Baby name Oilibhear?

[Juliette222]

Hello!
I wondered what you think of the baby boy name OILIBHÉAR? (pronounced Olly-vare).
We wanted to find an Irish name. I like that it has the friendly nn “Ollie” but an unusual longer name. But keen to hear what others think ….?
Thank you! :-)

I think it may get pronounced incorrectly but it's lovely 😊

Are you Irish? Do you live in Ireland? If not, your child will have a lifetime of spelling it out. Most will assume it's Oliver.

I'm afraid I thought "oily bear" when I read it, why not just Olly or Oliver?

Unless you live In Ireland it's going to cause huge pronunciation and spelling issues.

why not just Olly or Oliver?

Because the OP wants an Irish name and they aren't 😂

I'm Irish so automatically pronounced it as you've written but I have never heard of it and if I was introduced to someone with that name would assume it was supposed to be French.
Is it actually a name or have you gaelicised Oliver?

You have to take into consideration how much it will bother you and your son when no-one ever has a clue how to either spell or pronounce it.
People struggle enough with more well known Irish names such as Caoimhe and Aoife

To be honest Oliver is so popular that he will inevitably get it spelt as Oliver on every occasion and if he's going to just end up as Ollie then personally I would just call him Ollie. It will cut out a lot of unnecessary hassle for him and prevent him from a lifetime of having it constantly misspelt or spelling out his name.

@SoupDragon

why not just Olly or Oliver?

Because the OP wants an Irish name and they aren't 😂

Whoops

It will be a huge pita for your son for the whole of his life

If you are in the UK I would stick with Oliver or choose something different

I would usually be an advocate of using the Irish spelling but Oliver has been a top 10 name in UK for many years so I suspect your son would have a lifetime of correcting people or accepting that noone is spelling or pronouncing his name correctly

I like Ollie but people will assume his full name is Oliver

I too initially read it as oily bear! Regardless if you live in Ireland, if he travels/works/lives outside Ireland, it will be a lifetime of spelling it out phonetically. I say this as someone with a 4 letter name who has had to spell it out my whole life- and its not that uncommon.

I would have pronounced it Ollie-bear but I’m not Irish. I think if you’re not in Ireland it will probably cause pronunciation and spelling issues, I would guess your son would quickly drop his full name and just use the nickname Ollie.

Unless you live in Ireland now and your son will live there all his life, it will cause problems.

There are many Irish boys names that are better known and more easily pronounced correctly by non Irish speakers.

If you are in the UK, he is going to be Olly-Bear for all of primary.

If you’re in Ireland, crack on.

So, Oliver.

Unless the whole family goes by their Irish names, I wouldn't. If for example the baby's mum is Siobhradh ui /ni xxx then it wouldnt surprise me from an Irish name family but you can't just use the irish spelling of such a well known name when all the other names are English. Just my opinion. Obviously people can do what they like!!

Oilibhéar Walsh is a bit of a mismatch. Oilibhéar Breathnach, that's no shock.

As someone with a name much more simpler but unusual please don't... As PP say, a lifetime of explanation and corrections..

Op stick with Oliver why use an Irish spelling that will get spelt and pronounced wrongly?

I would read it as Oliver. But if you’re not Irish it’s a bit much!

I read it as oily bear too🤭

It's just awkward, Irish or not.

I read it as Olly-bear. Then checked myself, realised it was an Irish name and saw your instructions.

But being honest he will having a lifetime of Oliver at best, and Olly-bear at worst.

If you aren't in Ireland, or Irish speakers, why would you do that to a child?

Depends on if you want to sentence him to a life time of spelling OILIBHÉAR.

Is it an Irish name?
Because it just looks like a Gaelic spelling of a Latin (or whatever the root is) name, Oliver.

I think if you're going to have an Irish name, have an Irish name, like Conor. But using a Gaelic spelling of a non (at its root) Irish name just feels weird of you are living in a non-Gaelic community, like being English and calling your daughter Émilie instead of Emily, or you son Christophe instead of Christopher.

If you're Irish living in the Gaeltacht then I take it all back obviously.

PS: love Olly Bear as a name :D

I wouldn’t be keen on it OP. It’s an English name made Irish, iykwim, rather than a true Irish name. (Hope to god I’m not offending anyone here).

Oliver is a great name, why not just keep it simple.