Irish baby girl names

[YourKindMoose]

What do you think of these Irish girl names?

Saoirse (seer-sha)
Aoife (ee-fa)
Etain (eh-tane)
Sadhbh (sive)
Béibhinn (bay-vin)

Aoife is probably the only one you won't get variances in pronunciation and/or spelling. That goes in Ireland as well as UK.

I don’t think Etain is pronounced Eh-tane, is it?
Étaín is an old Irish spelling and it’s Éadaoin in modern Irish, pronounced like Aideen.

A few pronunciations here. Not sure how it could be Eh-tane.

forvo.com/word/etain_%28old_irish%29/

https://forvo.com/word/%C3%A9ta%C3%ADn_-_%C3%A9adaoin/

Then I imagine the concern about people not being able to pronounce or spell the name is misplaced?!

Exactly. English people can, despite many of the claims made on the Mn baby names forum, manage Irish names perfectly well. I lived there for almost 30 years with an unusual Irish name and an Irish language surname, as did DS.

Fionnuala
Siobhan
Maeve
Maelisa
Brid

None are likely to be spelled properly or pronounced properly but that's the risk you take with any Irish or Gaelic name.

No, not really unfortunately for more unusual names. Aoife is fine, Saoirse too I’d say. Bébhinn will cause issues I’d say.
I don’t think OP is pronouncing Etain correctly, but open to correction.

Irish people also use English names

Maelisa is the only one of those that’s unusual in Ireland (where OP is) so people may be unfamiliar with the spelling, which is an anglicised one.
Maeve has many different spellings so that would be the only issue there.
Bríd and Siobhán need their fadas.

Maybe because for a long time they were forced to.

@Helenalove , that's a separate debate.
There is background as to why names from the culture of a country that was formerly a part of the British Empire might be problematic.

I've no idea how to get the fada on my phone. Advice greatly appreciated!

They're all lovely but I think Aoife is my favourite.

I have always heard Béibhinn pronounced as Bay-veen so I always assumed there was a fada on the last i and spelt it Béibhín like Blaithín, Seoidín, and Róisín. And Aoibheann is Eev-in like in the Irish sentence - Is aoibheann liom an t-ainm Aoibheann.

As someone with an Irish name in England, I don't mind when people say my name incorrectly the first time they see it. I do mind when they continue to say the wrong name even after they've been told the right way to say it!

They are not being forced to use them now, and Irish people still use English names.

No country owns a name. Names start somewhere and then spread out to the rest of the world. We are all from the world.

On my phone I can just press down on a letter on the keyboard for a second or two and the accented letters appear for me to choose from. I’m not sure if it’s the same on all phones.

I didn’t say that English people (or anyone else) couldn’t use Irish names you know…

I thought your earlier comment regarding Irish people’s use of English names lacked historical awareness.

I'm not sure how I could lack historical awareness about Ireland

Seeing as I am Irish myself. You didnt ask!

Also no one has asked the OP if she is Irish herself or if she has an Irish husband/parent. She might do.

Everyone knows about the troubles in the past between the UK and Ireland.

A lot of families in the UK are mixed these days.
eg. An English father, Irish mother.

So a lot of people in the UK are going to use Irish names. Its nothing to do with the trouble in the past.

Using Irish names in the UK often happens because people are PROUD of their Irish heritage. it is a nice thing. Some people just like the sounds of Irish names too, and thats okay in my opinion

OP has already said she’s in Ireland.

If you’re Irish the earlier comment is a really strange one imho. Anyway let’s leave it.

My comment that "irish people use English names" was strange?

Eh no its not at all! I know LOADS of people in Ireland who have English names. Their parents use the names just because they like the names.

Yes i see in a later post now - that OP said she is living in Ireland.

I was replying to the poster who said that its tacky to use Irish names in the UK. I don't think it is

Yes, in the context it was strange, in my opinion. Let’s not derail though.

@SomeHorse , I'm one of those.
The Irish names when I was at school were Kevin, Kieran, Kelly, Sean, Siobhan and Niamh.
You'd hear them get called Seen, Sigh-o-ban and Nee-um. Kieran got misspelt.
Nowadays, people will be familiar with them, but there will still be spelling mistake (including missing fadas).

@Helenalove , Everyone knows about the troubles in the past between the UK and Ireland. That's a sweeping generalisation. Some people know. Many won't.

tacky to use the names in the UK. - I think this, but I'd say it about most names from other cultures or languages.
The names that get used are often dated in the original culture, or they are mispronounced or misspelt, or they are faddy. (Caitlin, Ryan, Liam, Kelly, Kieran, Kevin). They are probably fine in Ireland.
The Irish association isn't normally one Irish parent and one British parent. It's usually a grandparent (if my age) or great-grandparent.

I have 2 sets of friends who are one Irish parent/one english parent. None of the children have Irish names.

Everyone I have met in the UK and in Ireland know about the troubles between the UK and Ireland in the past. How could they not? Its recent history.

It would be like saying someone in the Ukraine doesnt know about the war between the UKraine and Russia.

Yes, and then you correct the people mispronouncing them. And they learn.

Ffs. I was replying to the poster who said it is tacky to use Irish names in the UK.

That would insult a lot of people.
That was insensitive, seeing as many Irish people live in the UK and use Irish names for their children.

I’m the opposite. I do know a Béibhinn pronounced Bay-vin and haven’t heard it said Bay-veen, but that’s probably because I only know one!😀

Binn (sweet, melodious) is a root word in the name so the spelling Béibhín doesn’t make as much sense, though I think it has been used. Binn is pronounced Been in some dialects so the een pronunciation of the name does make complete sense, just not the spelling maybe.