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! :-)

Is it not just Oliver with a different spelling? I read OilyBear. Sorry

@Naillig222

"it can seem like a gaelicisation of Oliver". There's no seem about it. It IS béarlachas. Oili in irish doesn't even make an olly sound.

Oisín is lovely. Use the fada on the second i though or else it would be ush-in and not ush-een.

Languages evolve though and take from others . Béarlachas isn’t inherently bad or wrong. In saying that I know someone who uses an Irish spelling for Maisie and every time I see it written I think ‘Massy’.

It looks incredibly pretentious. Rather like some of the 'unique' name spellings but with a veneer of pretend class.

Nothing to do with the storm last week but how about Barra or longer variations of it - Bairrfionn,Fionnbharr, Finbar/Finnbarr, is you want something that is easy to pronounce but not dissimilar.

I wouldn’t get too het up about name origins either, names evolve and few names are totally unique to one culture , most have been adopted and adapted as people have moved around the world historically. They can provide interesting insights into the history of the area you live in. Oliver is not an English name , it’s earliest origin is likely old Norse which makes it a contender in the list of Irish names and is an anglicised version of the French / Norman version . Lots of Norman names in Irish . And of course there was Oliver Plunkett ( Oilibhéar Pluincéid )Have a look at your local area, usually there’s names associated with the area( saints/ families) or even the history of your surnames for inspiration ( in the tradition of Dindsenchas )

@Juliette222 I love both names- absolutely gorgeous

Oilibhéar is older in Ireland than some pp think, as shown in this link -

www.libraryireland.com/names/men/oilibhear-oliver.php

Indeed, lots of well known Irish names are of foreign origin. Liam, Seán, Máire, Séamus, Siobhán all have a foreign root, there are many others.

That said, Oilibhéar isn't used widely in Ireland today (outside the classroom situation). Olly Bear may cause problems in the UK (though it's cute on a child ). Oisín is nice, again you'll have pronunciation issues where you live, but whether that bothers you or not is up to you - and your son, of course.

Cross posted with lots of others I see- but use it is you like it OP , and feck the begrudgers

Oisin is lovely!!

How about Finn? It's cute for a boy and nice for a man and is impossible to fuck up in any language

Sorry, cross post MargaretBall

Oisin = Weesin or Oysin in my mind.

They’ll moan as a child about not finding their name on the carousel of tat but if you like it don’t worry about it. It’s a lovely name.

I’m Irish. Never heard of it. Seems like pretentious Oliver to me.

@mamette people in West Belfast most definitely have Irish names.

Oisin is beautiful.

I would stay away from Oliver. Times may have changed but my 84 year old Irish father still mutters 'murdering English bastard' whenever he hears the name Oliver.

I like Oisin and Osain.

[quote NamechangeApril21]@mamette people in West Belfast most definitely have Irish names.[/quote]
Oh I know that. I just can’t think Oliver or a gaelicisation (sp?) of Oliver would be top of the pops in west Belfast.

Our local Gaelscoil (Irish medium school) is Scoil Oilibhéir, so it's definitely a name alright. Oisín is my favourite boys' name, pronunced uh-sheen here.

Oily Bear? Sorry, don’t do it.

Well Oliver Plunkett is a saint isn’t he? And there’s a lot of schools called after him, his English-language name too.

Oisin is ok, but yes, he’ll have to spell it forever. Not having a clear identity (‘what’s your name again’) isn’t ideal for confidence, IMO

Well, it's a fine ecumenical gesture if you live in Ballymena.Do you have any family surnames or significant Irish place names that would work as a forename? I can understand wanting to give a distinctive name that reflects your heritage,but think he'd just wind up being called Olly,which defeats the purpose.

I'd say Oisin and Roisin are pretty well known in the UK so would be less of an issue.

Noooooo!

100% no. As pps have said, he will spend his whole life with people spelling it wrong, and calling him 'Oily Bear.'

Remember Eoghan from X Factor? He was called Eggnog by everyone on social media. People eventually forgot his name was Eoghan.

Don't do it @Juliette222. Even if you DO give him this name, he will be known as Ollie in no time at all. (That's when people are not calling him Oily Bear!)