kweeva I think, I prefer the sound to Keeva. Both acceptable pronunciations in general though!

Ciara and Aoife both lovely names but I think there would be a lot of them - had the same issue with Aine which I was considering. Siun is a nice name but it reminds me of ciun - don't think I like the link to silence!

Sibeal and Fiadh both lovely, considering them now. I think I have gone off Soraya, the psoriasis link just did it for me!

Agreed - Mitzy IS a wonderful name.

Mitzy is goddam gorgeous !

Absolute no to anglicising Irish names as a sop to people who can't be bothered to pronounce it or spell it even after you've been told. Phonetically my arse, that gives us abominations such as Neev instead of the lovely Niamh.

Keeva and Kweeva are both Irish pronunciations Trout.

I like jane and saoirse from your list. I know a little Ayana, which I think is a very pretty name that's similar to some of your shortlist.

Yes Keeva and Kweeva are both correct pronunciations.

OP, I adore Juliet but would be afraid of it being shortened to Julie.