Ruadh?

[GoEasyJulia]

We are struggling for names for DC3 and are thinking Ruadh for a boy. The other two have unusual but not unheard of old Irish names.

Is it a ‘proper’ Irish name is what I’m asking I’m suppose!

Plus any suggestion of your favourite Irish names for girls and boys appreciated

I thought Ruadh was a Scottish name/nickname meaning red. Not an Irish name.
It's a nice name.

As Penfold said it's scottish gaelic, traditionally a boys name but the ones I have met recently are all girls so think it's becoming unisex.

How is it pronounced?

I’m not sure if I’ve ever met a Ruadh here in Ireland, it’s normally a surname, a middle name or a nickname. It does mean red / red haired.

It’s nice though 👍

My sister has a red setter named Ruadh.

I'd think of it as a nickname - like "Ginger" (only without the negative connotations) rather than a name.

That said, very similarly, Ruadhán (the red-haired one) is a proper* boys name and in fact is the root from which Rowan derives. You'd pronounce it "Roo-awn".

("Proper" meaning traditional or original, not a judgment on the shorter version!)

@itssquidstella it's pronounced ROO-a.

You can also have Rohán (Rowan).

Ruaraidh?

OP while I love Irish names, my children are English and we have gone with pronounceability as key, or at least ones that are reasonably familiar to British people.

Other boys' names we considered:
Lorcan
Fintan
Conall
Diarmuid

For girls it was the usual Aoife/Caoimhe/Saoirse, because a) I love the sound of them and b) those are at least popular enough that most people who have kids in school by now will know another child of that name. And if they don't, yours might be the first but not the last! I've even met a couple of Aoibhinns and Niamhs here too.

Thank you all, I think I'll have to keep looking as I would prefer to keep the name in line with the other two which both feature in Irish mythology.

Thanks for the suggestions, I do like Ruadhan and Lorcan.

Absolutely love Ruadh... such a beautiful name. I'm a massive fan of irish/Celtic names.
When are you due?

I've just come across this thread... what did you call your baby in the end? I named my eldest Ruadh (2013 baby) it was going to be Ruadhán but my wife thought it might be too much for people here in England!