Thoughts on Irish little star!

[Marrilou]

Hi all, after some thoughts... I have a ten month old baby who has an Irish name (his dad's side of the family are Irish) and have another baby due in April that would ideally like to also give an Irish name to. I love the name Rae for a girl and have come across the name Réiltín (pronounced Rae-elle-teen) which is apparently Irish for little star. I am thinking I'd maybe like to call the baby this as their full name but know them as Rei. What do people think of this? If you saw the name Rei would you pronounce it as Rae/Ray? Does anyone in Ireland know of anyone with the name Réiltín as I can't find much about it on the web. Many thanks!

But I'm not. Nor do I live in a Gaeltacht area (there's not many of them in Ireland and none in the UK so it hardly matters) Even if I did, I doubt people would think of it as anything more than a name 🤷🏼‍♀️

Look, I’m aware the OP is in England. All I’m saying is that for some English speakers who don’t speak other languages it doesn’t compute that ‘foreign’ names they think are mysterious and pretty are just words with ordinary meanings in languages spoken daily by other people.

@Cuppachino

I'm Irish, living in Ireland and have never heard of this name. Is it a 'new' modern name?

No, it's not! I've heard it. (Irish, living in Ireland).

But, I think if you call your child an Irish name, you use it. 'Rei' is not short for it.

I really like Rae and would assume her parents were Star Wars fans

I'm Irish and have never heard of anyone called this.

I'd pronounce it as Railcheen, I can imagine lots of people mishearing/not bothering to try and calling her Rachel.

Irish living in Ireland, I have met Réiltíns too. Never any above the age of 10. It's a bit like Fiadh, it's having a 'moment'.

"If you’re a gaeilgeoir, you are actually addressing the person as Little Star in a language you speak."

Not quite. "Little star" would be "réalta bheag". "Réiltín" is like "star-een" or "asterisk". It's a matter of taste. For a more formal, grownup vibe, "Réalta" means "star", and is pronounced "rayalta". You could add the "-een" when it suits anyway.
You are going to actually learn to speak some Irish, sure, if you give your kid an Irish name?

I would pronounce Rei as Ray and I LOVE the full name!

Seren is having a bit of a moment, and it is the welsh word for star.
I don't think it was a name until recently and I'm not keen on it.

I don't understand why on MN it seems important to use a name that shows the heritage, surely teaching the child the language and history is more important.

Réiltín seems nice but I'm not Irish. I thought that Tadhg was pronouce Tayg (to rhyme with vague) or Tie until I came on here.

Use it OP, it is miles better that Rae.

The full name is gorgeous, but..........

Rae is seen as quite downmarket where I’m from 😞

It won't sound nice to the ear outside Ireland- rail teen.

My husband said he prefers the rail-cheen pronunciation but I'm leaning towards rail-teen just because it's closer to the way it's written?!

As written, the T is slender, and it's pronounced CH. It's not a matter of preference. It doesn't follow the rules of English spelling and pronunciation.

As written, the T is slender, and it's pronounced CH. It's not a matter of preference. It doesn't follow the rules of English spelling and pronunciation.

The pronunciation of the slender t varies with dialect though. There's a big difference in how 'tír' is pronounced in Munster and Ulster, for example (tier versus cheer). The pronunciation of Réiltín is Rail-teen in Munster at least.

I think it may be closer to TS in Munster. A fine distinction though..

Yes the way it's pronounced sounds quite different in the link I shared
www.teanglann.ie/en/fuaim/R%C3%A9ilt%C3%ADn
This makes me think it's more often pronounced 'rail-cheen' in the north and 'rail-teen' in the south though could be wrong!

You're right OP afaik.

I want to like it as I like Celtic languages and it has a nice meaning, but to me it’s not the prettiest sounding.

I do hate how some people on here attack Celtic names in the way they don’t with other cultures.

@NinaMimi I didn't see anyone attack it? Just an open and frank discussion about the name. Most people on the thread appear to be Irish from what I can gather.

I didn't mention it in my previous post as I didn't have time - but many, many moons ago I used Reiltin as a handle on a forum. I was the only Irish person there and no one had a clue how it was pronounced and it kind of turned me off when I realised they thought my name was 'rail tin'.

I'm a good bit older now and I'm inclined to put Reiltin into the madey-uppy name category. It's not an old Irish name and it doesn't appear in any of our myths and legends. Dare I say it... but I'd put it in the same category as Neveah...

Also to add, my name in real life has an old Irish spelling and it's a pain in the arse having to correct people on how to pronounce it so I am biased.

What abour Ríona? It means 'queen' or 'queenly' in Irish. Pronounced Ree-on-a.

I'm not a fan, sorry.

It is very close to Ritalin.

It's quite harsh.

I don't like the short form Rei/Rae at all - really dislike in fact. Rail is - not better.

Names with the -een ending for girls are also my least favourites - Eileen, Doreen, Maureen... these are their stablemates. Not good.

There are much prettier names.

"Ray" is generally a horrible sound.
"Rail-cheen" sounds really harsh, like a metallic sound.
"Railteen" sounds like "royalty".

Sorry OP but I think is one of these cases where the concept is much better than the effect. If you were in Ireland where people were used to it as a name it wouldnt matter.

It's one of these new fangled Irish names. I find all names ending with ín to be a bit saccharine. A bit O'Disney if you will.

Thanks for all the comments, really interesting to hear people's differing opinions!
@SwimmingOnEggshells, Riona is a nice name but I really want the 'Ray' sounding beginning. Thanks for the suggestion though! The only Irish girl names I've come across that start with the 'Ray' sound are Reiltin and Ráichéal and def prefer Reiltin out of the two!

If anyone is looking for an older Irish name with a similar meaning, the closest I can think of is "Nóinín", spelt "Nonie" in English. Traditionally it is a diminutive for Nora or Honora, and it means "daisy". Nóna means "noon", so it's like sunshine, that sort of vibe.

Marrilou, you should just go for the name in that case. Or you could just call her Rae?