Help me pick Irish name for a boy, Cathal or Conn?

[Cailinred]

Hi, need a bit of advice on picking a name for our baby boy due very soon. We seem to like Irish names but wouldn’t rule out a non Irish name either. Problem is that lots of the nicest names have been used in our large families or among friends. I like Conn but DH thinks it sounds unfinished. He likes Cathal but I’m not so sure. Lorcan and Oran possibilities too? Would really love honest opinions especially on Conn as a boys name. Thanks in advance.

have you considered Conleth meaning ardent or wise, that could be shortened to Conn

i know of one Con short for Cornelius

I'd assume a Con was from Cork (short for Cornelius, which was once very popular there).

I'm not a massive fan of Irish boys names, but I like both Cathal and Connor.

I like Cathal can I ask how you'd pronounce it though? Cause it's pronounced ca-Hal here.

I also love Cillian, unfortunately I'm from the wrong side of the political divide in NI to be using Irish names so I'll never get to name my son that

@DwangelaForever - I’m also Protestant (living back in NI) and called my DD Sadhbh. No backlash as of yet!

Please don’t let it put you off- things will only move on if people start to put these things behind us.

Cormac is a good c-name without a complicated spelling.

I love Conn, it is a genuine name in its own right but I probably wouldn't use it overseas as I'd be annoyed with everyone assuming it was short for something.

Having said that, (and I am NEVER that person on MN suggesting nicknames but this is an exception), to my ear certainly, Conn is a perfectly obvious abbreviation of Lorcan, since you like it already.

I dont think Conn is a particuarly irish name? Conall would work better

I think Conn is a great name and it doesn’t seem unfinished to me (I’m Irish). I really like Cathal too but outside of Ireland, people really struggle to pronounce it for some reason so depending on where you live, it might be worth considering that.

Lorcan is my favourite Irish boy’s name, it’s phonetic so won’t have the same trouble as some other names.

Cillian and Oisin seem to be the “in” Irish names atm, I know at least 2 of each. 1 of each are outside Ireland/NI but with one Irish parent.

Cathal is a great name, however agree with others it will get mangled outside of Ireland (I work with one, and people struggle a lot more than I'd have thought possible!).