How do you pronounce Laoise?

[carabos]

Saw this name the other day and have no idea how to pronounce it. I need to know as I may meet her soon. Is it Lisa? Louise? Leesha?
TIA

tis me yes exactly, but I also want to say it correctly when talking to other people about her before I meet her iyswim (don't want to look a tit).

Where are you, One?

I'm in Ulster.

one, coulibri I'm also from Ulster and I would pronounce "plainer" as like "pleeaner" rather than "playner", so in an Ulster accent cliona (clee-una) does sound like plainer without the r. Wouldn't work for an English person though!

Yes that's right Harriet! It gets very confusing when you're speaking with different accents and trying to explain to an English person!

Ah, that makes sense, One and Harriet. I'm a Munster person, incidentally, though...

Have you spoken on the phone. She would have to say her name when you ring her/if she rings you. Send her an email, asking her to call you about directions to your meeting.

tisme I was speaking to a mutual contact last night who referred to her as Leesha. So there we are.

And to add to the confusion, Laoise can also be spelled Labhaoise.

Not so. They are different names.
Laoise's origins are lost in time, but it may hearken back to the old mythical god Luighseach, or it may have come into being when Irish trad music became cool, back in the 60s. Laoise is the genitive form of the noun Laois. Laois is the name of the county that corresponds to the old kingdom of Laois (named Queen's County under British rule and plantation with English settlers).

'Mairseail ri Laoise' [note genitive/possessive form 'Laoise'] 'The March of the King of Laois', an old Irish march.

Labhaoise is an Irish version of Louisa or Louise. It is pronounced La-vee-shuh or La-wee-shuh - actually somewhere in between. It's a very soft V sound that is almost a W.

Most baby name sites have this wrong and confuse the two names.

Throwing in my 2p. In ulster dialect we would generally pronounce bh- followed by a broad vowel (a, o, u) as a W sound (eg bhalla, bhabaí, bhó) and a bh- followed by a slender vowel (i, e) as a V sound (eg bhí, bhíonn, an-bhríomhar)

Obviously plenty of exceptions (faoi bhrú srl) but to me Labhaoise is pronounced Luh-wee-shuh.

There was a Lucy in my class at school and our Irish teacher called her luh-wee-shuh.

When teachers try to enhance the cultural experience by giving students names in the language they teach, they don't always translate appropriately. I know a Ruth who was 'Rita' in Spanish class. Ruth would have done perfectly well.

Thanks math for explaining. I suggested earlier in the thread that they were two separate names, having one of each in my family.

Can someone help me on this subject? I know of an Irish girl's name, but I've only heard it said and want to know how to spell it. It sounds like Cree-uhh. Thanks!

Croiadh would sound like Cree-uh. It means "from the/of the heart". Could also be spelled the simpler form of Croia.

It's quite an unusual name but not unheard of.

Or possibly Caoimhe? Cwee-va

Caoimhe can be Kwee-va or Kee-va depending on the region. It never has a Cree sound though.

Oh I know but was wondering if PP misheard or misremembered

LivingBoy has it, it definitely means something to do with heart. Thank you! My Irish friend's niece is named it and I love the way it sounds.

Could it be just Croí - meaning 'heart'? Pronounced Cree.

There's definitely an "uh" sound at the end, in her Dublin accent

Croiadh is a name, and its said exactly as you've said, and means what you think. Pretty sure that is what it is!

I went to school (in Dublin) with a Crea and it was pronounced Cree-ah.