Old/ unusual Irish boys names

[Wapawapa]

We are Irish living in Ireland and considering an Irish name.
Not one of the "common" names like Cian, Sean, Liam, Cillian, Peadar, Micheal , Fiachra, Conn, Fionn, Oisin, Naoise etc

Not one of the ones that have become popular recently as family/ friends have got there first!
Eg Odhran, Rian, Tiernan, Tadhg

We are thus leaning towards an unusual/ old name that is not commonly used. I will get a book but as the weekend is coming up I'd love to have a few suggestions

(Excuse my lack of fadas!)

Grma

Relax there @Steeple😀 I don’t have a deep hate for Irish names, maybe that was the wrong choice of word, I just think giving a baby a ridiculous name that it’s impossible to pronounce is silly. And yes I’d say 90% people in Dublin (and I’d say rest of Ireland too) didnt hear half of these names mentioned here. I’m saying that - each to their own, If OP wants to give her baby a name that no one ever will know how to pronounce then why not? She can do it, nothing wrong with that. Just be prepared for a lifetime of teaching people how to spell and pronounce it: every phone call to insurance, every doctors visit, every school run, then every job interview etc.

Colum
Marc

there are some lovely names here. But yes I understand the fear of them being too obscure. My sisters and I all have very Irish names with Irish spelling and it’s been challenging at times (mainly while living in the U.K.) but ultimately We now all love having unique names that have meaning. I’ve called both my children Irish names but nothing too “out there”. It’s a fine balance and I know that a lot of ppl don’t understand naming your child an unusual Irish name. However in reverse I (internally) think “how ridiculously boring “ when I hear one of the very common names being used again. Of course I say nothing though. Unlike all the people who feel it’s ok to comment on our more unusual name choices

I know what you mean! I like the names Aoife and Fionn but can you imagine putting those parents under the spotlight ''why did you choose such popular names, do you feel you might be subjecting them to a life of Aoife B Fionn B?''

@Elisemum

Relax there *@Steeple*😀 I don’t have a deep hate for Irish names, maybe that was the wrong choice of word, I just think giving a baby a ridiculous name that it’s impossible to pronounce is silly. And yes I’d say 90% people in Dublin (and I’d say rest of Ireland too) didnt hear half of these names mentioned here. I’m saying that - each to their own, If OP wants to give her baby a name that no one ever will know how to pronounce then why not? She can do it, nothing wrong with that. Just be prepared for a lifetime of teaching people how to spell and pronounce it: every phone call to insurance, every doctors visit, every school run, then every job interview etc.

I agree with you. I 'm Irish and I live in Ireland but because (guessing here) 70% of people have English names, then the 30% (approximately) who have Irish names and of those 30%, 90% of them are the the usual suspects, it is more than possible to be Irish in Ireland and not have heard of names on these lists.

@Elisemum

Relax there *@Steeple*😀 I don’t have a deep hate for Irish names, maybe that was the wrong choice of word, I just think giving a baby a ridiculous name that it’s impossible to pronounce is silly. And yes I’d say 90% people in Dublin (and I’d say rest of Ireland too) didnt hear half of these names mentioned here. I’m saying that - each to their own, If OP wants to give her baby a name that no one ever will know how to pronounce then why not? She can do it, nothing wrong with that. Just be prepared for a lifetime of teaching people how to spell and pronounce it: every phone call to insurance, every doctors visit, every school run, then every job interview etc.

I’m only going on what you said yourself, that you ‘hate’ Irish names and you’re not Irish, presumably don’t speak Irish, and are thus badly well-placed to judge the obscurity or difficulty of the names mentioned.

To be fair some of them are quite obscure. I've never met a Maeleachlainn, for example. Migildí is definitely my new favourite though

Conall
Cróchán

I would have thought she's excellently placed to evaluate how difficult they'll be for English speakers given that a tiny minority speak Irish fluently and fewer still in that group use these names. Sniping politely in English about Irish names seems faintly ridiculous. Where I come from they say Jesus Mary and Joseph who gave you that if they don't like your name.

@LizzieAnt

To be fair some of them are quite obscure. I've never met a Maeleachlainn, for example. Migildí is definitely my new favourite though

Migildí could really catch on, I think!

Maeleachlainn is Malachy @LizzieAnt
Originally Máel Sechnaill. A Meath name, two high kings and used up to the mid 19th c.

