Seánna? - correct spelling

[suzettenoisette]

This is just for a middle name, the second middle name to be exact. We want to honor a Seán. I do like Seán and I do like shaw-na, the way it sounds. I do, however, dislike the way Shauna and Shawna look.

I don't mind Seána, but I think it would get see-ann-a, but as a middle name it won't matter much. I do like Seánna a lot.

Now my questions is, would this be spelt Seánna or Seanna correctly? I know that Seán is the Irish spelling, but does the fada stay, when it is feminised?

Does Seánna work? First name is still not decided on, but we like Samantha, Sabrina, Poppy, Holly, Selena and Haley.

What about Seádhna?

Thanks, it's a good idea. Is it pronounced shaw-na?

I once read that DH is silent in Irish, but maybe I'm wrong.

I accept your opinion, but Shauna is also made up, so I don't really see a problem with changing the spelling to look more like Seán.

Shauna isn't a traditional Irish name but a recent feminisation and anglicisation, as far as I'm aware.

Thank you for your thoughts, but I won't name my daughter Seán. Maybe that works in the US and some locations, but here it would be very odd. Kind of like naming you daughter Robert or Thomas.

If you like Selena then why don't you use that as it includes all the letter of Sean.

Stoopid people like me are going to think Seanna, accent or no accent, is pronounced See -anna

If it's to honour a Seán just go with Seána. Seems a no brainer to me.

I know someone called that who does pronounce it 'shaw-na', but I see from Googling that it seems to be an unusual spelling so might need more checking/vetting.

And just to flag, looking on Facebook it also seems to be a name also given to boys (with and without the fada).

Seonagh is the scottish spelling.
Shona is straightforward.

Seana looks like it should rhyme with Deana

Shona doesn't sound like Seána/Shauna though.

not in Irish accents at least

Well I've lived in Ireland all my life and Shauna is a real name as far as I'm aware. Plenty of Shaunas in the country.

Séadna, with the fada on e so Shayna, is definitely a boy's name, though not much used now I'd say. It was anglicised Sidney and is the name of a well-known Irish book.

Absolutely, but OP dislikes the spelling so doesn't want to use it.

Not quite, but that's how Seonagh says her name

That's why I'm saying she can't square this circle. She wants a name that honours Seán and it seems important that it have the same pronunciation and abide by a traditional name format (traditionally feminine, has heritage). Shauna is that name. Seána maybe too (although I don't really know that name in use the same way that Shauna is). She seems to want people to tell her that Seánna does that, but it doesn't and is shooting down all other suggestions. She can use the name Seànna and decide to pronounce it Shawna, but it has nothing to do with the Irish language at that point. Sorry, just get a bit fed up with how Irish names are sometimes discussed here on Mumsnet.

Op, if it's a middle name (that no-one will ever use) and you like Seánna just use it. It's obvious to me how it would be pronounced (Seán-na) and if people get it wrong you can just tell them. I think you need the fada for it to work sounds wise.

How about Seáneen?

I don't know which thread you've been reading, but several people from Ireland have actually told me here that Seána works perfectly and that Seánna would work with a slightly altered pronunciation, which I would be fine with.

You're acting like Shauna is a very traditional name, that I want to butcher, when quite the opposite is the case. Shauna is not a traditional name in general and anglicised whereas Seána works in the Irish language.

It's as if I wanted to use Seán and you'd be fed up because I don't want to spell it Shaun.

I honestly think that you're not here to be helpful, but to cause a fight and I'm not having it. Be kind or leave this thread, please. Your posts will be ignored from now on.

Shauna is not a traditional name in general and anglicised whereas Seána works in the Irish language.

Seána doesn't actually work in the Irish language though @suzettenoisette.
Seán is obviously Irish language, but sticking an 'a' on the end to make it feminine isn't something that's done in Irish. So, while you could of course say it's a derivation of an Irish language name, it's not really Irish language itself iyswim.
That said, it's absolutely fine to use it. It's an established spelling of the name although not as well known as Shauna. Or do use Seánna if you prefer - it's an original spelling but that's fine too if you're happy with it. It's a middle name anyway so shouldn't cause confusion for your daughter.

I agree with the people who wrote that it's not an authentic Irish name, no matter how it's spelt. The spelling I've seen the most is Shawna, followed by Shauna and I've seen Seána a few times as well. Most Shawnas I know were born in the 1970s. I have no idea if Seánna works, but the one that looks best to me is Seána, so I'd go with that. Good luck, OP.

Seodhna

Languages evolve.
Who has the authority to say one new word is authentic and another is not?

Shona is Shona
Sheena is Sheena
Sean is Shaun
I taught a Shana once (Shay-na)
Shawna is lovely and is a middle name for you anyway, so I'd spell it how you like but Seána Kerslake has one r (still has to tell others it is Shawn-a).

I'm certainly not an authority but this is my take on it: yes, languages evolve, but names evolve a bit differently.

In the case of Séana, I think it evolved outside Ireland and went Seán to Shaun/Shawn to Shauna/Shawna and then back to Seána in Ireland. I'm not completely sure of this, but if you look at the baby names in the CSO listings from 1964 you'll see that Shauna was very much more popular in Ireland than the spelling Seána. It started gaining popularity in the 70s and peaked at no. 6 in the charts in 1993. Seána has never been nearly as widely used.

Think of the French name Madeleine and then a spelling of the name often used in America, Madilyn. Is it more correct to say the spelling Madilyn is French or that it's derived from the French Madeleine? Would you really say that the French language has evolved to include the spelling Madilyn - because I wouldn't. And neither has the Irish language evolved to add the letter 'a' to a name to feminise it.

I do consider Seána an Irish name but not an Irish language one. It's a bit of a mix as many names are.