Maeve. Or other suggestions?

[HummingBirdFly]

We've found out we're having a baby girl and Maeve is one of the names we both like. DH is Irish but we live in SE England.

I'm aware the name has got more popular recently and now appeared in the top 100 I think. I'm not too worried about that though.

Also realised Maeve is a character in Sex Education and another series is due be released later this year around the time she'll be born. Not overly keen on people thinking I've named my baby after a TV show! Do you think alot of people will make that connection? And does it really matter?!

Also thinking about other ideas for Irish girls names that work well in England with no major spelling difficulties. Unfortunately can't use Niamh, Orla or Erin because already taken by other family members.

@KirstenBlest

I don't like Maeve. Too close to May and Eve, which are very popular.

If you like it, use it.

Irish first name and surname might be a bit too Irish, should that be an issue.

Too Irish for whom?

@ too Irish.
Emer is a nice alternative version of Éimear which might suit. Unfortunately I wasted it on my cat

@KirstenBlest - Apologies if that is your name or if I didn't get the spelling right.

Hmm. I think it's more than incorrect spelling you need to apologise for.

I love Maeve. The only Nuala I know is seven years old and lovely but I get that it may have different vibes in Ireland. I like Aoife and would know how it’s pronounced.

Saoirse. That's about the only one that I wouldn't know how to pronounce, and that's my ignorance, no reflection in the name.

[quote twoofusburningmatches]@KirstenBlest I’m not sure I understand your point. Would it be a problem to imply the child is more than half Irish? What about a couple, where one was Irish and one was English, who called the baby something like Catherine Smith? Would that imply the child was more than half English? And would that be a bad thing?[/quote]
Up to the parents what the child is called but other than there being several ways to spell Catherine ...

A very irish, or any other language for that matter, name might imply that you are from that culture and speak the language.

[quote OchonAgusOchonOh]**@KirstenBlest* - Apologies if that is your name or if I didn't get the spelling right.*

Hmm. I think it's more than incorrect spelling you need to apologise for.[/quote]
I don't think I need to apologise. I have nothing against Irish names and would try to say and spell them properly.

If I changed the language to Welsh or Hungarian, and the child was half-Welsh, half-Mandarin or half-Hungarian but living in the UK, would that change how you see my point?

@KirstenBlest but the child will have roots in that culture, so why would it be a problem to have an Irish first name and surname?

(Also Maeve is not the Irish spelling - it’s a (very accepted) anglicised version of the name. The Irish spelling would be Medb or other variations.)

@KirstenBlest - If I changed the language to Welsh or Hungarian, and the child was half-Welsh, half-Mandarin or half-Hungarian but living in the UK, would that change how you see my point?

No, not at all. Equally offensive to say a name is too Welsh, too Chinese or too Hungarian.

A very irish, or any other language for that matter, name might imply that you are from that culture and speak the language.

And how is that a problem? Particularly as the child will be from that culture.

I like Maeva.

I did say 'if that is an issue'.

If my real name was something like Dwysan erch Rheinallt, and I spoke no Welsh but my father was welsh, might you not wonder just a little as to why I had such a welsh name if I had only ever lived in Suffolk or Tyne and Wear?

@KirstenBlest

I did say 'if that is an issue'.

If my real name was something like Dwysan erch Rheinallt, and I spoke no Welsh but my father was welsh, might you not wonder just a little as to why I had such a welsh name if I had only ever lived in Suffolk or Tyne and Wear?

No, I wouldn't. I would assume you were either welsh or that you have Welsh heritage. The only thing I would wonder about your name was whether I was pronouncing it correctly if I had only seen it written down In that circumstance, I would ask for the correct pronunciation.

Maeve is lovely. I haven’t seen sex education so wouldn’t make the connection with Maeve, I don’t think it’s famous enough of a programme to be an issue.
I’ve met others in England with the following Irish names and no one had an issue pronouncing/spelling them: Nuala, Siobhan, Grainne, Roisin, Saoirse, Aoife, Bridie, Aisling, Clodagh, Ciara.

@KirstenBlest would you like a shovel to dig that hole.
There's no such thing as being to "Irish" "Chinese" or any other nationality,and to say so is very fucking racist.

