Sullivan

[Moomoo36]

I normally like more classic names but for some reason I'm taken with Sullivan.

Has anyone used it/know one/have an opinion on it?

Doubt I'm having a boy anyway as this is dc4 and all the others are girls but good to be prepared!

I don't think it is...Solamh does sound like Sullivan, but that's the anglicised form of the name. It doesn't sound as much like the original Irish language name, which does contain súil. As @Abhannmor said, that's the part of the name that people are sure of 😁

I've never heard it as a first name only a surname.

I have a ds with a surname type name so am not against them but met a sully/Sullivan at a kids group and it was a struggle for people to hear/get his name for some reason. I’d go Parker, Fraser, Solomon rather than this one having seen a (very polite) response to it, sorry.

I agree. People seem determined to say that surnames as first names are not something they like but then they go on to list names that are commonly used in America and not here. All the surnames commonly used in the UK as first names don't rile them. I haven't heard anyone who finds Duncan, Finlay, Ross, Lewis etc unpleasant, chavvy or pretentious. They might not choose those names for their dc and some are simply out of favour right now but they don't react to them the way they do to McKenzue, Harrington or Rockwell.

So the point is, surnames as first makes isn't the problem for these people. It's some surnames as first names. In other words some names. They just don't like some names. Like the rest of us. It's nothing to do with being surnames. If it was they would object to all surname first names. .

someone's fond of italics

@jajajajaja
Duncan and Finlay were first names before they were surnames though. It's the same for Malcolm, Donald, Connor which have also been mentioned as surnames - the surnames were derived from the first names weren't they?

No. They started as last names. They were often clan names. Even when people only had one name those names were more akin to surnames. Family names.

It's better than capitals to emphasise. Capitals just look aggressive

No, I don't think that's right. They developed into clan names yes.

As well as all those common ones other first / surnames I've come across are Crition, Shaw and Hunter, and all those guys are at least 50

I think people consider Sullivan an American style name because it's not used as a first name in Ireland. It's exclusively a surname here. The Irish diaspora are much more likely to use it as a first name.

If I heard someone in Ireland calling out to a Sullivan or a Murphy or a Delaney etc. I'd just assume they were addressing that person by their surname. I'd be far more likely to think it was a person's first name if I heard it being used in America. I mean, poor Rooney Mara for God's sake...

If you have a family name that means a lot, but isn't going to be your child's surname, it's natural to want to keep it by using it as a middle or first name.

There is a lady on Instagram with a son called Sullivan and triplet girls Mallory, Ellis and Cassidy. @Tripletmumof_4

I did that. All my dc have my maiden name as a 3rd name.

I love it but I live in Ireland where it’s a very common surname so I don’t think it would work well here.

The Monsters

I have the most adorable nephew named Sullivan, he goes by Sully. I love it

Lol at big furry one-eyed monster.

The idea that "Suileabhán" is based on an element "súil" meaning "eye" seems to come from an 20th century Englishman who went to Ireland and learnt Modern Irish.

The Second bit has variously been proposed as "súile bán", "súilDhubhàn", and explained as blind, darkeyed, one-eyed, and hawk.

The "súil amháin" explanation is late 20th century. It's poor idiom - being one-eyed, in Old Irish, was "lethrosc". "Leath-shúil" would be the modern equivalent.
"Amháin" didn't exist as a word until long after the name Suileabhán appeared in texts. Nemmá was the Old Irish word for "amháin".
Maidin mhaith!

I like it.....but then both of my DC (daughter and son) have first names that are traditionally surnames so I don't find it weird. They are both adults now and both like their names as they've never met anyone with the same name. My first name is a surname too. It's never bothered me.
My friend has a 'Sol or Sully' from süleyman - they're Turkish. I really like it.

That the original meaning of Ó Súileabháin is the cause of some controversy and dispute is not in question.
However, I imagine súil was considered an element of the name before a certain Englishman happened along, but haven't time to look into it properly now. Remember though that the O'Sullivan stronghold was in West Cork/Kerry, an area where Irish language use survived considerably longer than in many other parts of Ireland. People would have been quick to correct what they saw as an incorrect interpretation of their name. Most people today, including Irish speakers, believe the name incorporates súil - but I admit it's hard to be certain that's right when the rest of the meaning is lost/disputed.

Anyway, I for one was pointing out that you certainly shouldn't leap to the conclusion (apparently without a shred of evidence 😁) that Sullivan comes from the name Solamh! Talk about out of the frying pan into the fire 😅

I think it's nice, OP. I'm related to O'Sullivans and I think it's a nice first name too. I'm Irish but I don't mind the trend of using Irish surnames as first names. I think names like Reilly as first names can be nice. My favourite boy's name is MacDara.

That the original meaning of Ó Súileabháin is the cause of some controversy and dispute is not in question.
There are stories that are fun. People want to weave wonderful stories around their names.

I for one was pointing out that you certainly shouldn't leap to the conclusion (apparently without a shred of evidence 😁) that Sullivan comes from the name Solamh!

A pp had said that Sullivan was originally a first name like many Irish surnames. That's true for Murphy, Shea, and curiously, Macdara. Sullivan or the Irish Suileabhán doesn't seem to have been used as a first name. Solamh has.

The Sullivans, (of whom I might be one ;) ) have a story about someone called Súile Levan. To add to the mix.

I have a 9 year old Sullivan. We love his name, he loves his name - if you like surnames for first names its fabulous!