Solamh

[AuntDympna]

Inspired by the thread on Sullivan, I'm wondering what people think of this Irish / Scots Gaelic name. It's used to mean Solomon in the bible. As a functional word means prompt, ready, quick, dexterous.
The genitive form is Solaimh or Solmhan.

Actually, listening again to the Ulster speaker, the o sound is said differently there isn't it, so it does sound more like the o in olive or hollow Aunt Dympna. My apologies. The
v sound in olive or the ow of hollow still isn't right for Ulster though. And the o sound is certainly said differently in Munster. Sorry, I'm probably confusing things immensely!

@LizzieAnt

Conas atá tú?" is a Munster greeting.

I think 'Conas atá tú' is standard Irish rather than Munster Irish, AuntDympna, so it's taught in most schools as ConasAtaTu1 says.
In the Kerry gaeltacht at least, 'how are you?' is 'Conas tann tú?' or sometimes 'Conas taoi?'

You are so right. Hangs head in shame.

The comparison with olive and hollow is only meant to be approximate. It's more like olive than so-leev or so-lawve. More like hollow than so-la or hullo.
It's really most like Colm, just with v or w instead of m.
On that note I shall run away and hide and not even think about names for a week.

No, don't, Solamh is really nice!
Sorry for being picky, didn't realise the comparison with olive and hollow was only meant as an approximation.

Mightn't work for a professor of Irish though -
An tOllamh Solamh...
Okay, definitely thinking about this too much now!

@AuntDympna The thing is there are two valid pronunciations of this name and you are proposing a third. It's confusing people who are saying "Irish people do not agree". I've pointed out a neutral, reliable source, teanglann, where you can listen to the pronunciation by region, using the link upthread.

I have told you how I would pronounce that name as an Irish person. I notice another poster also said the same as me.

Are you proposing to send your child around with the teanglann recordings to play then for people who say it ‘wrong’? Will people be able to vary which of the two versions they use if it is appropriate for their dialect?

Does none of this honestly sound completely ridiculous to you to saddle a child with this name?

This whole threads reads like a pompous Irish lesson.

@ConasAtaTu1

For me Lamh is pronounced Law-ve so I would pronounce So-Law-ve so I disagree with both your pronunciations!!
Lámh (if you mean the Irish word for hand) has a fada on the a, unlike solamh, so mightn't be the best comparison to use.

I have told you how I would pronounce that name as an Irish person.
This doesn't mean much I'm afraid. Irish people are, for the most part, not native speakers or fluent in the language and they often get pronunciations wrong, especially of less well-known words/names. I count myself as one of that group, for the record! To be clear I don't know if you've made a mistake here or not, you may of course be perfectly correct, but I'm just pointing out that being Irish doesn't automatically make one an expert on the Irish language. I really wish it did!

Also, I enjoy the Irish language discussions on Mumsnet, though I could be in the minority

@LizzieAnt I don’t see what any of that has to do with how op child will have their name pronounced incorrectly their whole life which surely is an important consideration when naming a child.

In lamh the mh gives the v sound not the fada. My apologies for not being able to get a fada up on my keyboard 🙄🙄

I agree it might be a tricky name to have in the UK, ConasAtaTu1, but it could work in Ireland maybe.

So-Law-ve -
It was the 'aw' sound here I was referring to, not the 'v' sound. The aw sound wouldn't be present without the á, so it wouldn't be present in Solamh as far as I know.

I think 'Conas atá tú' is standard Irish rather than Munster Irish, AuntDympna, so it's taught in most schools as ConasAtaTu1 says.
In the Kerry gaeltacht at least, 'how are you?' is 'Conas tann tú?' or sometimes 'Conas taoi?'

Meanwhile, Cen chaoi a bhfuil tu? is Connemara/Connacht Irish...

But I don't think it's really said like either olive or hollow

Agree.

It rhymes with folamh and ollamh.

How do you say "samhradh"? Do you say "savra"? I say "sowroo".

SOW (as in female pig) rah. But the MH there would have a very slight V sound, robably inaudible to an ear used to a strict distinction between V and W sounds.

The MH at the end of a word has a slightly different treatment than MH in the middle, but there isn't a huge difference. An English ear probably wouldn't notice if 'A mhathair' has a very slight V sound at the start, and someone for whom school Irish is a second language would probably use W sound.

Sorry, can't do fadas on my phone..

Poor kid even the parent can't pronounce it

[quote AuntDympna]@conasatatu1
I didn't mean to be "snarky". I'm very sorry if it came across like that. The thing is there are two valid pronunciations of this name and you are proposing a third. It's confusing people who are saying "Irish people do not agree". I've pointed out a neutral, reliable source, teanglann, where you can listen to the pronunciation by region, using the link upthread. Whatever you were taught in school, you can check it on there.
My deepest apologies once again for seeming sharp. I'm here for the fun, I just like this name.[/quote]
I suppose you have to consider the child who would actually be named that though. I don’t think a name that requires reliable sources and constant explanation of the Irish Gaelic language is the best choice for a first name. And yes people will get used to it if they get to know him but he will always be meeting new people and doing it all over again.

I have told you how I would pronounce that name as an Irish person.
This doesn't mean much I'm afraid. Irish people are, for the most part, not native speakers or fluent in the language and they often get pronunciations wrong, especially of less well-known words/names.

On the contrary I’d massively disagree that it ‘doesn’t mean much.’ It means a massive amount for the usability of that name. You’ve said yourself that ‘for the most part’ Irish people are not native speakers. So the overwhelming majority of people this child will meet in their life with have the exact same issue. Unless he attends an all Irish Gaelic speaking school then grows up to marry someone from that school and becomes a teacher at the school then this name will be constantly mispronounced, misspelled, questioned.

It's a lovely name. It literally has the sound of the word love in it. "Sol-love". It means "peace".
I don't have any kids to name, I just like it. Anyone who can read Siobhán can read Solamh and those who can't can ask.

I actually don't think the name would be as much of a problem as you think in Ireland, Kanaloa. Many Irish people would be able to work it out by comparing it to other, more well-known words. I knew how to say it and I'm not a native speaker. I didn't attend a Gaelscoil either and my Irish is only reasonable (though I do love it).

My earlier comment wasn't meant to imply that I thought an overwhelming majority of Irish people would be unable to manage the name. It has a very nice sound, to my ear anyway. You're right that there would definitely be some pronunciation issues around it, but not as many in Ireland as the UK, I think. I suppose it all depends on how comfortable you are with that for your child. As the OP said, it's just a suggestion anyway.