Oban - anyone familiar with this name?

[CornerOfTheSky]

This name is on our potentials list for boys, because it's one of few that we both agree we like, going purely by the sound of the name, and that it means little bay, rather than any particular connection to the place in Scotland or being big fans of the whisky.

Could anyone confirm the pronunciation? If my research is right, I think it's pronounced Obe-un, a bit like Open with a b, and the emphasis on the Oh syllable, rather than saying it like Oh-BAN or Oh-BEN?

Would appreciate the input of any Scottish mumsnetters, Twitter seemed a bit disparaging of Oban the place,...is it a bit like naming your child Blackpool?

I think it is quite pleasant, just like a lot of places it can suffer from a lack of investment.
The basic countryside, seascape and architecture are very scenic.

No different to naming your child Preston or Chelsea or any other town name I guess. I would wonder if child had been conceived there though!

It sounds quite nice as a name, but poor Oban would spend his entire life explaining to people why he was called Oban, and I think he'd get sick to death of having the same conversation over and over.

I like the pp's suggestion of Oran.

(I was in Oban last month. It's OK. A bit grey and run down, and it rains a lot. The countryside around there is beautiful.)

I love the place, go there often for a weekend away. Just nostalgia though. It's not the nicest of places. I wouldn't name my child oban though.

I'm not getting what's wrong with Oban the town - ferries to the Hebrides, fabulous scenery and countryside, amazing chippy I suppose if you're comparing it with St Tropez or somewhere...

But if you can't pronounce it, don't call your son it, is a reasonable rule. Sounds ok to me, though I'm not a fan of made-up names.

OH-ban - you can listen here: learngaelic.scot/dictionary/index.jsp?abairt=Oban&slang=both&wholeword=false

Oban does mean 'little bay' - though the bay at Oban is huge , in fact ; as previous posters have said it's the main ferry port for the Hebriedes. And rather run down, though not unpleasantly so. But perhaps you might want to NB that there is a very, very similar word in Scottish gaelic ( obann) that means 'suddenly'.

More about Oban town maps.nls.uk/townplans/background/oban.html

It's not usually used as a name, though there were six babies given the name in Scotland in 2018, but none in 2010. So perhaps it's having a moment... Stats here www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/names/babies-first-names/full-lists-of-babies-first-names-2010-to-2014

I think it looks really quaint. You’d expect to see the Balamorey characters wandering about...

I grew up around there, its a nice little place, ALWAYS windy. I don't think it's a nice name for a child but each to their own! I'm probably too used to hearing it.

I have met one and love the name.
Although I detest the place... it's a nightmare tourist trap.
I'm.scottish and it's it's pronounced as it's written.
so ... Ohhhban

I visited Oban while honeymooning in Scotland. We had excellent fish and chips and listened to a little folk band playing in the basement of a bar. I quite liked it there. It's not really established as a name for a child though.

It is quaint from a distance. Close up, it has some pleasant Victorian buildings and some rather scruffy areas. But nothing horrific. It has charm.

However - most important - who you WILL find wandering around are thousands and thousands of tourists. the streets can be crammed on summer weekends.It's Scotland's fifth most popular tourist destination, I believe. It's frequently said - though I don't know where the info comes from - that the population swells from around 8500 in winter to 25,000 in summer. It's not posh or gentrified or particularly cultural (unlike Tobermory, home of Balamory) - it's a busy working port. westhighlandline.org.uk/oban/ Like all ports, it's very interesting. And it is in a truly spectacular setting.

It rains on almost 200 days per year. It gets wonderful sunsets.

Oh, I meant quaint in a good way! Maybe it was the wrong world.

Word . Jesus...

time to shine Sorry if I gave the wrong impression - I wasn't meaning to criticise your post. Oban does indeed look quaint in the picture-postcard long-distance veiws. All I was trying to say is that close up it can also be very busy and very very touristy, and that the port is right at the heart of the town. I rather like Oban as a place but I most certainly wouldn't name a child after it.

No worries, I don’t always express myself very well

I was also brought up there and quite enjoy the single malt but I would not give my child the name. I do like Oran though

@florascotia2 that's a great link, the names listed
Fave Baroque-Valentyne

Obanweekinobee

The name Nairn isn’t so uncommon so it’s not really any different from that!

It feels downmarket to me but I can’t put my finger on why

It's a bit similar to Onan.

Why not call him Aberdeen or Auchtermuchty instead?

or William after Fort William.

I’m Scottish, I’d assume he was named after the place, I’d think it a bit odd if I’m honest, obans ok, nice for a day out, I’d not name my kid it though and I don’t think you can get away from the connection.

As others said though it could be worse, you could name him Glasgow.

A previous poster mentioned Nairn. That is indeed a place name and it is used as a first name, but it's also a surname and that is - I think - how it came to be used as a first name. Traditionally - well, in the 19th/20th cent and maybe earlier - Scottish first sons were often given their paternal grandfather's first name. Second sons were often given their mother's surname as a first name: hence boys named Cameron, Campbell, Crawford etc etc.