Shay?

[isitfridayyettttt]

For a boy? Yes/no? And the whys? Any bad associations?

I don't mind Seamus, but I really dislike Shay.

Would imagine either Irish or blond American stable hand type. No idea why! I think it’s nice enough, wouldn’t have particularly thought “common” like the previous posters.

I would spell it Shae but amounts to the same thing. It's a lovely name and though I've met one it's not that widely used.

I like it but I'd use it as a nn for Seamus. Just seems more solid, but more longevity.

Shay (gift) is a lovely and quite popular Hindi name.

@Libertaire

I would definitely go with Seamus.

The UK isn't a classless society and names from Ireland are frequently called chavy on this site.

Only when they are inappropriately anglicised and/ or mis-spelled. Proper traditional Irish names, correctly spelled, are not ‘chavy’ at all.

I wish this were true, but fear it's not. Names like Conor or Liam are often considered 'naughty boy' names on these threads. I can just guess what that's supposed to mean. They're very solid, popular names in Ireland (at nos. 5 and 7 respectively last year).

My Shay is 10 and also isn't chavvy. His full name is Seamus though, and is often known as Seamie at home (Shay-mie). Yes, I'm Irish.

I think there's a type that looks down on irish names for sure. Even names that belong to 2,000 year old folk stories ! It's laughable to describe them as chav. But there is that type, a bit hyacinth, a bit insular, everything British is correct, everything foreign is a bit inferior.

At my age 51, Irish names didn't start coming in to fashion until about 1978 or so. The majority of women my age don't have irish names. If I come across an Iseult, or an Aifric my own age, I think oh my goodness, best bib and tucker for these ladies.

So many snobs on here!!
'Lower class'🙄🙄Gtf

I like it OP🙂

Conor and Liam are always called ‘chavvy’ on MN, too. Snotty attitude towards perfectly nice, popular Irish names.

Shay is lovely, but I prefer it as a nn for Seamus.

I think it's lower class to label Conor Chav.

From an Irish myth, The King of Ulster?

''Chav!''

It takes somebody quite insular to label Conor chav.

Sorry I don't like it. In writing or the sound of it. Don't associate is as arty, thoughtful, strong, cool or classic like I do when I hear some names.

If you're living in England though, you might need to consider what the lower middle class hyacinths think though?

My parents named all of their 6 children (Irish names) 👍💚👍
We are Scottish.
This thread is bonkers (chavvy lower classes) 😂😂

Isn’t the King of Ulster Conchobar? Not Conor? Goes back to the interesting point that it’s the anglicisation of names that makes the difference in how a name is maybe perceived.

Absolute no from me.

Only know one, not a good association.

I am Irish and did consider Seamus/Shay for DS1 - still love the name.
Don't really get what constitutes a "chavvy" name but Shay is definitely not it .

It’s one of my favourite names for either a boy or girl! 🥰

Good to see a thread on Shay. I love it. I prefer the spelling Shea but I know it would always get mispronounced. It's on the list (possibly with Seamus as full name) it we have another boy.

In England, and spelt Shay, it does seem a little informal
For a formal-sounding name I do like Ségán. I guess people would read it as Saygan which then sounds like Carl Sagan and that's okay. In Irish you'd read that Shaygan, unless you realised it was Old Irish and is therefore Shayan. Modern Irish spelling is Séaghán.

I know two Che's I like that spelling.

I love it.
And I do not consider it lower class.
I think it’s unusual in England and suits even better if you have a connection to Ireland.

@daisypond

Isn’t the King of Ulster Conchobar? Not Conor? Goes back to the interesting point that it’s the anglicisation of names that makes the difference in how a name is maybe perceived.

Well, I don't know. The earlier point by Libertaire was about inappropriate anglicisation and misspellings. Conor is very widely used in Ireland today (and is perceived very well there), while Conchobar is not much used these days.

I really like it

Doesn't conjure up anything nice. Not sure why.