Ó Corráin and Maguire "Irish Names" still best source for names, as they provide details.

www.irishtimes.com/culture/name-that-child-1.264902

This is a great article about the change in fashion in names in Ireland from 1901 to 1999 - says that there were only 27 different Gaelic names recorded in 1901 but by 1999 there were 180 - I suspect that there much more now. I still find the religious / Latin name fashion of the mid century quite interesting and liked reading about names such as Delores, Loretta and Lourdes for girls at that time.

If Lourdes didn't scream Madonna to me I'd think it's a class name and would use it myself

I couldn't give a flying feck whether English people can manage to pronounce Irish names tbh - because despite the MN handwringing over Irish names, they can. Just as they manage Polish, Nigerian, Italian etc names. Some do struggle with my (Irish) name but once you correct them, they get it. And if they insist on mispronouncing it then I know not to spend time on small minded racists, don't I?

Having said that, I agree that some of the suggested names are extremely obscure and I wouldn't use them myself as they seem best left to Yanks trying to showcase their 0.145% Irishness from Ancestry.com. But OP is Irish too and I'm sure she can assess the rarity of the names as well - probably better - than I can.

Some people must literally comb through early Christian manuscripts looking for some obscure name that the mammies and daddies of all the Fiadhs and Senans could only dream of.

Often the names aren't obscure, it's just the spellings make them seem so. Malachy is fairly mainstream but I would not have guessed that was Máel Eachlainn.

I have an Ailbe!

I also LOVE Ferdia, Padraig, Naoise, Con, Art.

@Pallisers

I knew an Enda but his family pronounced it Inda which put me off.

How else would you pronounce it?

@SeanChailleach

Often the names aren't obscure, it's just the spellings make them seem so. Malachy is fairly mainstream but I would not have guessed that was Máel Eachlainn.

I don't think they'd be pronounced the same though SeanChailleach, would they? Thanks very much for the info on the name, I wouldn't have guessed Malachy either.

I'm in Ireland, my kids go to a gaelscoil and I haven't heard half of the names mentioned here 😬

For Enda I'd pronounce it N-da. not in-da if you know what I mean.

Having said that, I agree that some of the suggested names are extremely obscure and I wouldn't use them myself as they seem best left to Yanks trying to showcase their 0.145% Irishness from Ancestry.com. But OP is Irish too and I'm sure she can assess the rarity of the names as well - probably better - than I can.

I can't see any 'yanks" using any of the names mentioned on here. They stick with names like Sean and Conor usually or name their children after their irish grandparents. shame on them for showcasing their irishness though. if they only knew what the irish really thought of them ...

Hate the name Enda. Too similar to Edna which is one of the Worst Names EVER. I bet UK dwelling Endas get called Edna a lot.

Thanks for the Irish Times article DFOD. My dad and some of his brothers all had the middle name Mary as mentioned in that piece. I don't think they were too happy about it Thanks too SeanChailleach, I didn't know Maeleachlainn was Malachy. Don't think they'd be said the same, but then I wouldn't say Conghaile the same as Connolly either as a pp mentioned. Maybe some do though? I've heard people saying Conall the same as Connell too, which I admit I don't like.

I'm in Ireland, my kids go to a gaelscoil and I haven't heard half of the names mentioned here

The OP asked for uncommon and unusual names

I just think giving a baby a ridiculous name that it’s impossible to pronounce is silly. And yes I’d say 90% people in Dublin (and I’d say rest of Ireland too) didnt hear half of these names mentioned here. I’m saying that - each to their own, If OP wants to give her baby a name that no one ever will know how to pronounce then why not? She can do it, nothing wrong with that. Just be prepared for a lifetime of teaching people how to spell and pronounce it: every phone call to insurance, every doctors visit, every school run, then every job interview etc.

Don't be silly.

I live in the US and have an Irish name - the vast majority of people get it right after I've pronounced it for them. It's not rocket science.

The only Enda I have ever met had the surname Teague. I piss you not. He was at university at the same time as me.

I love all those Mael and Giolla names. The thing with Mary in boys' names was they would all have been Máel Mhuire or Giolla Mhuire pronounced Mallory and Gillivray. The Norman-French apparently heard Mallory as Malheurie meaning unhappy and used it to satirise. When names had to be written in English, the Máel and Giolla were left out. Sometimes Marian was used, it seems to be a genitive case.