Stick to Irish theme or not?

[Sausagedog1]

Hi all,

My DH is Irish and we have two DS with Irish names. DS1 has quite a common Irish name (think top 50) so a lot of people probably don't assume Irish heritage. DS2 has a more unusual name over here and it has had a few pronunciation issues. I think people would definitely assume Irish heritage on meeting him.

So for DS3 would you go Irish again or something else? Some names I like are:
Gabriel, Zachary, Samuel and Blake.
I wondered if these would seem strange next to our other sons names? (None have the same initial)

DS1 is proud of having an Irish name as he is very close to his Irish family (grandparents loads of aunts uncles and cousins), DS2 is too young to know. I'm worried if I choose something else for DS3 that he might feel the odd one out. Am I overthinking this?

Also which one would you choose?
Thanks!

Love Gabriel.

Conor
Cillian
Enda
Cormac
Declan
Oran
Pearce
Rory

I've never heard Majella before, that's pretty but I assume would get Madge!

Does Blake have an Irish feel? I know it's not as elegant as Gabriel but I quite like it.

In terms of girls, Niamh, Maeve and Orla sound awful with our surname, and the only other Irish girl's names I like are hard to spell (Aoife, Saoirse, Fiadh). Our front runner if we choose to stick with the Irish theme is Keira I think. I would choose that spelling because my other son's name starts with a C so would rather have a different initial and also for ease of pronunciation. I do also like nature names for girls so trying to decide if that would seem strange too.

@MadeForThis you've listed both my son's names

I actually loved Ciaran for my most recent DS but I read that it means 'dark' and I knew our baby would he fair or red haired like us with pale skin.
And he turned out to be olive skinned, brown hair and dark eyed!! Couldn't believe it and didn't think it would stay but so far it has and he is now 1. Our first DS is blonde, blue eyed and fair! Anyway I digress...

Thanks for the comments, they are very helpful.
I do love Gabriel the most I think. Malachy is also back on the list.
I think I'll cross off Samuel and Zachary. I would love a little Sam but I think maybe it would be a bit mainstream and non-irish next to the others, he might not like that, or feel like we put less thought into his name.

Blake sounds quite English to me, more than Irish - but then I associate it most with the famous English Poet/Artist William Blake. But maybe others will feel differently?

Irish names easy to spell/pronounce
Rory
Enda
Rossa

How about Daniel? Common over here in Ireland & a lovely name I think.

They are all saints or biblical names (except for Blake), and they are all very nice (except for Blake!) So any of them other than Blake. Gabriel is popular enough that I don’t think association with the word gay would be an issue - if it’s shortened at all in the UK it’s usually Gabe.

I’d avoid Shay, it’s just a bit downmarket.

KeeleyAll girls Irish names

Theres no K in Irish and this isn't an Irish name.

Shay is desperate, the anglicised spelling makes it even worse.

I think it's nice to stick to a theme. My husband's family are Irish so we went for Tadhg for our little boy (absolutely love it) and am thinking will go with Tiernan for the one due in April

@SushiSoozie I was surprised to see that Shay (spelt like that) is the 63rd most popular name for boys in Ireland whereas it's 400 and something in the UK.

@Marrilou I absolutely love the name Tadhg.
How do you find the issues round pronunciation? After having so many issues with DS2 I kind of want to avoid that again, but I think it is such a lovely name.
Tiernan is a good choice. I have a friend called Tiernan!

@partyatthepalace not a fan of Blake then?
I actually quite like down market names. Not illiterate and made up (like Blaayke for example) but I quite like a bit of an edge to a name. I prefer that to a name being too middle class.
I think Gabriel is fairly classless, but not sure.

I do really love Gabe, and I think the nickname G works well too! I'm glad there is a lot of love for Gabriel.

If you were calling him Blake in homage to Dynasty, then maybe.. but otherwise NO

I’m joking. Still no to Blake.

@partyatthepalace what if I was naming him after Blake from Home and Away?

I have a Tadhg! He's 15 now. More problems with spelling than pronunciation. The letters are often transposed.

Patrick! Patron saint

@RebeccaNoodles love Patrick but it's DHs dad's name and my son's middle name

Better... or even better a tribute to Blake Lively?!

@SushiSoozie

KeeleyAll girls Irish names

Theres no K in Irish and this isn't an Irish name.

Shay is desperate, the anglicised spelling makes it even worse.

You are wrong Keeley is an Irish name.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keely

@OliviaPopeRules unfortunately Keeley is a surname - as the wiki page points out. Sushi doozie is right, there is no K in the Irish language so any names using it, are anglicized. It’s not an Irish name. In 2019 there were less than 3 girls named Keeley in Ireland according to the CSO.

This could be helpful OP:

www.cso.ie/en/interactivezone/visualisationtools/babynamesofireland/

[quote MissingCoffeeandWine]@OliviaPopeRules unfortunately Keeley is a surname - as the wiki page points out. Sushi doozie is right, there is no K in the Irish language so any names using it, are anglicized. It’s not an Irish name. In 2019 there were less than 3 girls named Keeley in Ireland according to the CSO.

This could be helpful OP:

www.cso.ie/en/interactivezone/visualisationtools/babynamesofireland/[/quote]
So Maeve is not an Irish name because it's spelling is anglicised.
You clearly haven't read what it says - It says it has been an Irish surname for many years and is now commonly used as a girls first name. The origins are Irish and just because it isn't common doesn't mean it isn't an Irish name.

And as it happens it is my name and it has been in my Irish family for generations. Also I don't need lessons on what is and isn't a letter in Irish, I speak it fluently, thanks!

It’s a nice name, but no I wouldn’t have associated it with home. I’m also a K name and when I lived in the Gaeltacht locals translated it to the more traditional C version. I would think Keeley would possibly be Cadhla? The Keeley I know is Irish American. Similarly Ciara I associate with being an Irish name, Kiara not so much.

But either way, I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to be patronizing, just to explain to the OP, who mentioned that her DP is Irish, that K names are not “Irish” in an Irish language sense.

Either way didn’t and don’t mean to derail the OPs thread.

I actually found the CSO link I posted really helpful for ideas for the top 100 names in Ireland when naming my kids.

@MissingCoffeeandWine

It’s a nice name, but no I wouldn’t have associated it with home. I’m also a K name and when I lived in the Gaeltacht locals translated it to the more traditional C version. I would think Keeley would possibly be Cadhla? The Keeley I know is Irish American. Similarly Ciara I associate with being an Irish name, Kiara not so much.

But either way, I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to be patronizing, just to explain to the OP, who mentioned that her DP is Irish, that K names are not “Irish” in an Irish language sense.

Either way didn’t and don’t mean to derail the OPs thread.

I actually found the CSO link I posted really helpful for ideas for the top 100 names in Ireland when naming my kids.

Thanks, sorry I was just being a bit cranky and probably over sensitive!!

I would stick with the ☘️ Irish theme also . Love Malachi & Shay .I really like Finbarr nn Finn , Cormac is great , personally not so keen on Gabriel purely because of the bullying factor .

You are wrong Keeley is an Irish name

Look at your own link. It's a surname, and an anglicized one. And the given names examples are all american.
It might be a name used in Ireland, that does not make it an Irish name.