Torin

[Jacketandbeans]

Thoughts? As a brother for two boys with Irish names. My DH is Irish and said it's not really used in Ireland, is that right? He hasn't lived there for 20 years.

@Robinni

Plenty of Torins in Ireland… just not as many as Padraig, Sean, Ronan, Eoghan etc!

The advantage you have if on mainland is that it’s easy to spell and pronounce! Lovely name.

Ireland doesn't consider itself an offshore island of Great Britain, you know! Mainland indeed.

I know one who has it as a middle name. The first name is a so-called old man name so they wanted something a bit trendier and different for the middle name. Not quite sure if it strikes the right vibe for that personally but it's alright as names go.

That's interesting re Fionn, Luredbyapomegranate. Mostly it's said Fyun (one syllable), at least where I am in Ireland. There are some dialectal variations used by native speakers though. The second speaker in this link says it something like you do, maybe.

forvo.com/word/fionn/

It's a village in the Isle of Skye, if that helps. Torrin is the Anglicisation of Gaelic na Torran, meaning small hills.
Not to say it isn't an Irish name too though I suppose.
What about Corran?

Tor can mean a rocky height in Irish too, and has been used in this sense as a metaphor for a warrior. It also means a shrub/bush.

Tor, that is.

I also really like Corin, but avoiding C names due to Cillian.
The more you tell me about Torin the more I like it, all the potential origins are great, it's an interesting name

I like it. Hadn’t heard it before although I’ve met a couple of guys called Tor, which apparently is a variant of Thor.

@Robinni
I'm sorry, I'm now regretting my comment upthread re your use of mainland. You could, of course, be from NI or from someplace else where it makes more sense to use that term.

I used to work in ROI in a group with many international links. When English colleagues visited, they almost always referred to GB as the mainland. It was never appreciated by their Irish counterparts and most didn't get the point when it was explained (mostly not by me) so we gave up. It did tell us where Ireland stood in their world view.
Your comment touched a nerve. However, you are obviously not responsible for any of this, so my apologies again.

@LizzieAnt not quite sure what to say….

How bizarre to have the age old British-Irish relations issue brought up in a baby name thread…

My reasoning for using the term mainland is that mumsnet is a U.K. website.

As per the Collins dictionary the U.K. mainland is England/Scotland/Wales excluding all islands.

I’ve lived in all regions of U.K. and Ireland except Wales….

I’ve seen people of English origin particularly struggle with spelling and pronouncing Irish names a LOT. So presuming if OP is on the mainland, sorry in GB, and they choose a more straightforward Irish name their child won’t have to begin every introduction with a conversation about their name/origins.

I’ve known people to name their kids Owen/Rory rather and Eoghan/Ruiari simply because they know as adults many whom they come into contact with in work won’t pronounce it right! (Then the family always write the “correct” Irish spelling on cards )

I’m sorry you had those experiences with colleagues not seeing R.O.I. as a country separate to the U.K. unfortunately some are misinformed.

Anyway OP I still think Torin is lovely and I very much like Oran (Odhran) too!! All the very best for your new arrival x

You'd be surprised @Robinni. Things can be a bit tense on the babyname threads here sometimes with regard to Irish names. Some well-known ones are sometimes euphemistically described as 'naughty boy' names, or people might be told the pronunciation is ridiculous etc. So there's that.

Irish people in ROI don't use the term 'mainland' for GB, any more than someone from, say, France or Iceland would. It's generally considered disrespectful if others use it when referring to GB's relationship with ROI too. Obviously it's a different situation for many in NI as that's part of the UK, and I didn't think of that when I first responded which I very much regret.

I completely understand your advice around perhaps choosing a more straightforward spelling/pronunciation depending on location. Torin fits that bill.

Very sorry about the derail Jacketandbeans.

I know a female Torrin,she is from Scotland.

I know a little girl called Torrin. Scottish parents.

I’m Irish and have never heard of it.

I know a Torrin. It's a Cornish name.

@LizzieAnt perhaps naively I presumed, as mumsnet is a U.K. site that Irish people commenting would be of the 1.9 million Irish people in N.I. or be from ROI but now be GB resident themselves. If we were on boards.ie I wouldn’t have used the word mainland, could you imagine the reaction?!?

I’ve lived in Ireland North and South so don’t need to be educated on the dos and don’ts. Agree it is disrespectful to use ‘mainland’ in relation to ROI/GB. Just as it is to disregard the term being appropriate for NI/GB. Or indeed Channel Islands/GB etc. Apology accepted.

My point was if they are resident in NI people will be familiar with Irish names obviously and many have some experience of Irish language, so spelling and pronouncing Irish names in that region isn’t an issue. In GB people seem to have a tougher time with it, so having an Irish name such as Torin, Orla, Conor, Erin etc. Is easier than Daire, Caoimhe, Siobhan, Grainne etc.

@Robinni
I think people on Mumsnet are probably mostly from the UK, but there are people from all over on here. There's even a Craicnet board for things specifically of interest to Irish mumsnetters. There will always be a higher percentage of Irish people on threads related to things Irish too, and Irish baby names is an example of this. Not so many on this one though, as I think Torin wouldn't be obvious as an Irish name to many Irish people. Maybe because it isn't one, but the jury is out on that I was interested to see a pp say it's a Cornish name. Do you have anymore information on that Allthingspeaches ?

I think people should be able to choose any name they like, but I personally agree with you about the value of honoring heritage without causing too many spelling/pronunciation issues for a child. Sean is going to result in less confusion than Sadhbh outside Ireland, for example. Torin shouldn't cause many spelling or pronunciation issues for its bearer, so that's certainly an advantage imo. But it depends where you live and some people are less bothered by these things than others - not sure where the OP stands. She said she has a Cillian already, and I suppose that's probably mispronounced sometimes (although Cillian Murphy probably helps). Love the names Rory and Cillian btw, OP.

My mind went to Jared when you said you associate Torin with actors. Jared Harris is the son of Richard Harris.

But, before someone scolds me, it's not Irish.

@Zippea

I know a Torrin - it’s never been shortened

Me too, and it’s also never been shortened.

Love Torin. It’s on my list (along with Cillian!) for DS2.

DS1 is Lachlan (although I wanted the Irish version, DH won out with the Scottish spelling).

@LizzieAnt Cillian is definitely mispronounced a lot. I'd say it is said Sillian 90% of the time on first seeing it. It drove me mad when he was a baby and I was sensitive and hormonal but I'm fine with it now. I just tell people once and they get it. I get lots of great reactions too, and he has really grown into his name. We are very happy we chose it.
Incidentally, you were on my thread when we were deciding whether to choose it(under a different username) so thanks, it was good advice
I definitely wouldn't go for anything any more tricky though, we both like Tadhg but decided we want something simple.

No problem, so glad you're happy with it

I really like Sillian

It's my dogs name (well Torrin), he (the dog) is Scottish.

I've found other people really struggle to pick it up and use it as a name, maybe as its just not familiar to them. Not so much of a problem with a dog as I don't really need other people to use his name.

Interesting, I know a Torrin aged about 4 who has family links to Skye. I hadn't heard the name before he was born. I like it.