I didn't think this name would be so unpopular

[spookybitches]

So all throughout my pregnancy, my husband and I kept our baby name choices to ourselves. My baby is now 2 months old, and nearly everyone we have met or spoken to, have mispronounced it. Granted, we haven't seen many people over the last few weeks, so now I'm starting to wonder if it's just my family or if it's really so unheard of?
My baby boy is called Cillian (DH Irish). My whole family pronounce it silly-an even when I've corrected them numerous times.
Can I ask if you would know how to pronounce Cillian? I'm worried I've set him up for a lifetime correcting people.

@Pixielou16 I just googled him. Never seen him in anything but I dint watch much TV I guess. I have heard of Peaky Blinders but not seen it. You'd be surprised at what people don't know!

Yes the Catherine example is a good one. The spelling of that that caught me out was kathryn (staff). We have warnings on lists now where there are similar names and triple check details when the patient arrives.

Both my brothers and I, have had our names shortened by family and others.

Are they shortened to a standard alternative or some random thing like you suggested above with Ian for Cillian? If the former, an understandable error until corrected. If the latter, extremely rude.

Caveat - nicknames by close family and friends are different. They often have nothing to do with the name and tend to evolve organically.

It's a really lovely name. I only knew it was pronounced Kill ee an because of the Irish actor and have since heard of a couple of other Cillians. Yes most of us would automatically pronounce is Sillian when we have seen it written down for the first time, but once we've been told the correct pronunciation, what's the problem?
I would say tough luck to anyone in your family and circles who have difficulty remembering - that is the name of your little one and they need to learn it. If they struggle, they need to try harder!
You don't need to apologise or worry about others. It's a great choice.

My kids have nicknames. PK, which are not his initials, Ga which is what ds called dd1, and Bim who is a 23 year old engineer. These are nothing like their real names.

@Sooverthemill - Wish I knew what the rule was!

There isn't A rule. It's an entire language so lots of rules. There are also several dialects.

Irish is much more phonetic than English so once you know the rules, you can pronounce most things correctly within the dialect your are using.

My cousin is called Brian, I wonder why we never shortened it to Ian

You don't hear 'Ian' when you say Brian. It's Bry-Anne. So I think it tends to be shortened to Bry. Though could be shortened to Anne?

Thanks @OchonAgusOchonO. I love languages

Or Ann. The E is trying too hard.
My sil is Ann, shortened to Annie!

I'm from N Ireland but have never learnt Irish because it's generally only taught in Catholic schools. But it's amazing how much the language must have influenced my own speecha and understanding, without me really being aware of it. Despite knowing no Irish, it's very obvious to me how most (not all, but certainly the more widely used ones, like in this example) names and words are pronounced because they generally follow very standard pronunciation rules, so if you've seen one name written down and heard it pronounced, you can understand the next one you see. I find it so odd that people struggle with names like Ciara or Ciaran, or Siobhan or Roisin when they are so obviously phonetic to me. I obviously know more about Irish than I ever realised.

Anyway, the bottom line is that it's perfectly ok to not know how an unfamiliar name is pronounced, but it's really rude to refuse to pronounce it correctly once you've been told. I'm always amazed that so many people claim to be simply unable to pronounce Irish or Welsh names but have no trouble at all with names from other languages.

@Sooverthemill - maybe give Duolingo a go? They have Irish on it. The discussions also often point to some useful resources.

To those saying that seeing a c to start the name they would say sillian explain why you would not pronounce Cathy as Sathy. Those that continue to pronounce a name wrong after being corrected are just ignorant.

Like Gillian but with a c

Like killian I should of said

Cathy isn't a good comparison as it's Ca not Ci. I'd pronounce Cilla as Silla not Killa and Priscilla as Prissilla not Priskilla so it's a reasonable assumption to pronounce Cillian as Sillian.

To those saying that seeing a c to start the name they would say sillian explain why you would not pronounce Cathy as Sathy

Circus - sircus
Citronella - sitronella
Citrus - sitrus
ci is an ss sound in my world, before today id never seen the name

To those saying that seeing a c to start the name they would say sillian explain why you would not pronounce Cathy as Sathy

There is one rule that can help your child, especially when he is attempting to decode longer, multisyllable, words. The "Rule of c" covers the pronunciation of the letter "c", indicating when "c" stands for the /s/ sound.

The rule is: The letter c represents /s/ before the letters e, i or y; otherwise it represents /c/.

Love cleaning my kitchen with Kill it - Bang

Northern Ireland placenames , like Knockagh or Ahoghill or Lough Neagh or Ligoniel an advantage on learning how to pronounce Irish names. Coupled with high intelligence, and the ability to ask how to pronounce a a name, and remember the answer.

Teasing? Why would a Cillian be any more likely to get teasing than any other name??
Genuinely want to know!
William is popular and shortens to Willy but doesn't seem to stop people choosing it and nor should it!
All names rhyme with something or can be linked to someone unpleasant. There isn't a name out there that cant be teased if someone wants to tease that child and it's not like Cillian is a ridiculous name, it's an Irish classic and very popular in Ireland which really isn't very far away!

I actually think it's the adults that are the problem when it comes to name teasing not the children. I hear far worse things on mumsnet about names than you ever hear in the playground. Kids generally dont actually care about names at all!

@Sooverthemill I suppose I'm a big fan, so I've seen a lot of his film and theatre work. It's a great name!

eggandonion

You'd be surprised at what people don't know!

After more than 20 years living in England, believe me, I could not be surprised by what some English people do not know about Ireland.

I would have mispronounced it too. It is odd though that your family keep mispronouncing it after you’ve corrected them. Are they usually a bit thick?