Niamh or Madeleine/ Madeline?

[elodieanne]

Expecting DD2 in Feb and we are completely stuck between these names. Thoughts are to use them both as the name with one as a middle name but are not sure which one.
We do have concerns that these names are a bit '2000s' though. Opinions?

I like both but prefer Madeleine, but don't choose it if you don't want it shortened, it will be

All three are lovely

I know a baby Madeleine so I don't think it's dated (I also know a 5 year old one). I prefer Madeline though as I went to university with one who has fiesty, strong willed and quirky.

Niamh is lovely too but my least favourite of your choices

Niamh if you are Irish. I've yet to meet anyone who isn't Irish who pronounces it properly. It's not pronounced 'neeve', there's a subtle half syllable in the middle which is hard to describe, more like 'nee-uv'.

I think I prefer the English Madeline to the French Madeleine personally.

Both nice
prefer Madeleine - but only use it if you don’t mind it being shortened
Niamh is getting quite popular so don’t think you need to worry too much about pronunciation

I think they are both quite timeless so wouldn’t worry about sounding dated

I'm a Madeline and most people I know don't shorten it (ignore my username )

Both beautiful. I know that's no help.

Can't go wrong!

If you want to use both, I think Niamh Madeleine sounds better than Madeleine Niamh (which sounds a bit like Madeleine Eve, because the Ns run together). But that shouldn't be a deal breaker.

Always adored elegant Madeleine - this original French spelling with the more obvious "lehn/laine" pronunciation, as the English Madeline spelling can get two pronunciations. Although I'm personally not very keen on the Maddie nickname - Leni ("lay -nie") or classic Lena ("lay -na") sound far nicer if a nn is wanted for Madeleine imo. Or I suppose you could even have unusual Della.

Madeleine feels like an underused classic in the style of Josephine to me - it was never popular enough (in the top 50) to feel especially dated imo.

Niamh is nice enough but unless you have Irish links, I personally prefer similarish sounding Eve.

Considered Madeline for dd but felt I couldn't deal with the Madeline/Madeleine discussion each time. It's a long name to be spelling out on a regular basis! However I do think it's lovely and more classic/less dateable than Niamh in England.

@DramaAlpaca

Niamh if you are Irish. I've yet to meet anyone who isn't Irish who pronounces it properly. It's not pronounced 'neeve', there's a subtle half syllable in the middle which is hard to describe, more like 'nee-uv'.

I think I prefer the English Madeline to the French Madeleine personally.

Yes! I grew up with a friend Niamh and it was pronounced nee-uv. My children now have friends with the name and it’s strange to hear them called neeve. They correct me from nee uv and say no it’s neeve. This is the first time I’ve seen/ heard someone else agree with me. It’s strange that people would use the name and then not pronounce it properly.

Niamh is nice but many people will say Neev not Nee-uv, so I'd suggest Eve if you want the eev sound
Medeleine is my preferred spelling. Not keen on Mads or Maddie though.

I prefer Niamh. I only learnt recently that it is "nee-uv" in Irish, but when I try to say it that way it just sounds like I'm putting on an Irish accent. Is it not just an occupational hazard of using foreign names that the pronunciation will inevitably be altered a bit? I suppose we all draw the line in different places. Personally, I'd not use Niamh if I had no Irish links anyway.

Agree that Madeleine Niamh runs together, but first names and middle names are so seldom said together that I don't think this should decide the question. Choose the best first name (whatever you decide that is).

Which one sounds best with the surname?

Niamh