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Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Niamh or Nola?

58 replies

Amdal1 · 14/11/2021 22:57

Which do you like better? The middle name will be Lisa for sentimental reasons.

We like both but I’m concerned that Niamh is quite common now but on the other hand Nola may be too unusual!

Thanks for the help!

OP posts:
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Nikki305 · 14/11/2021 23:04

I like nola but nola Lisa just makes me think of Mona Lisa

DramaAlpaca · 14/11/2021 23:05

Niamh. I think most people in the UK will be familiar with it these days, and it flows better with Lisa.

NuffSaidSam · 14/11/2021 23:06

Definitely Niamh.

Nola sounds like an acronym for something (it autocorrected to all capitals so maybe it is?!)

GreyhoundG1rl · 14/11/2021 23:07

Niamh.

521Jeanie · 14/11/2021 23:10

Niamh every time!

"Nola? Do you mean Lola?" "No, I said Nola!"
Too comic, too much recipe for confusion.

TurnUpTurnip · 14/11/2021 23:11

I really like Nola but don’t think Nola Lisa sounds nice together

Trixiefirecracker · 14/11/2021 23:13

I much prefer Nuala.

Savoretti · 14/11/2021 23:14

Nola Lisa doesn’t work at all

GreyhoundG1rl · 14/11/2021 23:15

How about Finola?

Codswallop20 · 14/11/2021 23:18

I absolutely hate the name Niamh. Is stepdaughters name, and I love her to bits but it's never a name you can buy on a badge or a hairband and no one can pronounce it properly. It's a big fat no from me

toastofthetown · 14/11/2021 23:44

Niamh Lisa sounds much better than Nola Lisa. Agree with pp about the Mona Lisa coming to mind. Nola is also an abbreviation for New Orleans, Louisiana.

toastofthetown · 14/11/2021 23:49

@Codswallop20

I absolutely hate the name Niamh. Is stepdaughters name, and I love her to bits but it's never a name you can buy on a badge or a hairband and no one can pronounce it properly. It's a big fat no from me
The OP hasn’t said where she is. In Ireland Niamh will be absolutely fine. Even in England and Wales it spent 16 years in the top hundred names and is still in the top 150. It’s not rare and the pronunciation is simple enough that if someone hasn’t come across it before it’s easily corrected.
CouncilHousedAndViolentBaby · 15/11/2021 01:32

Niamh is lush😍

CouncilHousedAndViolentBaby · 15/11/2021 01:33

@Codswallop20

I absolutely hate the name Niamh. Is stepdaughters name, and I love her to bits but it's never a name you can buy on a badge or a hairband and no one can pronounce it properly. It's a big fat no from me
How could anyone not pronounce Niamh its litro Neev
LiJo2015 · 15/11/2021 01:47

In England - niamh not common so I think difficult to pronounce.

The other name - awful.

MrsBertBibby · 15/11/2021 08:26

Niamh, definitely.

It's a pretty well known Irish name in England, IME.

TuftyMarmoset · 15/11/2021 08:34

@NuffSaidSam

Definitely Niamh.

Nola sounds like an acronym for something (it autocorrected to all capitals so maybe it is?!)

It is, for New Orleans.

I agree, definitely Niamh. Lovely name.

DoodleBelle · 15/11/2021 08:36

Prefer Niamh

girlmom21 · 15/11/2021 08:39

How could anyone not pronounce Niamh its litro Neev
Yeah it's fine once you know, but don't pretend you've never seen it written down and pronounced it as Ny-am.

I hate the name Niamh but neither option works with Lisa so it depends whether you'll just call her by her first name or whether you'll use both names.

LizzieAnt · 15/11/2021 09:12

How could anyone not pronounce Niamh its litro Neev

As girlmom21 said the pronunciation isn't obvious from the spelling unless you speak Irish (in which case it's very obvious).

The other thing is that it's not actually properly pronounced Neev. It's NEE-uv. A lot of people do say Neev, and it's quite often said like that in Ireland too, especially in some areas. But it's a bit of a mispronunciation all the same.

Of your choices, I much prefer the name Niamh OP.

LizzieAnt · 15/11/2021 09:14

forvo.com/word/niamh/

TLIMSISNW · 15/11/2021 09:16

I have a Niamh. Some people mispronounce it but it’s easily corrected. I’ve never had a problem finding named items. It’s not super uncommon at all.

MrsBungle · 15/11/2021 09:18

Niamh is so much nicer than Nola.

Amdal1 · 15/11/2021 09:21

Thanks everyone, DH much prefers Niamh anyway so he’ll be happy! We live in the Scottish highlands with Irish roots so Gaelic spelling isn’t a problem for people here.

The other option I really liked was Marnie but DH hates it, he thinks people would confuse it for Barney Hmm

OP posts:
OrangeAndYellowAndBlue · 15/11/2021 11:25

I have a Niamh. It's very well-known now, and we've had no trouble with anyone mispronouncing it or misspelling it. (The only person I've met who wasn't sure how to say it is my colleague who's not from the UK.)

For me, it strikes the right balance between well-known (everyone seems to know a Niamh) and not too common (never been another one in her nursery or school). It was low in the top 100 for years, and now just a bit outside the top 100.

I vote Niamh!