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!

What about just Finn? It’s lovely on its own :) And Irish!!

I think Euan is Scottish Gaelic not Irish.

Gabriel
Malachy
Euan (although feels more Scottish than Irish)
Finn
Tadgh

All lovely names in my opinion. I also think you should keep the Irish theme.

@JollyGreenGiantess Whoops, you’re right I wasn’t thinking, but I do love Finn!

If you like Finn would Fintan be an option?

Fionn is nice too
Or Conor
Muireann is Irish for Mary Anne and is a lovely name or Doireann

Dominic
Francis
Ramon
Art

Eamonn, not Ramon

Eunan is Irish if you didn’t want Euan?

If you really wanted to use Sam you could say it’s after the Sam Maguire to keep the Irish link so your son doesn’t feel left out!

Other names maybe Michael Paul Stephen Emmet Joseph Aidan

If you have a DS I would 100% choose an Irish name.
If a DD you can get away with an Irish middle name only.

I think Shay is really lovely! Easy to say/ spell and unusual but not ott.

Gabriel is a big no from me. As adults we can often miss names which could cause our dc issues because we are mature but I think when it's this obvious it should be avoided. I know someone who calls her Gabriel, Gay with no intention of anything (probably a good thing in a way to desensitise).
As lovely as it is I would be too scared to risk it and have dh saying told you so!

I also love Finn.

How far gone are you?

@Sausagedog1
I'm Irish and my daughters name is Shannon, I've never heard it was a rough name 😬 in fact we don't even know any other Shannon's where we live and she loves her name

Have 3 with Irish names living in Ireland but the eldest Bláithín went to college in Scotland ( still living there) and the lecturers ( all nationalities) had awful problems pronouncing her name. Loved the name, two boys are Diarmuid and Oisín.

I love the name Síofra and Realtín ( girls)
Fionn and Liam ( boys)

Tadhg is such a good name ! My son has it as his middle name after his late uncle- who we used to nick name tiger!

Fionn on its own is lovely too. Donacha or Dominic?
Also mal is short for malachy and I feel very angalsied?

Eoghan or Owen?

Darragh and Cillian are beautiful. I'd definitely stick with the theme.

William / Liam or James with Shay for short ??

What about Clodagh? It's not rough. I agree, Shannon was a bit tarnished by having come to Ireland from America, and I don't mean that in an Anti American way. They have their own culture that I don't understand, like Hudson after the NY river (in NY??) and Schuylar and Hoyt and other names that were on the Mayfair... I get that there is a backstory I don't understand, but Shannon came from America and was served to us as an Irish name and... It isn't really.

Some would say Clodagh isn't Irish either because an aristocrat called his daughter Clodagh, he made it up, for the river Cloddy which flowed through his estate. She was the 5th marchioness of Waterford so it was made up but a good while ago.

.

Irish names (or commonly used in Ireland) that are straightforward to pronounce because of spelling or common use are: Sean, Liam, Neil, Declan, Donal, Oscar, Leo, Martin, Colm, Conal, Kevin, Hugh, Brian, Connor, Con, Michael, Noel, Colman, Malachy, Fionn, Finn. Love Marcas too, but likely to be called Marcus.

Should have said, yes, I think I would stick with the theme. But it can be a typical Irish name rather than as Gaeilge.

Stephen, John, Christopher are also common names in Ireland.

The Gabriels I know go by their full name or Gabe. No bullying.

Jeez...Gabriel is a really popular name atm - I know 2 born in the last year - and there is absolutely no need to worry that a Gabriel might be bullied for being called “gay”. Gay is not an insult for teenagers today and certainly won’t be in 10-15 years time by the time this baby grows up. Things have moved on.

@Powwow401 your daughter has a beautiful name. I love the sound and it's underused too. Most names get called rough on here at some point unless they are the classic traditional English names!

I love the name Shannon, @Sausagedog1 and @Powwow401
Also Shane, more than Shay tbh.

Shannon was briefly very popular in the UK in the 1990s.
It was a celebrity-inspired name.

Shay short for Seamus/James is at less risk of being seen to be down market than Shane.

I know a few shanes, I'm of that age. And while I don't dislike the name it's a bit banal, bit dated. It isn't as classic as Seamus/James.

I wouldn't put shay on a birth cert but it's a lovely short name.

Earlier I referred to names Americans used as having coming over on the mayfair. I meant mayflower.