Lucia or Clodagh - baby girl name

[FTM072024]

Hi there,

expecting our first baby in a few months. We don’t know the gender.

the leading boy’s name is of irish origin.

for girls, we’ve a few options, the two front runners are Lucia (Loo-see-ah) or Clodagh (Clo-da - Irish origin).

middle name is likely to be Anne.

very undecided on which to go for- all advice welcomed!

I always thought that Clodagh was one of very few names I think is genuinely ugly but, seeing the overwhelmingly positive response, I think I'm probably pronouncing it wrong in my head (I've only ever seen it written down). I thought it was 'clod-uh' but is it 'cloh-da'? I think the latter is pretty.

I'm not keen on Lucia think it's ok and I prefer your chosen pronounciation to Loo-chee-a.

Clodagh in my (Ulster) accent the Clo part of Clodagh rhymes with go or glow. Not clod.

Our little girls name we pronounce like Cloh - da....if you are saying it right it should rhyme with Yoda lol

Lucia is beautiful. Clodagh is very ugly and clunky.

Both are lovely. I considered clodagh but when discussing it people were pronouncing it differently so I discounted it. Still really like it though.

Clodagh it's less common than Lucia

Clodagh I think - unusual and interesting

And Lucia will be said Lu-Chee-uh half the time which will be annoying

Also there are quite a lot of Lucias and an awful lot of Lucys about so it may end up feeling a bit dull

Clodagh if it rhymes with Yoda as pp says, as that’s pretty. Although they’ll have to spell it out for people a lot. I like Lucia but have always pronounced it with a ch, I don’t really like the s version and I think most would assume ch.

I've always liked Clodagh and was a bit disappointed when DH didn't.

Lucia is a nice name but the many pronunciations would put me off.

I prefer Lu chee uh so would go for the other one out of those two.

Clodagh.

I agree. Clodia is also possible. I think Clodagh sounds fine but looks ungainly written down. That's just an English perspective though, and possibly influenced by the fact that the one Clodagh I met was horrible.

Currently wondering if I’m the horrible clodagh reference above 🤣

I love Clodagh

Clodagh is a beautiful name!

The clod sound puts me off - and this is how many people would read it. I like the name Lucia.

Clodagh is pretty.

Clodagh Rogers is where I've heard it before and I think Roisin Murphy the singer has one.

Lucia will get pronounced too many different ways. I read it as Lu chee ah for a start.

that’s lovely to hear! I have always loved the name. I’m from NI and know very few Clodaghs so I think it’s quite unique too :)

that’s lovely to hear! I have always loved the name. I’m from NI and know very few Clodaghs so I think it’s quite unique too :)

I have a very Irish name so am very used to this- we live in Ireland so it isn’t an issue day-to-day, only when I work in the UK. I personally don’t mind having to explain the pronunciation to people (or occasionally just accepting their own pronunciations!)

Could this be how you are pronouncing it potentially? It should rhyme with Yoda :)

Lucia is pretty but personally I much prefer the Lu-chee-a pronunciation.

Clodagh is much nicer now you have explained the pronunciation! As you are in Ireland I guess you will have fewer issues with people who can't say it right.

I love Lucia but love Lucinda even more

Thank you everyone for your responses- I probably should have added a little more context to my original question-

we live in Ireland, so pronunciation/spelling would generally not be an issue (Clodagh should rhyme with Yoda). In Ireland, Lucia will generally be pronounced Loo-si-a, hence our chosen pronunciation.

I myself have an Irish name and am well-used to correcting misspellings (or just accepting them, I’m not overly precious about it!) so it doesn’t bother me a lot. I work in England quite a bit and it’s actually quite a nice conversation starter!

still unsure which name to opt for - but really value your views! I think Clodagh might be nudging ahead very slightly :)

Given that you live in Ireland I’d definitely choose Clodagh! A lovely name.