Fiadh or Roisin?

[agteacht]

Hi all

I know this has probably been done to death but any help with Irish girls names gratefully received. I'm Irish and DH is English, we are living in the UK.

Baby is due this week... we don't know what it is actually but if it's a boy I think we are set on Fionn. DH seems to be able to pronounce it okay!

I'm a bit more stuck on girls names for some reason and again think it's now down to Fiadh or Roisin.

Fiadh (fee-a) means wild or little deer, depending on what you read
Roisin (ro-sheen) means little rose

I liked Caoimhe but DH can't cope with the spelling and said it's like Quavers....

I've also thought about Aoife and I like Éabha but not mad about the spelling for some reason - I don't know why but I don't think it looks pretty!

Any views on Fiadh or Roisin, which do you think you would choose?

I know 2 Aibhe's, both pronounced Ava, one spelled Aoibhe and one spelled Aibhe. I suppose Aoibhe should be Eva?

I like Roisin, but I could be biased 😉

'Donal' was probably spelt Domnhall, but yes like 'dough-nul'.

I knew how to pronounce Caoimhe straight away too - both versions! - and I'm in England, but my grandmother was Irish, so I've heard Irish names all of my life.

I like Roisin, but then I know the emphasis goes on the first syllable...I think she would probably be called Rosie at some point though.

Aoibhe is pronounced Ava

I've only ever heard Aoibhe pronounced Eva - not to say it isn't pronounced Ava in places, but I've only heard Eva.

He’s Felim, @agteacht.

I know a little Fia and love her name sooo much... But I'm not sure if that's a massive difference between Fiadh and FIA?

Roisin-I'm Irish living in England and find people pronounce it properly once you tell them what it means❤️my little rose

Roisin is lovely.

Fiadh I think you would have more issues with people spelling or pronouncing it wrong.

Fiadh would be ‘fear’ or F-‘eeh’

I really prefer Roisin for a girl.
Fionn for a boy is wonderful.

Roisin is better. Fiadh will either be turned to ‘Fiat’ or ‘Fear’ so has more bullying potential

OP, Aoibhe really should always be pronounced Eva, as in words like Aoine, aois, faoi, cathaoir, gaoithe, Laois, caoineadh, daoine, draoi, etc.

Fionn is always Fyunn, never Finn, PreseaCombatir

Fwiw, I would go for Róisín.

Though that O sound is mangled in the SE.

Roisin.

Fiadh is overdone now.

Aisling? Quite like it. Never too many about anymore.

I would advise against kwee-va because it’s sounds like queef!

I think that since u live in the Uk it may be best to spell whatever name you pick the British way, for your child’s convenience instead of having to spell their name and explain etc every time

Therefore I think I prefer Eva/Ava out of your choices.

Btw I’m not sweeping your heritage under the carpet, but even for my children, I picked names that worked in both British culture and my husband’s ethnic heritage.

Orla is in the top 100 in the UK now, and spelt easily...so this may be a better well known choice?

Ohhh maybe Roisin is winning now 😂

That's what I reckon too @mathanxiety and don't want the pronunciation not to be true to what it should be. Thanks for the examples... v helpful!

@Thetimetravelerswife see your point but it's important to me that it's the Irish version. The child will have my husbands surname and I want it to have something to tie it to Ireland too. I figure that the UK is so diverse with so many cultures that it can cope with another non-British name 😉👍
For some reason my husband struggles with Orla because he says it like 'Aw-la'

@Belfastian Aisling is really pretty and I think it means 'dream' if I remember correctly which is so lovely. It's just already used in the family unfortunately

@BonBon411 glad Fionn is getting some approval, maybe should just 🤞 it's a boy 😊

The clincher is 'Taoiseach', agteacht.

Hahaha @mathanxiety for a minute I thought you were saying call it Taoiseach 😂

Although Leo is cute, just not for me! I bet it has raised in popularity too

If you're planning on staying in the UK then you are setting your DC up for a lifetime of having their name butchered and misspelled.

The difference with other names from different cultures is that they have a different alphabet so are phonetic when written down. So most people can pronounce Mohammed or Fatima when they see it. With Irish names is the same alphabet but different pronunciation. So Roisin looks like Roy-sin, Orla is indeed Aw-la and I worked in a school with a See-o-ban (no Irish origin, parents just liked the name).

Can you not find a name that is straightforward in both languages?

@agteacht

whiteroseredrose - are British people really so clueless and insular? I have an Irish name and live in the US. The majority of people manage it just fine once I tell them how to pronounce it. And I accept reasonable efforts with a smile because life is too short.

Where we live in the uk Irish names are very popular so people don’t tend to have an issue with them and if they don’t know how to pronounce initially it’s quite easy to pick up. My ds has had a few issues with his name but he just corrects people and it’s not the end of the world. I would consider if names can be easily pronounced with the local accent as there are some Irish names that people with different accents just aren’t able to say. I really struggle with clodagh for example, I just can’t say it right.

I agree with you @mathanxiety I have an unusual Irish name and honestly after two attempts most people here get it easily enough. Mind you I have lived in London for the last 16 years, maybe people are more insular elsewhere. That said I find the Americans seem to actually like Irish names, here in the UK anything that isn't traditionally British is approached with an air of mistrust.

And as for Caoimhe, can I just say: my DC1 is 7. He's been in two different nurseries, a preschool and his current class - and there has been a Caoimhe in every one. I don't think it's a rare name at all and I think it's this generation's Siobhán - the one name they'll all know!

They are all beautiful as your baby will be. How lovely to have such gorgeous names to choose from ... you cant go wrong.

I’d worry that people would misunderstand Fiadh and think you were just mispronouncing Thea. I think she’d get Thea a lot.

I love love Aoife and like Orla.