Nuala?

[Emilyjoy]

Is Nuala too old of an name? My husband is from Belfast and his family are all in Northern Ireland, so he’s keen for an Irish name. I love Nuala! Pronounced nula or new-la. But I’ve heard it’s like a middle aged woman’s name like a British Tracy or Sharron? What do people think? Would Nola maybe be better? I also love maeve 😍

Jesus no. Speaking as an Irish person it's just awful, very frumpy as others said.

Oh dear. I feel sorry for all the Nualas!

Does Nuala mean 'devilchild' in Irish? ;-)

In 10/20 years though, the old Nualas will be granny’s, and Nuala will have reached “granny chic” status. So the teenage/20 year old Nualas will have ahead of their time unique names? No? Just trying to concvince myself. Atleast living in Oxford in the uk, nobody will know about the old fashioned nualas.

My baby has lots of bright red hair and never sleeps, so maybe a name meaning “devilchild” is quite fitting 😂😂😂

Is Nuala like Paula then?

Is Nuala like Paula then?

Very much so, just jumble up some letters and swap a P for an N!

Unless you pronounce Paula, Poo-la, I’m struggling to see how it’s like Nuala.

Do you live in Ireland OP?
I think it sounds beautiful but I live in England and haven’t heard it before so do not know any connotations. I say go for it! :)

I think she meant is it a tad bland/nondescript in the way that Paula might be considered, rather than it sounding the same - but I could be wrong.

Name her 'Nuala-Vajazzle' to irk the Irish contingent saying it's very old fashioned and dull.

Yes I did, Tom, thank you.

Would you name your newborn Paula? Would you name your newborn Nuala? They look similar and do they both have the same old-fashioned, dated, non-traditional vibe?

Not trying to be funny or but I'm trying to put this into a non NI context.

I've heard of a few baby Barbaras lately! It's kind of hipster. And I knew an epicly cool Fionnuala when I was a teenager - she'd be about 30 now. I think given what others have said, viz:

• you won't live in Ireland
• Nuala is pretty and you like it
• at SOME POINT it will be granny chic and then you'll be ahead of the curve

you should just go with it. It's your baby and if you love it, don't let other people's opinions hold you back.

I’m going to go with it. I really love the name, I think it sounds pretty and unusual, probably because in the uk it’s pretty much unheard of and rare. Yes, I know If she ever goes to live in Ireland they will hate her name. But I searched the name on Facebook and Instagram, and it seems plenty of teenagers and 20 years old seem to have the name. So, not strictly only old women she will share the name with :)

It's a lovely choice to have made!

Just please tell us your surname is not Cahula ;-)

I know a 20yr old Nuala, she's lovely and it's the only time I've heard the name so I say go for it !!

SuperstarDJ 😂😂😂

I went to school with one, in England. This thread is interesting as I didn’t know it was an Irish name and hadn’t ever heard it before or since! I seem to remember people got a bit confused when spelling her name and there was some low-level pisstaking going on, but I think you get that with every name.

@Emilyjoy yay!!! it's a lovely name.

@Emilyjoy the last Lord Mayor of
Belfast is a nuala - she's in her late 20s:

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuala_McAllister

I think Nuela is lovely and a lot easier to pronounce from spelling than other Irish names. So what if it's granny name in Ireland. Surely all the Irish names that are being used now were granny names at one point too if they are traditional.

P.S in Glasgow new and two are pronounced the same

If you want to misspell it why not go for Noola. I'd guess Nuela to be Noo-Ella.

The problem with subtle misspellings is - the chances of people believing it's deliberate are incredible slim, whilst the chances of people thinking the parents where numpties is quite high.

I have a friend called Rybeka and that's not too bad, it's so far off, it's obviously deliberate, but something subtle is too risky I think.

*incredibly

Rybeka is awful. So are Noola and Nuela. Nuala might need explaining but it's not that difficult.

I work with a Finula who prefers to be called Nuala. It's a lovely name.