Irish baby girl names

[Ek3009]

Hi I need some inspiration!

7 weeks to go and no further forward with names 🙈.

Baby girls surname will be Kilpatrick and we both have one Irish parent so want an Irish first name but really struggling to find something that we love.

Any suggestions welcome!

@ILoveStickers
Why is it "Aisling" but "Ailis"?
Ailis isn't the correct way to spell the name. It's a spelling combining English and Irish phonic elements.

It should be spelled with an É - but fada placement determines pronunciation, and there are several options:
Éilis pronounced Ay-lish, or
Éilís pronounced Ay-leesh, or
Eilis pronounced Eye-lish, or
Eilís pronounced Eye-leesh.

Neither Aisling (another English-Irish combo spelling) nor Aislinn have a fada.

LM2098
caoimhe is pronounced keeva not queeva or kweeva
Keeva = Connemara and Ulster Irish pronunciation.
Kweeva = Munster Irish.

I’ve seen the spelling Oonagh, is that never correct? Or is it a different sound than Una?

I suspect Oonagh (and Oona as in Charlie Chaplin's wife, Oona O'Neill) is a way to avoid confusion with the word 'una'. The 'gh' flourish at the end is a way to signify Irishness and is silent. There's no difference in pronunciation.

Both pronunciations are fine @LM2098. I think Caoimhe is Keeva in the north, but it's Kweeva in the south.

Ailis isn't the correct way to spell the name. It's a spelling combining English and Irish phonic elements.
It should be spelled with an É - but fada placement determines pronunciation, and there are several options:
Éilis pronounced Ay-lish, or
Éilís pronounced Ay-leesh, or
Eilis pronounced Eye-lish, or
Eilís pronounced Eye-leesh.

Ah, that makes sense, thanks @mathanxiety.
The Eye-leesh I know spells it Eibhlís, so that's another variation used

Aisling isn't pronounced like it has a Á. Then it would be awwsh-ling. Asia in Irish is an Áis.

Ailis is an anglicised version of Éibhlís which is where the different pronunciations and spellings have come from.

It's so funny that we Irish are always giving out that British people can't pronounce/spell our names but then we can't even agree how they're supposed to be spelt/pronounced!

Probably due to the dismal way Irish is taught Shay.

@Mindy totally agree! For such a beautiful language it has shockingly low fluent speakers.

@mathanxiety
Neither Aisling (another English-Irish combo spelling) nor Aislinn have a fada.

Aisling isn't a combination English-Irish spelling though. Is it?
Did you mean Ashling?
More confusion

Thanks @LizzieAnt and @mathanxiety. Normally Eilis and Éilis are given as cognates of Elizabeth, and Ailis as Alice - so you'd think it was said like Alice with a sh. But I've only known people to say it Ay-lish. Perhaps because it's from mediaeval French, rather than being from an Irish word, that's done something funny to the usual pronunciation.

Never heard it called an Anglicised spelling before, but I guess it could be!

Aisling never has a fada, I'm sure of that at least

Aisling surely isn't a combo spelling though - it's a vocabulary word in Irish .

Aoife is my favourite.
IF it's a concern, ones that "work"- ie some people can pronounce them!- in English are things like Ciara, Siobhan, Bridget, Niamh etc.

Mary
Niamh (neve)
Ailbe (al-vah)
Máire (maw-rah)
Nora
Síne (shee-nah)
Brigid
Treasa (tra-sa)
Saoirse (seer-shah, sair-shah)
Fiona
Maeve (growing in popularity)
Rós (ros)
Úna
Ciara (kee-ra)
Breena

I'm sure someone will be along to explain that Niamh isn't 'Neve'.

It's more like Nee-uv.

@midsomermurderess - I'm sure someone will be along to explain that Niamh isn't 'Neve'.

It depends on where you're from. Nee-uv would be a bit Munster. Nee-iv would be more Connacht.

It's so funny that we Irish are always giving out that British people can't pronounce/spell our names but then we can't even agree how they're supposed to be spelt/pronounced!

That's because dialects are so different. Just look at what fadas do in ulster vs connacht or munster. My favourite difference is the way eireaball. Rubble in connemara Irish. Ehr-ibal in munster.

To my outlander English ears it sounds like neev. I stand corrected.

@LM2098 - To every one above caoimhe is pronounced keeva not queeva or kweeva jeez 😂🙄

Kweeva in connemara Irish.

My mum (Galway) says Kwee-va, my Dad (Waterford) says Kee-va

Neither Aisling (another English-Irish combo spelling) nor Aislinn have a fada.

Aahhh. You're right. I went Googling last night after one too many glasses of wine as I thought Ailis might have a fada and I found Aisling with a fada. Just saying the sounds now, I don't know what I was thinking. Morto, so I am

Niamh is 2 syllables though isn't it, granted the last soft. But not 'neve'.

Caitlin

The thing is that a lot of Irish names sound lovely in an Irish accent but not so much in a London accent.

I know from experience that Caoimhe (especially when pronounced Queeva) is a good example of this!

@SoManyActivities

The thing is that a lot of Irish names sound lovely in an Irish accent but not so much in a London accent.

I know from experience that Caoimhe (especially when pronounced Queeva) is a good example of this!

Yes completely agree. I absolutely love Orla for a girl and Iarla for a boy, but they both sound awful in an English accent imo - Awwla and Eaala 😡

@Unseeliequeen - To my outlander English ears it sounds like neev. I stand corrected.

It's subtle so understandable if you're not used to the dialects.