Niamh

[ilovemykids5]

Would you keep this spelling. I think it looks prettier as Neve.
We are not Irish but do have an Irish surname.

If you are living in Ireland yes keep the spelling. outside Ireland, no as most won't be able to pronounce it without having to tell them how. Your daughter will constantly having to spell her name.

I prefer Niamh.

But whichever you choose, with both an Irish surname and first name, DD is condemned to a life of answering "are you Irish?", and "where in Ireland are you from?"

My born in England and very much English but of Irish descent DH can testify to that - it gets on his nerves!

I would use the traditional Irish spelling. It's well known enough now not to be a problem ( like Siobhan)

I really don't like it spelled Neve

Pick whichever one you like but Neve me to is a completely different name to Niamh just similar sounding.
Niamh - Knee-ev
Neve - Nev

I love the name but it feels like appropriation

I am Irish and this is my sisters name so no issue here. She married a man from the UK and her in-laws had problems trying to get it right. They would call her ny-am and other crappy variations. Eventually she told her mil to just think of eve and stick an N in front of it 😆 so maybe you should go with Neve.

I love the name but it feels like appropriation

If we go down that route, we wouldn't be using loads of very common names. My own name has Hebrew origins, but it's very common in the UK. Is that appropriation too?

@MrsFin

I love the name but it feels like appropriation

If we go down that route, we wouldn't be using loads of very common names. My own name has Hebrew origins, but it's very common in the UK. Is that appropriation too?

Yes but Niamh is actually Gaelic not an origin of Gaelic. Not nearly the same thing.

It would have to be Neeve to be pronounced the same.

@LadyCampanulaTottington
Exactly.

Once upon a time Gaelic names in the UK came with a lot of stigma which is sad and I think its disrespectful to use them when you dont have a direct Irish link

I like the Niamh spelling. There are a few girls in my children’s school years (NW England) with no issues with pronunciation

Neve hurts my eyes

@Minimal

Neve hurts my eyes

This! It looks like you don't know how to spell it properly and you'll still have to specify if it's 1 or 2 e's in the middle!

Yes but Niamh is actually Gaelic not an origin of Gaelic. Not nearly the same thing.

So how do you feel about Chantal, Rhiannon, Penelope, Carmen, Louis, Bianca, Carenza, Aaron, Ethan, Hugo, Gareth......? I could go on.

@MrsFin
Those arent names from cultures that have traditionally faced discrimination in a British context though.

I have a Niamh, we've had no issues with spelling or pronunciation (which surprised me a little). One Italian colleague of mine said it wrong but then found it easy when corrected.

It's in the top 200 now, and was in the top 100 for a while. It's well known now: if you know people under c. 25 years old, you probably know a Niamh.

So anyway, I love it! But if you don't, that's cool - but don't worry about people getting it wrong.

Niamh is lovely Use the correct spelling if you're in Britain, as most people here have heard of it.

Niamh and Neve are different names.

If you prefer the spelling Neve, go with it.
I never have met a Neve, but I know a Niamh (South East England) and a Nimue.

I have just checked and dil.ie says the original spelling was probably/possibly "ném", which English speakers might find easier on the eye.

I think that Niamh is common enough that people are familiar with the spelling and pronunciation throughout the UK.

I prefer Niamh

I think it’s well known enough that most people should know how to pronounce and spell it, but if not it’s not complicated for them to learn

I say Niamh with two syllables so the Neve thing doesn't work for me.

In the same way Brian is Bri-un, not Brine, Niamh to me is Nee-uv, rather than Neve.

I know British people who use this name tend to pronounce it as Neve though.

Agree with StrychnineInTheSandwiches that Niamh is pronounced Nee-uv, rather than just Neeve. I wouldn't be too sure how to pronounce Neve if I saw it wriiten down tbh.

Surely by now the U.K. is au fait with most Irish names?

Yes. It’s becoming quite popular.