Need reassurance on son's name

[Moodhasplummeted]

I wouldn't normally do a post like this but I'm really struggling with my son's name and I just need a place to vent.
He is nearly 3 years old and there is nothing I can do about it now. We couldn't agree on names and I ended up agreeing to my DH's favourite straight after a c section. I had so much regret the year after he was born but could never quite bring myself to change it. I think if DH had known I would still be agonising over it 3 years later he would have let me change it.

I love names and have been thinking about them since I was a young girl so to not have been able to use my favourite names has really got to me. My son's name is Cillian. It has a K sound for those that don't know.
Please don't post anything negative about it.
Every time I introduce him I feel weird saying his name, and I feel regret that I can't introduce a name I love. There are so many names I love.
I adore my little boy so much and feel a lot of guilt about this.

Agree with ( almost) everyone- it’s a great name and potentially likely to get more popular because of Cillian Murphy.

And I meant to say I went through a phase of worrying about the name I gave my DD. Had I made things harder for her (she's v shy)? Would she really resent having her name? Would she be picked on? None of that has ever happened and I'm so glad we didn't change our mind and DD loves it.

So Cillian is actually pronounced Kill-ee-an???

Mind blown- but then I wasn't born in the UK. I have no idea why anyone who choose a name that starts with Kill??? 😳

It’s an utterly ordinary, classic name, OP. I mean, I like it, but expressing a dislike of it would be like saying you loathed and despised something like James or Thomas.

I love it!

Well nobody has ever been shocked by Diana have they?

Yep, love it 😍

It rhymes with Lillian and Gillian, with a K sound at the start. It's a well established Irish name, where cill means church and features in many placenames.

@CanYouFeelMyHeart - Does the name Diana have Kill in it also? Sorry, I don't see the connection?

@JenniferBarkley - So if it rhymes with Lillian and Gillian but with a K- it is it pronounced Killian then?

Thank you everyone, except for one nasty poster but there's always one.
Funnily enough my DH gets really positive responses when he tells people his name, I think there are lots of famous sports people with the name so it's more familiar (Kylian Mbappe being one!) Whereas I get lots of confused looks. My favourite names are very different, Jesse is my all time favourite but my DH hated it.

Yes, it's pronounced Killian. Killian is a common anglicisation.

Diana starts with "die". That's the connection - a syllable that has no connection to the meaning of the name.

I was wondering this too, it looks like it’s pronounced Kill Ian but surely that must be wrong, please can someone explain the correct way to say it?

No Diana doesn't have 'kill' in it however is does start with 'die' - that's the resemblance, it wasn't rocket science!

OP cillian is a lovely name. There are far more diverse names out there

I thought you were going to say a really terrible name! I think Cillian is a great name, cool but not crazy. Would be interested to know what you would change it to?

It’s gorgeous OP. I sometimes get name regret, fleeting but a sort of panicky feeling, but actually DS really suits his name and I do love it.

Cillian is a lovely lovely name. It’s classic, it suits so many different ages. I wouldn’t worry about school nicknames too much, chances are his nickname will be something totally unrelated to his name like “Hands” this was my friend Steven’s nickname for no apparent reason etc etc

I think it’s really lovely. You can pick apart sounds/connotations etc with any name if you try hard enough.

does it suit him? Is it just about the name? Do you link that moment (of agreeing to the name) with any kind of post birth trauma or anything?

if not and you just have regret, try and remind yourself of all the lovely things about the name.

I think it's a lovely name

I love the name Cillian.
I am French and the equivalent "Kilian" is popular and nice. It is rather chic too.
I can't believe it wasn't on my list as I really like it!

For my son we settled on a fairly common name as we couldn't agree... I do get a pang a regret as I really wanted "Raphael" ... but I wouldn't change it now (he's 7 months) ... it's him now 😍

@Alisonscutehairflick those are really good points and I've tried to analyse my feelings towards it as it seems so extreme.
There was no birth trauma but he was a Covid baby, I spent a lot of that year feeling sad about all the things we missed out on. I feel tremendous guilt about doubting his name and that it must mean I bonded less well and that plays on my mind a lot, but I absolutely adore him and always have.
I have a tendency towards negative and obsessive thinking. I was also a huge name nerd from a young age. I was someone who would have a list of names from the age of about 8! So I think there is a sadness there that I never got to choose and a feeling that the name isn't mine. I hope he thinks it's cool when he is older. If he does, all my fears will just fade away.

@Moodhasplummeted ah I totally understand. I have weird anxiety and regret about things in the Covid year, when in reality all our kids need are us! As long as you’re careful not to show any doubt over his name he won’t give it a second thought - until he’s a teenager and then they dislike everything we ever pick or do for them I’m sure!

i imagine someone cool and chilled and accomplished with that name.

don’t feel guilt about it - it definitely doesn’t mean you didn’t bond with him properly or anything like that. Maybe with the whole Covid stress your anxiety just latched into a slight second guessing of his name instead of everything that was going on at the time and it became more of a thing. That definitely happened with me over something!

but either way I really don’t think you have anything to worry about or feel guilty about. I was expecting to read a kooky name but his is really lovely and classic.

I wouldn't worry about it. In our family we all have nice unique names, but oddly none of us use them. Pet names, 'Oi' and 'Come here' seem to stick. I had at least three names growing up and none are 'official'.

DS2 has a Cillian in his class and even as silly six year olds they’ve never tried to call him ‘Kill’. In fact it hadn’t even occurred to me, it’s just this child’s name and a pleasant one at that 😀

I love it. It's one of my favourite boy's name.

I'm Irish so know a few people with the name. All are fabulous.

I love it. High up on my list.

Cillian Murphy and Peaky Blinders has definitely made it more ‘normal’ outside Ireland too.

definitely a great name OP

I had it shortlisted 12 years ago for DS, love it we’d have used the K as we’re British but DH had Irish grandparents and they’d have loved an anglicised Irish name.

Seriously, it’s great. Unusual, not weird, the best of all names!

I love the name. Makes me think of Cillian Murphy - never a bad thing 😉