Dh and I can’t agree - Ruaridh or Hamish

[Middledistancerunner]

We live in England so that has a bearing on it.

Dh thinks Ruaridh will be called Rory.
I think Hamish will be shortened to Ham.

Which is the less worst option?

(We have been debating baby names for months now, baby is now 12 days old, so we’re not looking to try out different names, it has to be one of these two).

His twin is called Ishbel.

Dh thinks Ruaridh will be called Rory

I'd pronounce it Rur-dah until I read this thread so maybe Rory is the least of your worries. :)

Im Scottish and in England. I name my son Rory, my Scottish friends/family pronounce it Roory anyway!

Hamish, otherwise he’ll spend his life spelling out his name for people.

(LOVE Ishbel btw, dd was nearly called that, but it didn’t sound good with our surname ☹️)

Everyone's got a bloomin ruairidh now.
Hamish is a great name! I wouldn't shortened it to ham.

Ruairidh is pronounced Roo-ree

I like both but really live Hamish. I don’t think the two ish sounds in Hamish and Ishbel matter. You tend to address or refer to your children in birth order, so it will be Ishbel and Hamish, where the two ish sounds are at opposite ends.

Oh I love Ishbel!

I have a Ruairidh and love it, but we are in Scotland where it’s really quite common, everyone can pronounce it although no one can spell it! (Even though Ruaridh is a bit more common at the moment, Ruairidh is more correct in Gaelic I believe).

I think in England I’d probably choose Hamish - I’ve found English people often find Ruairidh quite hard to say even once they know how to pronounce it!

Love Mhairi too - great names!

Hamish is definitely the way to go. It’s a brilliant name! The son I’ll never have is called Hamish

I would go with Ruairi and leave out the dh

I don’t like the ‘ish’ repetition with Hamish and Ishbel.
It also seems a little odd that you’re not worried about her forever correcting people from calling her Isobel!
I love Ruaridh, it’s a lovely name.

I really like the name Hamish.

I like both sorry. I absolutely love Ishbel.

Congratulations you lucky thing.

Are you Scottish? I wouldn't call him ruairidh living in England, it just seems impractical, though I do think it's a lovely name. Hamish not so much personally.

All your names are my close family & friends names

I wouldn't choose Hamish for a twin with Ishbel though, Ruaridh is better. Love Mhairi (I pronounce it varry too).

Outing, but I'm Mhairi and I've got a Hamish - never a ham!

My other names are just a mish-mash of gaelic letters - so my advice would be to never, ever venture south of Hadrian's wall. Sorted.

I’d have thought it is either

Ruairidh or Ruaraidh if following spelling rules. Caol le caol, leathan le leathan.

Definitely Ruaridh

Hamish is better due to spelling and pronunciation but is very popular in the Scottish middle classes.

Ruairidh (traditional spelling) would be my favourite but not if you live in England, and not if you're rhyming it with Jury. It's more or less pronounced Brewery but without the B. Roo-a-rhee with the middle syllable so short it almost doesn't (but definitely does) exist.

Hamish and Ishbel are a bit matchy but definitely the better choice in this situation.

I have a Ruaridh. He loves his name. He is Ru at nursery. There is a Ruaridh in the starting line up for England rugby today and the commentators will pronounce it properly due to Ruaridh Jackson (Scotland).
No one has actually had an issue with it at all (I'm in a very English county). It did help having an Irish priest at his baptism though!

Love both, and also Angus (sorry, you didn't want any more suggestions).
If you go for Ruairidh I would keep the Gaelic spelling as your older daughter already has a Gaelic name and might seem a bit odd to anglicize one and not the other. Possibly over-thinking!

I love both names ( and love Ishbel too). As a twin for Ishbel I prefer Ruaridh as the 2 x ish sounds would annoy me, however it's not a deal breaker if that doesn't worry you. I've known a few Hamishes and have never heard Ham shortening. I had assumed Ruaridh was pronounced Rory, so I've learned something. It wouldn't worry me to have to correct pronunciation sometimes and for the spelling to be tricky. (One of my daughters has a name with these issues and she doesn't mind). People who care will learn, and the Rory pronunciation is fine too.

I have never met a Hamish called Ham.

I much prefer Rhuaridh but i wouldn’t use it in England. My English in laws struggle enough with Fraser (Frazer, Fraiser, etc)!