I love Maeve.

Also Maura, Maud, Nuala, Niamh and Aoife.

@OchonAgusOchonOh, would you not expect me to speak Welsh, or wonder why my parents (one welsh, one english) had chosen a different name?

I deliberately picked a name with letters and letter combinations that would not be easy to say if you were not familiar with them. It wouldn't be an unrealistic name though although dropping the erch would be more usual. If I told you how to say it you might not be able to replicate the sounds.

I'm not racist at all, @BorderlineHappy, but if I had a name that strongly identified me as being from a certain culture, I might find it a pain.

[quote KirstenBlest]@OchonAgusOchonOh, would you not expect me to speak Welsh, or wonder why my parents (one welsh, one english) had chosen a different name?

I deliberately picked a name with letters and letter combinations that would not be easy to say if you were not familiar with them. It wouldn't be an unrealistic name though although dropping the erch would be more usual. If I told you how to say it you might not be able to replicate the sounds.

I'm not racist at all, @BorderlineHappy, but if I had a name that strongly identified me as being from a certain culture, I might find it a pain.[/quote]
I wouldn’t expect a person with a Welsh name to necessarily speak Welsh, in much the same way as I wouldn’t expect a person with an Irish name to speak Irish. I know plenty of Irish people living in Ireland with Irish names who don’t speak much more than a few words of Irish. So I certainly wouldn’t expect someone who grew up with an Irish name in a different country to speak Irish.

You said you wouldn’t want a name that identified you to a certain culture? So would you have the same issue with a very English name or is your problem just with “foreign” names?

Maeva?

Isn’t it the case that more ardent advocates of the Irish language tend to choose more Irish names and go back to Irish spellings of surnames etc? If I met someone called eg Blathnaid ó Dubhghaill I probably would assume they were from an Irish speaking family (although less so if I met them in GB and they didn’t have an Irish accent) whereas I would be less likely to make that assumption about eg Niamh Brennan. I don’t think there is anything wrong with having Irish first and last names and only being half Irish though.

@twoofusburningmatches, I don't have a "problem"" with "foreign" names.

I have no idea if Louis Theroux speaks French but if I'd only seen his name I would guess a link to France or a French-speaking territory.

I would expect someone with a very welsh looking name to speak Welsh. I'd probably assume (rightly or wrongly) that a Rhys or Siân might have some Welsh roots but not that they spoke the language.

Most of the people I know with irish names are from the uk, some don't have any irish roots. The parents just liked the name.

[quote KirstenBlest]@OchonAgusOchonOh, would you not expect me to speak Welsh, or wonder why my parents (one welsh, one english) had chosen a different name?

I deliberately picked a name with letters and letter combinations that would not be easy to say if you were not familiar with them. It wouldn't be an unrealistic name though although dropping the erch would be more usual. If I told you how to say it you might not be able to replicate the sounds.

I'm not racist at all, @BorderlineHappy, but if I had a name that strongly identified me as being from a certain culture, I might find it a pain.[/quote]
No, I wouldn't. But unlike some English people, I have no issue with different cultures and don't expect everyone to fit into a narrow definition of what is acceptable.

@PattyPan

Isn’t it the case that more ardent advocates of the Irish language tend to choose more Irish names and go back to Irish spellings of surnames etc? If I met someone called eg Blathnaid ó Dubhghaill I probably would assume they were from an Irish speaking family (although less so if I met them in GB and they didn’t have an Irish accent) whereas I would be less likely to make that assumption about eg Niamh Brennan. I don’t think there is anything wrong with having Irish first and last names and only being half Irish though.

Neither do I. I'd probably find it easier to have a name like Niamh Brennan than Blathnaid ó Dubhghaill though because it would be more likely that people would know how to say and spell the name.

Blaithnaid ó Dubhghaill is quite a confused name btw - the Ó form of a surname is used for men in Irish and Bláthnaid is a very feminine name missing the point

Maeve is lovely OP.

I actually love Blathnaid, I was just trying to think of how to make a name look as Irish as possible without knowing how to speak Irish myself. Is the female version Ni? (Fada?)