Cadhla

[jasminesunflower]

I don't plan on using it but I encountered it today and I was wondering:

• is ky-la correct as the pronunciation?
• does it really mean "beautiful" in Irish?
• is it a classic Irish name or more trendy/modern?
• would it be worth correcting people all of the time? I like it way better than Kyla.

In the end I won't use it because we already have a short list but I really think it's cute.

No. No-one will EVER pronounce it correctly, or SPELL it correctly. Why do this to a child?

I'm not Irish so can't answer those questions but I do agree Kyla is so much lovelier than Cadhla anyway

No, if you're not in Ireland use Kayla, or Kyla.

How would Kyla be spelt in Irish? Ceidhle? (That's a guess)

I'm Irish but I have never heard this name before.

I'd pronounce it as calla. I'm Irish and have never heard of it as a name.

I know a wee girl called this she is called kay-la not kyla. Unsure if just her parents decided it or if correct

I'm Irish too. I've heard this name a few times but have also seen it completely misspelled against all the rules of Gaeilge.

Steer clear!

One of the people I know wit this name pronounces it 'Kay-Lee'. Makes zero sense - I want to scream when I hear it!

I know a Cadhla pronounced Kay-la, but it is wrong! It's definitely a "new" Irish name. You'd have to wonder how these new names with mad spellings gain traction! Correct spelling for that pronunciation would be something like Céiladh maybe? I'm not great at Gaeilge so don't quote me on that!

It's definitely a made up Irish name and as such has no translation to English. As others said, it doesn't follow any of the spelling rules. There are beautiful Irish names out there, this isn't one of them.

My LOs have Irish names with Irish spellings and once people are taught the pronounciation, it isn't a problem I really don't understand MN dislike of Irish names and the hand wringing around pronounciation and spelling. No other nationality with native names get the same response

https://www.teanglann.ie/ga/fgb/Cadhla

What spelling rules does the name not follow?
If you think it wouldn't be pronounced "Kay-la" then how do you pronounce Tadhg or Sadhbh?

OP it is "ky-la" yes.
It really means beautiful, yes.
It is an old name, used for boys, so a revival name.
I prefer Caoilfhinn / Caoilinn.
🙂☘

I went school with people with those names, both of Irish heritage.

Tadhg was pronounced Tige, exactly the same sound as the first half of tiger, but only one syllable, so you didn't say the er sound at the end.

Sadhbh was pronounced Sive, to rhyme with hive, as in bee.

I have no idea if they were the appropriate pronunciations, but that's how they introduced themselves, so that's what we called them.

@SunnyFog going by the spelling and the Irish names I have come across, I would have thought Cadhla would be pronounced as Ky-la, rather than Kay-la.

I'm Irish and I know a Cadhla, pronounced Ky-la, yes it means beautiful in Irish, and it's definitely one of the more modern Irish names out there, it's been rising in popularity here for a few years, not quite top 100 yet but not far off

I'm Irish and have never heard this name. I assumed (apparently correctly, looking at other posts) that it's pronounced Kyla. It's pretty but unless you're using it in a Gaeltacht community I'd expect to spend a lot of time correcting people who get it wrong.

I do think it's pretty though.

Yes those are the correct pronunciations of Tadhg and Sadhbh 😊

@SunnyFog The "adh" in both Tadhg and Sadhbh give an "eye" sound, so by that reckoning Cadhla would be pronounced ky-la, not kay-la. That said, I have heard it pronounced more commonly as Kay-la

Thanks @Liv999 "dusts shoulders"

Yes, it's Kyla and does mean beautiful, or did at least.
As a pp said it's a very old name, but it was a masculine one originally. As a first name it had died out afaik, but it seems to have been revived now as a girls' name. There is a surname which was derived from the first name - Ó Cadhla. This has been anglicised to give a variety of surnames such as Kiely, Keely etc.