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! :-)

Oily Bear
seriously, please don't

Its not a name I've come across and wouldn't have known how to say it. If hearing it, I wouldn't have known how to write it.

However, I teach. I'm used to children having a wide range of names. Over the years I've come across many names I don't know how to say/spell. But I know when told - spelling may take a while longer! Though at work I could check to make sure.

Tbh the more unusual names tend to be the ones id be more likely to remember how to say, even if only teaching them once a week. The ones I have more trouble remembering are the names where they can be said in 2 or 3 different ways - especially when we have more than one child with the same spelling, but different pronunciation, in school. I'm thinking of names like Maya/Mya/Mia/Maiya - real life examples form last couple of years,

I don't think its a good idea either. Would it be pronounced sounding like a person from Liverpool saying Oliver?

I work in west Belfast with young families and I have never heard of it- and they LOVE their Irish names.

No. The poor child will spend his entire life spelling it out. Why inflict such hassle on him?

I like it, it’s fairly easy to sound out the pronunciation from the spelling even for a non Irish speaker and not to difficult to say. The Bh (v sound)is used in the name Siobhan for example . Lots of names have unfamiliar spelling and pronunciation and the world copes. Having to spell out your name occasionally is not going to blight your life. Mostly the people you meet will speak your name so having a fairly recognisable pronunciation is ok. And given that so much of our communication is online now the spelling will be apparent. Anyway I find that generally people who need to, can learn to spell a name.

There's a fada on the e and I'd say less - y on the Olly bit and more 'i' as in 'ink', if that makes any sense!

As someone with an unusual name - school is fine. Everyone makes the effort at school.

After school - forget it. I get the choice of my name said right or spelled right. Never both. Gave up caring a long time ago but if you about to name a child it's worth thinking about.

@stairgates Given that the Liverpool accent is partly Irish, which is hardly surprising given the history of the city, yes it would. Is that a bad thing..?

@MissM2912

I work in west Belfast with young families and I have never heard of it- and they LOVE their Irish names.

I can’t imagine it would top the popularity stakes in that community, no.

Olly Bear.

Never seen that name before in my life. It's not like Siobhan which is one of those "you'd never think it was spelt like that" but you've at least heard the name and can make some sense of it.

It will be an utter pain for him. Through spelling, pronunciation, and obscurity.

I'm Irish living in Ireland & have never heard of a single person with this as their everyday name (was used in class as a translation for Oliver). Obviously if you really like the name then use it and accept your child will have a lifetime correcting peop6, but if you are using it because you want an Irish name there are lots of lovely straightforward names.

I think its a lovely name op. But I've saddled my child with a very unusual irish name. Which he will have to spell to people but the way I see it , having to spell your name hasn't killed anyone yet. Mumsnet isn't the place to ask about irish names, they aren't very popular here at all

It wouldn’t be my first choice for an Irish name tbh, mainly because it’s not an Irish name.

If you’re in ireland and/ or Irish I can see why you might want to use an Irish spelling of the name but if neither apply it’s just a bit of an odd choice.

It's basically Oliver but with a vair ending. I think it's an awful pity people aren't arsed to just listen and make an effort with less common names, it's really not that hard. But as these problems do seem to exist, it is up to you OP. I have an unusual surname and was always proud of its exclusivity So it will depend on baby's personality perhaps too.

It just looks like you've tried to make an English name Irish, and I love Irish names. It's a no from me.

You and your son will spend hours of your life spelling it out. If you live in Ireland it will be less annoying for you, but the majority of people will not have a clue. It will also be mispronounced regularly. If that is something you can live with them it’s a lovely name.

NewMum has it I think - it's an unusual Irisg name as being the Irish for something, I think and stand corrected if not, rather than being an Irish name in itself. Like carr instead if gluaisteán.

What about Seoirse OP? Shore-sha. Love the sound of that. Cathal, Cormac, Cillian, Conor, Aodh, Pádraic... Lots of lovely Irish boys' names.

I'm English and managed to work out it was an Irish transliteration of Oliver, but I don't like it and I don't see why you'd choose it over a more uniquely Irish name (the Cromwell associations make it a bit weird anyway, but then I'm an Elvis Costello fan so that might just be me).

But if you're a native Irish speaker who wants to name your baby after his late grandfather Oliver while using your own language then crack on.

Ok so I saw it and thought is that meant to be Olly-bear 🙈 Don't do it as Ul get this and many other pronunciations.

I agree with @Valeriane it's not like it's an irish name at its root.

It's an Irish spelling applied to an existing popular name to make it phonetic in Irish.

It would come very far down my list of choices, partly as I don't like it and partly the spelling issue - that said, we all have different tastes and you maybe wouldn't like my son's name (fairly common, not old or modern, spelled the standard way). Did you 'invent' it or did you see it somewhere? If you like Irish looking names maybe have a look on a specific website with some suggestions, or if you want to make someone thing up then don't make the spelling too confusing! Good luck finding something you like. :)

If you're in Ireland, fine, crack on. If you're anywhere else, please just call him Oliver. He won't thank you for that spelling (and neither will his teachers).

My friend has an unusual Irish name and hates it. Much mickey taking at school.

Give your son a name he can fit in with and won’t spend a life spelling out. This is about him, not what your DH wants. If he’s so keen on Irish names go more mainstream like Kieran or Finn or Liam… There’s loads.

And to answer specifically on this name, I don’t like the ‘hear’ bit of it. Makes me think of someone with an olive stuck in their ear trying to say olive-can’t-hear.

You're setting him up for a lifetime of Hyacinth "Bou-kaaay" jokes because when he speaks his name everyone will just think he's called Oliver and a bit of pretentious twat.