Irish names

[Invisiblewoman1]

Hi all,
Can you hit me with a list of good Irish names for boys and girls please
Thanks

Even more nerdy thought. The m in Emer nasalises and somewhat lengthens the vowel so "Ee-mer" or "Ay-mer" may actually be a good approximation.
Sorry OP. Hope you find a name you love.

I’m in Ulster and Emer and lemur are pronounced the same.

Cara

Patrick
Michael
Bridget
Moira

I have a Cara, best name ever! My DS’s name is unusual enough to out me (and gets some incredibly rude comments from people in England tbh) but my very close second choice was Ardal, which I love.

@RogerDodger

I’m in Ulster and Emer and lemur are pronounced the same.

I'm from Dublin and they are for me too.

I’m in Munster and they are here too. I appreciate @SeanChailleach’s points about the name’s derivation, but I doubt the OP, who doesn’t live in Ireland, isn’t Irish, and doesn’t speak Irish, is going to revert to a now-archaic form of any name.

I know a fair few Muireanns, mostly from Connacht, several of them gaeilgeoirí, and they all pronounce it Mwirren. The only Mirren I know is Scottish, and spells it Mirren.

On a related note, I know a (male) Éibhear.

I do too, hes from Waterford I think.

@eggandonion

I do too, hes from Waterford I think.

We must know the same man. They aren't exactly common.

Hes a writer and lecturer? Everyone knows everyone sure.

@EarringsandLipstick Emer and lemur definitely rhyme…also with “steamer” - it’s exactly the same sound at the end.

My old favourite Aoibheann has cropped up with the mispronunciation “Ave-een” again - drives me mad that one.

OP I suggest the following;
Mary
Orla
Maeve

Sean
Conor
Patrick

Shouldn’t have any problems with any of those.

I like Tara, Dara and Cara!

Emer rhymes with Lemur, and Muireann = Mwirren, to my ears

I like Sibéal too, and Síofra. I haven’t heard Brianán in years.

[quote boringcreation]@EarringsandLipstick
Yes it does have an urr sound, I'm Munster and you might be from the North but it's pronounced Ee-murr[/quote]
Nope. I'm Munster too. (Well Dublin based now) but Munster Gaeilge.

I suspect if we were speaking to each other we'd say it the same, it's just our phonetic interpretation that's different.

I cannot imagine ever saying 'urr' and I know plenty of Emer / Eimears.

Also; the emphasis is on the first syllable, slightly less on 'er'.

Emer and lemur definitely rhyme…also with “steamer” - it’s exactly the same sound at the end

Oh God my head is 🤯!

So yes - for me 'steamer' and 'Emer' do rhyme. Because they actually both end in 'er'! 🤷🏻‍♀️

But 'lemur' has a 'ur' sound at the end and 'et' and 'ur' cannot possibly sound the same!

I'm so confused. We are all from Ireland so I can't believe we really say it so differently.

I'm not just talking about myself, I've never heard anyone else use an 'urr' sound at the end of Emer 😃

@eggandonion

Hes a writer and lecturer? Everyone knows everyone sure.

I too know who you mean!

My sister is Muireann. My mother spent our childhoods roaring - 'Muir-eann' at us. Because were we lived, people said 'Murn' all the time.

So while I get people saying it's Mwirrin, I get twitchy seeing it, as to be that's producing quite a narrow, caol sound, when it's much more rounded. I can't manage anything more phonetically, as to me Muireann is pronounced exactly as it's written.

2 of my 3 DC have Irish names beginning with D. The amount of Irish people who say them with a flat D (like 'door) instead of 'duh', the Irish D sound is incredible. Drives me nuts.

@EarringsandLipstick I'm sitting in the living room like an eejit repeating Emer over and over again wondering how on earth you pronounce haha my DH in the other room must think I've gone mad!

To me though the er and ur sounds would sound the exact same!

@SoLongDarla

Haha! I'm doing the same!

I think the phonetic thing confuses me & I should probably stay away from these threads as I then confuse everyone else 😂

God, after my repeated 'Emer'-ing.

Maybe I do say 'ur' but not 'urr'.

Oh. God.

I'm going mad now.

I've decided it's the emphasis thats the thing, and that's what differs between the pronunciation. But maybe my 'er' sound is more like a 'ur' one?

I am going to leave the thread and stop annoying all you good people.

Agree it's the same vowel sound (a schwa) in the second syllable of Emer and lemur. At least, I think so

@LizzieAnt

Agree it's the same vowel sound (a schwa) in the second syllable of Emer and lemur. At least, I think so

And Éibhear.

I don’t know why I’m so amused we all know him. We almost certainly know other people in common.

@EarringsandLipstick, are you in the North, so Erin is pronounced Urn?
When I worked in England I had a colleague known as ' Fraser pronounced Freezer'. I can't do the phonetic thing either.

(Fraser was posh Edinburgh, I wish I had completed that!)

Thank you all. I love

Mary
Orla
Maeve
Aoife

Shea