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Maeve, Niamh, and names like them?

37 replies

Caimor23 · 11/07/2018 22:05

Hi all,

DH and I have fallen in love with the name Maeve for our future baby (if it's a girl, won't know until it's born!), and we also love the name Niamh. Only issue? I'm American and I know some of my American relatives will struggle to spell either of them correctly... They still don't spell my name correctly and I've been in the family for nearly 30 years now!

So, I'm wondering if any of you lovely people have any names that are similar to Maeve and Niamh that we can add to our "just in case the baby's not a Maeve" list? Relatively easy to spell and pronounce. Also, something that seems strong to appeal to the feminist in me and yet still feminine?

Big ask, I know.

TIA xx

OP posts:
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purpleme12 · 11/07/2018 22:11

I like them. I know those spellings you mentioned (and also Neve) but yes I reckon you'll get a lot of people who don't know how to spell it. I never even thought I'd have a problem with people spelling my daughter's but I do!

bebehen · 11/07/2018 22:17

They are lovely names :)

In Ireland , a beautiful and popular name at the moment is Fiadh - pronounced Fee-ah

I also think if you want to keep to an Irish name Siofra could work?
Pronounced She-o-frah

A name that could be recognisable in the US now is Saoirse - because oft the actress the ac Saoirse Ronan

:)

purpleme12 · 11/07/2018 22:18

I like Aoife

IVflytrap · 11/07/2018 22:32

I have seen Niamh spelt Neve when used by people in the US before. Is that a possibility?

I'm not sure what the problem with Maeve would be because it works with English phonetics, and it's only 5 letters long. If you're just looking for more common names that people will have heard of then how about:

Nina
Orla
Moira
May
Fiona
Ava
Eve
Evelyn
Alma
Keira
Phoebe
Leona
Vivian
Iona

haribosmarties · 11/07/2018 22:34

Nimueh? (Nim-ooh-ay).......Lady of the Lake
Iseult
Erin
Merryn
Lyra
Bronwin
Alastrine
Alys
Eithne
Dymphna
Cerys
Ondine

ErrantBakedBean · 11/07/2018 22:41

haribo Nimueh is beautiful but I fear she'd get The Lion Sleeps Tonight sung at her.

Sugarpiehoneyeye · 11/07/2018 22:44

Daphne
Clodagh

Tumon · 11/07/2018 22:50

Ailbhe (pronounced Al-va) it’s Irish and so lovely . Could spell how it sounds?

Caimor23 · 11/07/2018 22:55

These are great! I'll have to go through these all with DH and see what he thinks :) I think we may have a few to add to our list though!

OP posts:
Meandyoumake2 · 11/07/2018 22:55

Even people in Ireland can have difficulty spelling so don't worry! Niamh and aoife are my favs! Like caoimhe too. And ruari and Connor - could go on lol

MrStarkIDontFeelSoGood · 11/07/2018 22:55

Coimhe can be spelt Keavy as that is how it’s proniubced

Aisling pronounced Ashlynne

Ailish pronounced Aylish

Aoife pronounced as Kiefer without the K

Enko · 11/07/2018 23:07

Aoife pronounced as Kiefer without the K

No its really not.. Aoife is pronounced E-Fah NOT efer...

NyaNinjago · 11/07/2018 23:07

MrStark that is not how you pronounce Caoimhe or Aoife Confused. OP Síofra (shee-fra), Clodagh (clo -da) and Clíona (clee-uh-na) are all gorgeous names too.

Thetimehascometo · 11/07/2018 23:37

All about Niamh, it’s our DD’s name... if we have another girl she is likely to be Orla, Phoebe or Beatrice 🙃

user1483390742 · 11/07/2018 23:44

Aoibhin? Pronounced Eev-een

AdulterousMuse · 12/07/2018 00:21

Please don’t butcher an Irish name just because your relatives can’t pronounce it.

Honestly, who couldn’t get their tongue around Maeve, anyway? Spelled in that anglicised way it’s phonetic and single-syllable! Caoilfhionn or Lasairfhióna or something I could understand being an issue for someone who wasn’t familiar with Irish language phonetic rules.

Caoimhe is pronounced nothing like either Kiefer or Keavy. It’s regional, like quite a few Irish pronunciations, and is either, roughly, QUEEV-uh or KEEV-uh. Second syllable is a schwa in both.

MrStarkIDontFeelSoGood · 12/07/2018 00:46

I’ve always said Aoife as described never heard it said FAH and I’m half Irish Confused

mula · 12/07/2018 01:01

I have Fia (Fee-ah), very easy phonetically. and perhaps easier than Fiadh - both are Irish names pronounced the same yet mean different things.

MrStarkIDontFeelSoGood · 12/07/2018 01:02

Actually thinking about it we might both be right as I would pronounce Kiefer not as Key-fer but Keefa.

Does that make more sense? I definitely wouldn’t pronounce as FER or FAR

HeyDolly · 12/07/2018 02:16

Erin?

Very simple to spell and easy to pronounce!

StrawberryCat · 12/07/2018 02:51

Miriam
Freya
Corrine
Sian

drinkingteawhenitshot · 12/07/2018 03:32

Oh fun question I have a Maeve! We are not Irish at all it was the name of our midwife. :) Not a name we'd considered before but we absolutely love it.

That said, I had had Niamh on my list, but dismissed it because of the lack of Irish connection. It is a gorgeous name. BUT I am so glad I did not use it! We lived in Canada for two years (DH is Canadian) and anyone I told about the name looked at me like I was insane and asked if I made it up! It really has not hit North America yet (or at least Canada, maybe the US has more Irish-Americans though.) It will, I think, and you can be a trailblazer, but it's the kid who has to explain all of the time not you.

You could spell it Neve, but I think that ruins it a bit. Also, Neve Campbell, the only Neve most people will know of, is actually "Nev" -- her name is Scandinavian. So it actually might not help with pronounciation in the US.

TBH more people struggled there with Maeve than I thought -- she got Mauve and all sorts. It really isn't hard though and is pretty phonetic and most people just needed telling once. Never had an ounce of trouble in the UK.

Names on my list for this baby are Isla (gorgeous, but very trendy -- worried it may date badly), Nina (family name, but also love the Simone connection), Cerys, Constance, Isobel (family name, DH hates), Freya (DH hates), Anna (DH thinks is boring) and Beatrice (DH also hates.) I'm secretly hoping I can steal the midwife's name again.

Congrats! I'm biased but I would go with Maeve!

drinkingteawhenitshot · 12/07/2018 03:35

Also, sorry for the essay, but DH is half-Indian and none of his relatives seemed to struggle either once they were told once.

implantsandaDyson · 12/07/2018 07:52

Etain
Emer
Dara (I know it mainly as a boys name but I know a couple of baby girls recently with it)

They are easy enough to get your tongue around. I'll be honest a lot of the Irish baby names like Niamh, Clodagh, Caoimhe I find quite dated. Not granny chic but a bit like Joanne, Nicola, Claire - very of their time.

RedDwarves · 12/07/2018 09:51

Maeve is dead obvious. I can't see Americans struggling with it.