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.

Is it possible that it's the related Welsh name Osian that you're familiar with?

That has an 'an' sound as the second syllable, whereas Oisín has 'een' and so might be less likely to be confused with ocean.

Very possibly - I haven’t seen the names written down. Having said that one mum is Irish so that’s prob Oisin

@Newgirls , they are pronounced differently.
Oisín is Osh-EEN. Osian is OSH-ann. The osh is like in posh.
Oisín and Osian are basically the same mythological character in two different languages.
Neither sounds like Ocean or means ocean, and it could be that the ones you know are actually called Ocean.
Oisín - Wikipedia
Babies called Ocean in England & Wales since 1996 (darkgreener.com)
Babies called Osian in England & Wales since 1996 (darkgreener.com)
Babies called Oisin in England & Wales since 1996 (darkgreener.com)

Neither sounds like Ocean

@KirstenBlest @Newgirls

I know Welsh people say Osian doesn't sound like ocean, and I'm sure they do sound different in a Welsh accent...but when I hear Welsh people say the name it does sound quite like the way I say ocean in my accent iyswim.

The emphasis is a bit different I agree, but for me they're pretty close, and I can see how people get them mixed up.

forvo.com/word/osian/

But you’ve said yourself that “osheen” is how it is pronounced in the north. In the north “osheen” and “awsheen” make exactly the same sound.

@TwirlBar , Ocean sounds like OUGH-shun, so only the 'sh' and 'n' are the same.
It's like saying that Eric and Oreck sound the same.

I think the point I’m making is that people will get it wrong. Hopefully they will hear you say it and just repeat it correctly.

I love both names

@harrietm87 but you yourself said In NI it’s usually osheen - osh to rhyme with gosh!!

Wilf is cool

I just think he’ll spend his life spelling it/correcting pronunciation which would be wearing

Yes. And awsheen also rhymes with gosh in a NI accent. Third time I’ve tried to make this point…

I know an Irish Osh-een and a Welsh Osh-un

A life time of spelling his name out and telling people how to pronounce it. Do you want that for him?
OK if you lived in Ireland, not so much in England.
Patrick? Works well in both.

There are so many ways of pronouncing 'ough' that doesn't really help me @KirstenBlest😁🤔

I say ocean as O-shan, like the letter o at the start. I might say the letter o a bit differently than you do, so hard to compare exactly.

I don't think ocean sounds exactly the same as the name, just that it's similar enough that mistakes are understandable. In particular, if the person saying the name has a different accent to the listener, then the listener will be decoding to a certain extent and misunderstandings are to be expected.

In the link above, if I didn't know that the person was saying Osian, I'd guess it to be the word ocean said in a Welsh accent. Do you see what I mean? I know I'm wrong and that Osian and ocean are actually said quite differently if the speaker has a Welsh accent (I know this only from MN!) but I can how errors happen.

@twirl, I meant Ough as in the surname. (Not like the ough in tough or plough )
The O in Osian is like the O in Tom, not like the O in over. It hugely popular in Wales. I've never heard it said as Ocean.

Ok thanks @kirstenblest, I'm not familiar with the surname at all.

I love Wilfred.

Both sound the same in Northern Ireland though…

As an Irish girl with a very unusual Irish name (that most Irish people haven’t heard and can’t pronounce) I have grown up loving my name. It’s unusual so it’s an instant ice breaker for people and they always remember me.

my name is actually from some very old Irish mythology and a Oisín is a relative in those stories. Look up dTír na nÒg ❤️

I'd pronounce it Oysin, as I would imagine everyone else in England will. He'll find it a real pain. I love Wilfred (Wilf)

Oisin is a great name. I know one. Wilfred is very different and not a good name. When we choose frumpy names our children have to live with them and may not like them ever.

I am from NI and aw is not something I have heard or would say.

I wouldn't. Some will be familiar with the name from Jeremy Clarkson apologises to Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon - BBC News

Not all of NI...