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

Especially with young children who often can't pronounce th or in areas where it's common for th to be pronounced as f

I like Fiadh - Roisin to me is an adults name. I also love Aoife - but I know of 3 born since January so getting very popular here!

Cara and Niamh are also some of my favourites!

I think it might he worth doing some more research into Fionn.
Ffion for a girl is a very well known name in England and Wales so it might cause some confusion. My first thought was you were choosing a female name for him so it might be worth your checking out how many people think it's too closely associated with the girl's name.
Of course, that may not be something you would be concerned about, in which case - great.

Cara and Niamh are in my top 5 girls Irish names.

Op I loved Finn too but when I told my East end of London in laws they laughed and said He would get jokes about being fat because they says Finn the same way as the say thin because of the way they say the 'th' sound.

I honestly would think Fionn was a girl.
Or a typo, sorry,

What no Sorcha?! Every Aisling I know is an absolute delight so utterly biased there. Roisin is always Roisin Murphy to me, therefore cool as

@whiteroseredrose I see your point but it's a very subjective thing and for me it's more important that my child feels Irish or connected to Ireland. I think it will be fine.

I see the concerns on Fiadh as Thea especially as we live in east London!

Sorcha - love it but surname begins with S so I was sort of avoiding S names for that reason

Fionn as ffion - funnily I've lived in the UK for 14 years and never met a Ffion

And it kind of underlined the point right? I'd have to check how to pronounce Ffion - but that doesn't mean I think that Welsh people should not use it if that's the name they choose... it's instead for me to learn how to say it right, no?

@Hepsibar aww. Thank you 😊

Roisin for me. I know a few little Fiadhs and always think they sound like someone saying Thea who can’t pronounce their Th properly.

Fiadh...

Only because I knew a girl at school called Roisin and she was a horrible person so that's what I associate that name with!

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.

Not in my experience of having lived for almost 30 years in various parts of England, with an Irish first name and surname, eg Doireann Ní Dálaigh (fake surname, but I am called Doireann). As @mathanxiety says, pretty much everyone gets it once I tell them. But I don't fall apart if the new GP receptionalist says 'Umm -- Doyreen?'

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.

Yawn.

The English can cope perfectly well with names that aren’t jane and jack.

OP please don’t anglicise beautiful Irish names to cater to lazy people. Those who want to pronounce her name will simply ask how its pronounced and then repeat what they hear. The U.K. is so diverse- they really can manage a name that doesn’t sound like how they would say it. And for those that can’t- the only way they will learn is by having to keep seeing and hearing these names- not by eradicating them from use!

And Aoibhe should definitely be pronounced “Eva”

Roisin but only because she'll be asked how to spell / pronounce her name on a daily basis . Also when it comes to her learning to spell her name she'll be in a right pickle

Coming from someone who has another Celtic doesn't look how it's spelt name.

I love Fiadh

Both absolutely beautiful names, impossible choice.

I also love 'Fraoch' (Heather) sort of pronounced like Fray-uck. It's my favourite name, also appropriate for this time of the year, as the winter Heather is in bloom.

Or what about Nollaig?

Good luck with your impending arrival, and please come back and update

Aoibhe = Eva, just like Aoife is pronounced Efa.
Ava is Éabha

Aoife by far the nicest option and additionally I think the pronunciation is pretty well known in England.

Hi

We're in the same position! I really like Fiadh. You're other choice is one of my name's and I find that it's difficult for English accents to get right even with corrections. I have a longer Irish first name and they find it much easier!

I actually love the look of Eabhla! But think if you're going to have a lovely Irish name you might as well be less popular in sound. What about Eadaoin? I've been pondering Eimear too

Fionn is great as a boys name!

Roisin is such a lovely name.

Fiadh wouldn’t work for me here in London. It sounds like someone saying Thea with a cockney accent.

Ignore my random '

Fiadh, especially if it's a Christmas baby!

Ps love the suggestion of Nollaig. That's less susceptible to the whims of fashion I think. There have always been a very few Nollaigs, as obviously it's not a name you'd give to a baby not born in or around Christmas, so it's not like Fiadh which is in fashion now. Nothing wrong with that but it is. There are more older Roisins. Again, nothing bad about that! But it is the case.

Eimear on a baby, no no no. Can't cope. That's like a baby Brian.

I'm with you @PotteryWheel and @IWorkAtTheCheesecakeFactory

I don't want the child to hate me forever more but I also don't think having an Irish name is the curse of doom 😂

@SlightlyBonkersQFA @AlwaysOnAbloodyDiet
I'm not convinced on Nollaig but thanks for the suggestion! Although eerily my husband earlier was asking me what the months are in Irish, great minds?!

What about Lunasa?? 😉

Fraoch is cute but I prefer the others more.

I do like Aoibhe a lot but we have an Eva in the family which is putting me off. Hence I prefer Éabha, dunno why the spelling of that is putting me off though.
Aoife is still an option...

Eadaoin... don't love it but good suggestion too, do you know if you're having a boy or a girl?

Seems a bit split down the middle with Fiadh and Roisin - I think that's a positive!!