How would you pronounce this name Kaelan or Kaylan

[Twicemummytobe]

We have finally found the name we are wanting to call our son.

I love the spelling “Kaelan” pronounced “Kay- Lan” but I am worried people would call him “KEE-LAN”

or do we have to make it obvious for people and spell it out as “Kaylan”

No I'm not.
My original thought on the name (not knowing at all that's it's based on an Irish name) is that Kaylan is a better spelling than Kaelan because I know people with "ae" in their name frequently get it spelled wrong.
I was reading an article about the TV show Friends the other day. The character name Phoebe was written both as Phoebe and Pheobe is the SAME article.
As someone whose name is frequently spelled wrong I was just trying to save Kaylan a lifetime of spelling errors.
I personally like the name.
I didn't know it's apparently Irish.

I'd pronounce both Kay-lan

Caelan is great.

It would be lovely to live in a world where name snobbery and class preconceptions didn't exist but unfortunately they do. Not a new thing either. I'm reading a book written in the 18th century and read a passage the other day about vulgar naming practices!

I do think the whole CV thing is overstated on here though. At least where I work (I know there's always the possibility of unconscious bias) interview practices are designed to be as objective as possible. Names aren't even allowed on CVs etc in shortlisting. And there are plenty of Sharons, Traceys, Kevins etc in senior positions. I think even with a class signifier it's possible enough to succeed on an individual level, if you present yourself well, are good at your job, articulate etc. People get used to names pretty quickly.

I'd pronounce it chav-vee.

rude

Thankfully we now live in a world of AI scanning of CVs.

No buzz words? No interview.

Your name is Jaxxxon or Superman or Daysey-Mae? Not an issue.

Companies that have a death wish allow unconscious bias to interfere with their hiring.

I would spell it Caelan

They may be perfectly nice people, but without exception every one of those names you have listed is bloody awful.

They aren't all to my taste either but I wouldn't judge people who choose to call their children those names.
Except maybe Keith......I can't imagine a little baby Keith these days 😂

@Needmorelego , Vowels being transposed is a good point. If autocorrect doesn't pick it up, you will get it again and again. Irish names like Meabh, Tadhg, Aoife etc are routinely misspelt on here, usually in a 'No one will misspell Aiofe' post.

You might not have been familiar with Caelan, but Kaylan is in the same league as Kayden.

I just can't imagine a romantic lead/hero called Keith.

That's a very strange comment.
It may not be to your taste but OP has chosen it and it's a fine old Irish name. There is nothing wrong with it.
I haven't heard anything negative about K names in general, why on earth should they not be well thought of?

Caolán or Caoilfhionn and even Caelan Irish yes. Kaylan is v much anglicised. There is no K in Irish. It is equivalent to Kieran for Ciarán and I don't think you'd call Kieran an Irish name.
Nothing wrong with any of them BTW, just wrt the Old Irish comment.

@Whoarethoseguys , the names tend to be ones that date badly. Kevin and Karen seemed fresh and new when i was very young. They're dated now.

Not sure about pp but I’d definitely call Kieran an Irish name. There are loads of them in Ireland, mostly older though.

I heard someone on MN once distinguish between Irish names and Irish language names and I think that’s a good way of putting it. It’s the same with surnames.
I don’t think anyone would claim that O’Sullivan isn’t an Irish name just because it’s not the Irish language spelling or pronunciation of the name. Kieran is the same imho.

That said, I do prefer Caolán or Caelan to Kaylan. Because the latter isn’t a well established name it’s harder to make the Irish connection and it seems a bit more ‘makey-uppy’, maybe unfairly.

I’d be tempted to pronounce it

Kay -E - Lan.

Yes, I see your point for sure re O'Sullivan but personally, I wouldn't think of Kieran as an Irish name. Maybe I my head a family name is different! I definitely wouldn't describe Kieran as old Irish, either way.

Old Irish, written with a capital o mostly, is a different thing. I think pp might have meant old in the sense of well-established though?

We’ll have to agree to disagree re Kieran so. We’re tripping over Kierans where I live so that could be affecting how I think of the name 😁

ETA Just wondering what’s your position on names like Maeve or Conor etc, as they don’t have the original Irish spellings either?

Yes I find these interesting too. They are certainly a more modernised spelling. Anglicised? Maybe, but also true to irish spelling in the case of Conor anyway, which the K names are not. In the case of Kieran it sounds different, Maeve and the original sound the same. I know Conor does too to the original. I suppose I think of Conor as a.modern Irish name like Ronan or Orla whereas Kieran maybe one with Irish roots, but not Irish. I may only make sense to myself 😆
Kierans I knew growing up would have translated their names in Irish class, whereas Maeves and Conors wouldn't have. The original spelling of Conor is something to behold! Conchubhair or similar, pronounced Cruh-hoor, then it became Conchúr same pronunciation, and finally the one we know now (single n!!)

Yes, I think we all have own own way of thinking of these things 😅
Personally, I think any name that leaves out the fada can’t be considered Irish language anymore. Still Irish in the broader sense obviously.

Kieran retains its pronunciation just as much as Ronan does surely? The án bit has been altered in both. Maeve sounds the same but definitely an anglicised spelling.
You’re right that Kierans became Ciaráns in Irish class, but Ronans also became Rónáns and the spelling of Maeve changed.

Where I was the Conors always became Conchúrs in Irish class. Still do to my knowledge? The pronunciation of Conor isn’t an Irish language pronunciation. Neither is the pronunciation of O’Connor. That’s translated to Ó Conchúir too.

Nowadays Conor is usually left as Conor and I've seen Conor in an Irish book (teacher) but never Kieran. Conor isn't it Irish language pronunciation but the spelling is I keeping with the Irish for the newer pronunciation, if that makes sense. Kieran has changed both spelling and pronunciation whereas Conor has become an accepted modern form (ime).
Yes re Rónán but like Orla and Conor they seem an accepted modern form rather than a complete change - a K that doesn't exist, lack of fada plus a different pronunciation makes Kieran a completely different name (to me!)
You're right tho that in a school book the fades would be included for Ronan and Orla and Oran say.
I wouldn't consider Declan Irish either. Would you? Or Shaun (that to me.is an almost perfect equivalent of Kieran tho the pronunciation is the same as the Irish).
Really Irish has changed so much with time. Some people even spell their Seáns without the fade, which is madness to me 😆 But I zip it! Most of the time 😉

I would consider Declan Irish, yes. Shaun as well really, though clearly not Irish language. So just a different way of looking at things I suppose.

Kieran isn’t a completely different pronunciation imo, especially not in places like Donegal as á doesn’t give the ‘aw’ sound there.

Anyway, we’ll have to agree to differ 😁

If we are on the issue of spellings, Caelan (an anglicized spelling )is a different pronunciation to Caelán (completely incorrect although modern parents in Ireland throw in a fada because they think it looks well. It's like a decoration)

I think it's a lovely name but also like Caelan better.

I think cáel is an older spelling of caol, not an anglicization. There was a Cáel in the Fianna iirc.
So it should maybe have two fadas, not one, if the spelling is based on the older form.

Cáelán/caolán is or was also used as a word for gut/intestines/catgut btw. It can also be used to mean a small inlet or creek. Thin and narrow things basically.

I'd say it kay lan but without the emphasis on the Y that I would I'd it was spelled Kaylan. So more like bae as in the beginning of baby (but with a k) rather than bay IYSWIM