Names you aren't sure how to pronounce

[whatausername]

Since we're all inside for the foreseeable future...

What are some names you're not quite sure how to pronounce? We'll see if we can help each other. But do take answers with a pinch of salt given the wide variety of accents we all have!

For me: Hebe (hee-bee?) and João leave me feeling uncertain.

@whatsausername
Conchúr, the modern version of Conchubair, is pronounced Cru-hoor or Cun-a-hoor.

Of course! It makes no sense to me either! I used to call the lecturer concubine

@heygirlheyboy

Cun-a-hoor I'd have got! Would never have got cru-hoor 😂

Siobhan- whenever I see this name I clam up!
It's probably very simple to pronounce but I just don't know!

Hee hee!

May I throw Caoilfhionn into the mix? I've googled my concubine and he must have retired!

Siobhan = Sh - vaughan

Sh as in should
Vaughan to to rhyme with lawn

Afaik there is no V in Irish so bh is pronounced V

Meadhbh = Maeve

Is that not Kah-leen/Koh-leen? What's halfway between an O and an A? Lol.

Disclaimer: I could be thinking of a totally different name!

It's Kealan! Isn't it a beautiful spelling? It must mean narrow/thin blonde! Right going to take myself and my anorak off to bed.

@whatsausername
Are you thinking of Colleen? Cailín, meaning girl, in Irish.

I had a pal growing up called Caolaidhe - pronounced Cali - right? I’ve always liked it but would never have used it due to how popular Callie has become for girls. I still think of Cali as being more of a boy’s name but I know it’s not for most people

Louis

Ruaridh/Ruairi/Ruairidh etc

Jean-Baptiste

Adrienne

Naomi

Mika

Beaux

Bijou

Louis: Lou-ee or Lou-iss

Ruaridh/Ruairi/Ruairidh etc: Rory

Naomi: Nay - oh - me or Nay- oh-my

Beaux - Bow

Bijou - be shoe....kinda like that

I have never in my life run across a Conchúr or Conchubhar who pronounced it Cun-a-hoor. Mind you, all the people I know of that name have connections to Connemara Irish colleges (as opposed to Munster).

Caoilfhionn - Kee-lan. Means slender and fair.
Cailín = girl (anglicised as the noun colleen and the name Colleen).

Louis - Loo-ee.

Ruaridh/Ruairi/Ruairidh etc - Ruhr-ee

Jean-Baptiste - Zhann-Ba'teest.

Adrienne - Aid-ree-enn

Naomi - Nay-O-mee

Mika - Meeka.

Beaux - Bo (this is a plural of beau, and shouldn't therefore be a name.)

Bijou - Bee-zhoo.

Caolaidhe is not pronounced 'Cali'.

It's Quail-uh.

Mhairi is 'varry' according to the few I know. I swear I have heard that some people say 'marry' though.

Mhairi is the vocative case of Mairi. It is pronounced with the V sound as the M is lenited (with the H) in the vocative case.
It's what you would say to Mairi if you were hailing her - 'Hi, Mairi'.
Mairi is the name (nominative case).
The comma is used strategically in English to indicate the vocative case. The different cases in grammar cause differences in initial sound and also in endings of nouns in Irish and Gàidhlig.

You get Cru-hoor from Conchur in Connemara Irish, and also cruk for cnoc (hill). I'm sure there are other instances of CN turning into CR.

'im in Ireland and all Madeline's I know are pronounced Mad-uh-leen. It's how the French pronounce that spelling of the name too'

Irish Madeleines are pronounced Mad-uh-leen too.

Thaddeus - Ta-DAY-us

Tadhg/Tadgh

These spellings are not interchangeable.

T-a-d-h-g is the correct spelling.
Tadh = 'tye'
G = 'g'
Put them together and you have Tye-g, like tiger without the 'er'.

If you spell it T-a-d-g-h you get something like Tod.

Nuala.

Noo-uh-la

The UA diphthong should always be sounded in Irish. (So should the IA diphthong, as in Niamh).
The A turns into the schwa in both cases (a barely heard 'uh' sound).

seersha..

Przemyslaw is Shem-e-slov.

The L is what would in Irish be a broad L, pronounced with the tip of the tongue against the back of the front teeth. It's almost a W sound.

The V at the end is a very soft and indistinct V, again almost a W.

@mathanxiety do you teach Irish? You know everything