Oisín - am I overthinking it?

[Meeko505]

We are due a boy later this year. We live in England, I'm 100% English, my partner is Irish (+ all family are Irish and live in Ireland) but he has an English accent because he grew up here. We do plan to take the baby to Ireland to visit GPs at least once or twice a year.

We like the Irish name Oisín (Ush-een) quite a lot, but I have some concerns that I'd like to check with others:

1. Is it wanky to use a very Irish name like this if only one parent is Irish etc.?
2. I have two older children with a different dad. However, they aren't very close to their Dad and feel more attached to my Irish partner. If we have one or two kids with Irish names, does it create a feeling of two 'separate' sets of kids/could it make my older kids feel less a part of his family as they get older? (Am I just being really paranoid here?)
3. If we go with an Irish name for this baby, I feel quite strongly that a future baby should follow suit. I'm not sure why, tbh. I suppose it might feel like one kid has a more concrete tie to their Irish heritage while the other doesn't?
4. Maybe most obviously, is this name going to be OK in England? Spelling + pronounciation-wise?

The other name I really like is Wilfred, which doesn't have any of these issues but my partner seems to really prefer Oisín.

you mean "English phonetically" vs "Irish phonetically". There isn't only one phonetic system in the world.

Love Oisin - great name different but not weird - i have friends with a boy named Oisin in England- father is Irish, mum is British West Indies heritage - doesn't feel odd at all.

Oisín is pronounced differently depending on what part of Ireland you are from. Us-een or O-sheen. It's a lovely name

Well, you could just ask?

Have never heard other than ush-een. From cork and live in dublin.

In NI it’s usually osheen - osh to rhyme with gosh.

OK, so kind of like the variation around Deirdre, which is quite different north and south

I must admit that I have only ever heard Osh-een. That's how DH's cousin pronounces his name. I would know what name you meant if you said Ush-een, but admit I prefer the other. 😃

I like Oisín, and I know how to pronounce it as it’s the name of a former champion in a sport I follow. He’s Irish but based in England. Definitely preferable to Wilfred.

I did know how to pronounce it, but thought it was a girls name, like Roisin. The English won’t have a clue, but that’s not unusual tbf. But please not Wilfrid!

I thought it was Osh-un

I think he may spend a lifetime correcting, spelling and putting up with people not understanding his name

Absolutely love love love Oisin!
but my DH said there was no way anyone in England would know how to pronounce is so we didn't use it, he was convinced everyone would call him Oi - sin (like Hoysin without the H)

I am English and had no idea how to pronounce that. Sorry.

The may move there or be interviewed or employed from someone from there! Who knows where life will take them, but like I said- each to their own. I know many people who don't worry and choose Irish names.

The only assumption in NI with an Irish name is that the person is catholic.
In England they would just assume the person is Irish or has Irish parents - if they even know it is an Irish name plenty of people would not be familiar with this name or any other Irish name and have no idea how to pronounce it.
They would probably pronounce it like it's spelt Oi-Sin like hoisin without the h

In NI it's usually pronounced O-Sheen like the O sound in rock, I like that pronunciation more than Ush-Sheen

I wouldn't, not for any of the reasons you've listed but tbh I just don't think Irish names work as well in English accents. The syllables are often all drawn out, whether it's because English people generally talk slower or because they're very consciously trying to pronounce it correctly, just doesn't work for me. I appreciate though it's very subjective, and what might sound odd to my NI-ear might not be picked up by a child growing up in England.

And it works both ways- English DH veto'ed Peter for DS as I pronounce it 'Pee-dur'.

My children have Irish names, they get complimented loads on their names, people learn pronunciation and spellings.
I love the name Oisin, it was on my list just go for it

Fgs should they also not choose a French or Italian name in case they bump into someone from NI who thinks they might be Catholic? You cannot seriously be suggesting that no one should ever use an Irish name for their child in case they encounter a bigot from Northern Ireland.

NI people only judge other NI people on these (ridiculous, pathetic) grounds. It’s completely different if the person is English (as this child will be).

I’m from Dublin but I have to say I think people who say “Osh-een” are right. I might be wrong here but Oi doesn’t make an “uh” sound, “o” does, as in “oscail”. In fact, I always think the words with an “i” that people tend to treat as silent, as in Roisín, if you listened to a recording of an Irish person pronouncing it correctly but slowed down, you can hear the “i”, it’s not there for nothing. So really it’s kind of “Aw-ish-eeen” short first syllable, very short syllable (almost unnoticeable) and long “een” at the end. It comes naturally to Irish speakers but it’s very difficult to explain to someone who doesn’t know the language.

Anyway, OP, I think the main thing you should think about the fact that your son would have this name for life and whether or not he’s likely to feel a strong, life long connection to Ireland. The main thing is it means something to him throughout his life.

I would guess there are many names from around the world that you can't pronounce, but that's not a reason for people not to use their own cultural names.

From Ireland 🤷‍♀️

https://forvo.com/word/ois%C3%ADn/

I'm Irish and ive never heard that pronunciation - only 'Aw-sheen'. Wilfred is awful 😞

I know one little Oisin and people round here (not Ireland!) seem to pronounce it like 'ocean' from what I can tell. It is a tricky name for English accents and speakers I think, so I'd be more worried about the fact that if he never moves to Ireland then he will probably have a lifetime of correcting the spelling and punctuation.

Two of my children have very Scottish names, I am not Scottish but their dad is and we live in Scotland, but we absolutely would have chosen those names regardless of where we lived - so I wouldn't worry about that aspect.

Quite a nasty response.

op did ask!

And i’m thinking of the person who will have to explain and spell out his name all the time if he lives in England.