Conor or Connor

[SquirrelBlue]

I love this name (I know others won't!) but am trying to decide on a spelling. I'm in the UK and want my baby to have the easiest spelling possible so he's not having to correct people all the time. I've grown up with a similar issue and found it very tedious. I think Connor would be the most well known spelling but just wondering what others think. How would you spell it?

If anyone has any other Irish boys' names that are easy for Brits to say and spell, I'm open to suggestions. Cillian and Cormac are both ruled out unfortunately.

Which side of the border?

Connor. Conor looks like a typo to me. I'm more familiar with the double 'n' spelling.

should that be Fionn?

@CelesteCunningham Definitely William and not Liam.
@ParentsTrapped Mayo, so south of the border but FIL's family in Connemara were particularly horrified.

Think you got us the wrong way round there @BaronessBomburst - I wouldn't think of Liam as a diminutive for William at all, separate names IMO.

William in Irish Catholics south of the border isn't anything out of the ordinary IME, but very very unusual in Catholics in NI.

I did sorry, but couldn't seem to swap you.

Gosh yes. Imagine having a typo when half look and your phone doesn't recognise any words you are typing... imagine.

Your family names are lovely. @ScoobyG

I swear MN is broken, I've had trouble removing tags and emojis at times but not at others. Maddening.

Same! Apparently in the past Catholic families in the North would deliberately give their children more Protestant sounding names in order to prevent discrimination when they look for employment etc.. before the troubles

It's a terrible name. Every teacher will tell you, there are no well behaved Connor or variants of

Yes, I'm in Cork and loads of Williams in my (Catholic) family over the past few generations.
Liam was used as a diminutive for sure though, also Willie in older relatives. The occasional Bill or Billy.

These days the child is more likely just to be named Liam without William on the birth cert I think.
In the same way lots of older men named Seán are John on their birth certs, but that's less likely today. It would just be Seán (or Sean for those who aren't fond of the fada) on the bc.

Also it's Conor for me.

Caolán is something like Kway-lawn where I am.

It's not the Cao that's important in the differing pronunciations, it's more the pronunciation of ao vs aoi.
Aoi is nearly always like ee, but with ao it depends on the part of the country you're in. It sounds more like ay down south and ee elsewhere.
https://www.teanglann.ie/en/fuaim/Caol

I wouldn't say Conal is straightforward outside Ireland either. It rhymes with tunnel where I am at least.

Or Conall even. It's spelt both ways, one or two l's, but I think it might be Conall originally, not exactly sure.

I wouldn't say Conal is straightforward outside Ireland either. It rhymes with tunnel where I am at least.

Conal is not straight forward in Ireland either. These are 3 pronunciations my colleagues in work have for their 3 Conals.

Conal = Kunnell

Conal = rhymes with Donal (should be fadas but you see it with out)

Conal = Connell.

I doubt Irish teachers will have that view.

From reading on MN though, it seems many UK teachers love nothing more than writing a child off based on their name. How cute.

The Connor’s I know are two n’s

Yes, and frequently it's boys with Irish names which appear to be singled out by UK teachers as 'naughty boys'. Funny that.

Christ, I missed this.

Yeah.

I'm sure other Irish posters will join me in saying that Conor is a deeply ordinary name in Ireland, a safe eternal classic without particular associations, like Thomas or James in England. I know Conors in their 60s and Conors who are toddlers. I teach at a university, and I have several Conors in classes at the moment.

Absolutely.

Far from the first time I've seen this on here about Irish boys' names (the girls just get the "unpronounceable" thing).

As you say, Conor is as timeless and classless as James or Ben in England. Could be any age and any background.

Yes. It is strange. Almost like their might be a hint of xenophobia at play.

On MN? Never...

Yes, same. Right down to the university lecturer bit, with Conors in most of my classes