Caolan

[Batmanandrobin123]

Firstly pleeeeease don't put me off this name. Dh and I have finally decided on it after months of agonising and we just need help to decide pronunciation and spelling!
I'm particularly interested in Irish mumsnetters views on how this is pronounced.

My DH who was born and raised in Ireland (down South if that makes a difference) is convinced it is pronounced Kee-lawn or Kee-lun and wants to spell it Keelan as we live in England.
However, after googling it seems some people (including Irish people it seems) say Kay-lawn or Kay-lun. Some people even spell it Caelan.
I've even checked the baby names of Ireland and it appears that all spellings are in use (Caolan, Caolán, Keelan and Caelan)
I quite like the pronunciation Caylan but he said he has never heard that pronunciation in Ireland and it sounds made up to him.
DS 1 has an Irish name and we want to follow with the theme as at 3 years old he is already aware he is half Irish and very proud of his Irish name.
Views welcome

The only 'Keelan' I know spells it Cialan. He does complain that most people call him Kieran or don't know how to spell his name. :)

In Ireland and I would pronounce it Cay lawn.

I'm in NI, most people I know pronounce it kale-in but some say keel-in. Personally I prefer kale-in but either is lovely imo. Not a fan of kway-lin but think that's mostly because we don't really use that version up here (eg we don't use it for Caoimhe, Caoimhin etc)

And please don't include the fiada if you are in UK !

In Scotland and I would pronounce this like Cool-an

In N.I. We say Kee-lin.

Thanks all, haven't seen Cialan before!
I had a feeling it could be a regional thing in terms of pronunciation and we could probably get away with either.
Does the spelling Caelan look bad do you think? I'm a bit of a name nerd and normally a stickler for spelling but I would rather avoid confusion for him if possible.

Great choice, Caolan is a very fine name.

In my view traditional Irish names should be spelled in the traditional Irish way, so I'm not a fan of anglicised spellings at all. ‘Caylan’ does look like a made-up name.

I know a little boy with this name. He is lovely and pronounces it Kay-lan. I'm South-East England.

I think I would say keel-in, but that could be regional. The ending would only be -awn if you use the fada, without the fada it’s -in (I think! Not an expert, maybe someone else can confirm!)

I'm in Northern Ireland and we say kale-in as another pp has said. My ds5 went to nursery school with a child who had this name and it was pronounced that way.

I'm Scottish and I'd say Cool-an too.

Kaylan from me to!

Thanks all, keep opinions coming. Options we are considering:
Caolan - pronounced Caylan
Keelan - pronounced as written
Caelan - pronounced Caylan

I think expecting people in England to say Keelan when the spelling is Caolan just won't happen and would be setting him up for confusion?

I would spell Caolán and say Cay-Lawn as the only person I know with the name spells and says it like that. I'm Down South but he is originally from the North.

Irish and I would have said key-lin. Love it btw

Ps there is no k in Irish so may be a bit odd...

I'm English and thought it might be pronounced Caylan or Cay-uh-lan.

Caolan = kay-lan

Caolán = kay-lawn

Caoileann (?) = keelin

The ao together can't make an ee sound, you'd need an i in there. And then after the consonants you'd need an i or e. Irish has very strict rules on pronunciation (albeit with some variation between dialects), not like English at all.

Mindy - I understand what you're saying but then I find it confusing that lots of Irish people on here have said they would pronounce it Key-lin, including my husband.
It makes it really hard to know which is the best way to go.
Another poster mentioned there is no 'K' in the Irish alphabet...I'm aware of that but there do seem to be babies being born with the spelling Keelan in Ireland too. DH's cousin is a Keelan and he thinks it's quite accepted as an anglicised form. I'm really torn about what to do.
Thanks for all the opinions so far.

It's a lovely name OP. What's its meaning?

Thanks @iklboo it appears to mean 'slender little one' or 'slender and fair' depending on the site.
We actually liked Ciaran but it means 'dark' and our little one will almost certainly be fair so when I saw that Caolan can mean fair it made me like it even more.

Irish too & its Kay-lawn for me; although I baulk at even writing that as Caolán is derived from 'Caol' meaning slender/narrow. It's a gorgeous name but not sure if it's the best choice if in UK?

And sorry it's not really a 'Kay' sound it's a softer one, a bit like it's beginning w Q & rhyming with 'sway' (if that makes ANY sense at all!)

Irish and I know a Caolan who pronounces it Quail-an. Rhymes with Wailin'! Some family say kay-lan though.