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

If you want Keelin just use it. Don’t try to convince everyone that it’s an Irish name that is both pronounced and spelt differently, because it just isn’t

Unfortunately OP, lots of Irish people are bad at Irish and there are plenty of Irish people walking around with names that are spelled or pronounced incorrectly (Sorcha = sore-sha, Aoibheann = ay-venn etc - not unusual but wrong).

You also shouldn't trust my opinion btw, you need a native speaker really. I do know "cao" can never spell "key" though.

I’m in NI too and most Caolans i know are “kale-in” I have heard some “keel-ins” though.

If you want kaylawn then you need the fada on the second a Caolán.

Isn’t it a bit of a risk to give a child a name that means “slender” in case they grow up and aren’t slender?

@74NewStreet I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything, why would I?
My Irish husband pronounces it one way which has been echoed by many posters here. It has just confirmed that there are many different pronunciations of the same name and I'm just trying to balance choosing a name we love with making his life easier in the UK, that's all.

Caol in Irish meaning slender is pronounced "quail", so this name as written Caolan would be prounounced "quail-an" or if there is a fada on the second "a", then it would be quail- awn.

The girls name which is often anglicised to Keelin comes from same root but is spelled Caoilfhionn - means slender and fair (fionn being fair). Because it has the extra "i" in the first part of the name, it changes the sound from "quail" to "keel".

Munster Irish, I should have said. NI pronunciation differs.

Thanks @cucumbersalad that's interesting to know.

Excellent explanations cucumber & 'quail' SO much better sound to pick than mine 🤦🏻‍♀️

I called a Caolan (Kee-lin) today who was delighted that I knew how to pronounce his name as people often call him colon I have a Ruaridh so we bonded over mispronounciations

Caolan with no fada I’d pronounce Kay lan. Caolán with a fada I’d pronounce Kay lawn. The fada on the second a changes the sound to make sound longer.

@BearFoxBear it's funny you say that as we have a Rory and we agonized over the Ruairi spelling. As it happens his best friend is a Ruaridh and does get all sorts of pronunciations!
My DH thinks Caolan over here will get mixtures of Chow-lan or Say-lan etc.

@Batmanandrobin123 It's a minefield!

I'm in Ireland & the only Caolan I know pronounces it KEE-lun & goes by Cal. I love the name.

I wouldn't go with Keelin, that's a girls' name.

I’m in Ireland and have only ever heard it pronounced kale-in. (Kale pronounced as it’s spelled, not as kaaaaayyyyle)

I'm in Wales and my best friend has a Caelan (pronounced Kaylan) - I really like it. Have only ever come across one other since he was born - he's a teenager now. That spelling seems to be of Scottish origin though.

I know a Caelan (kaylan) and a Keelan

Know one in Scotland and he is Kay-lon

I`m english I read it as colon!

My Caolán is pronounced Kale -an. As is the other Caolán in his class and the other 2 Caolán's in his year group. 😉

@AlpacaGoodnight are you based in the UK or Ireland? Keelan is the spelling we are leaning towards.

@notanotherpothole that is a lot of Caolans!! Where do you live (roughly) if you don't mind me asking? Understand if you'd rather not say. Just surprises me as it is so low down the list in Ireland and the UK. Maybe it's a regional thing!

I'm Belfast. I thought it was uncommon too, til I turned up to baby swim class with 2 other Caolán's there. It seems to be popular enough all over Northern Ireland, without ever being really popular.

Why would you say not to include the fada @Stillfunny? Surely that changes the pronunciation? My daughters middle name is welsh and has the letter â in it, without the ‘to bach’ it changes from a long a (as in far) to a short one (as in and).

Cow lan?