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)

I like Etain the most. I also like the sound of Sadhbh but struggle to get past the Sad part of the name.

I made a mistake in that what I meant was British Empire and what is now the Republic of Ireland. @Helenalove .

It does cause confusion when the name of the state and the name of the island are the same. Sometimes you can be talking about one on here and people think you mean the other. Also depends when you’re talking about of course. I think some people on MN sometimes forget that the whole island was part of the UK (of GB and Ireland) for a long time too. It’s come up on other threads.

@Toomuchaltogether , I was having a work meal with some colleagues a few years ago and one of the group was from the Republic of Ireland. He was quite vocal and was telling us about the stupid things he got asked like 'What do you mean you don't have a picture of the Queen on banknotes and stamps?'

Growing up, the Republic of Ireland was referred to as 'Southern Ireland'. Misleading or what? Ireland was the whole.
Now I say Ireland (both RoI and 'RoI + NI') and Northern Ireland.

Oh dear 😅

I think what they forget more is that

The Republic of Ireland is now an independent country.

Sometimes, but not always. Sometimes it’s Ireland the island vs Ireland the state naming confusion. I’ve learned to say ROI on here.

If the U.K gave Nothern Ireland back to Ireland, there would be no confusion.

Just saying.

It is very rare to have an island split into two countries
. It does not work well

Sadhbh is my favourite of those. My kids were born in UK. People were generally fine once I explained the pronunciation.
Mumsnet is weird about Irish names.

Ah well, as we know it’s really not as simple as that.

Who said it was simple.

Its not simple keeping ireland in two parts either.

War, invasion are never simple.

Its why russia and ukraine are still fighting about land

All of my children and I have distinctly Irish names, which is not a problem. Most names require some spelling clarification, even the simplest ones, so this should never deter you. I have explained the Gaelic language numerous times to those who find it challenging to understand. The variations in pronunciation occur because the letters do not correspond directly to English.

Irish here and ive always thought Niamh was a lovely name. Saoirse is my favourite from your list but another beautiful name is Saorlaith

I love Irish names. I have a Niamh. Ex DP wanted to change the spelling but I said no because I love how it looks. Also love Orla, Aoife and Siobhan. I don't think it's tacky using Irish names when you're English as a pp said. I do have Irish ancestry

I’ve also seen the spelling Saorla so that’s an option too, like Órla and Órlaith.

Thanks for input! I understand “eh-tane” or “ee-tain” is the anglicized version of the pronunciation of the name - spelt with no fadas. Agree that fadas would change pronunciation to “ay-teen” or “ay-tawn” depending on placement. Almost every Etain I have come across or heard of has pronounced it as eh-tane/ee-tain. Maybe you have heard it differently @Toomuchaltogether?

Thoughts on this name for a girl and whether it is harsh/masculine sounding or a soft/feminine/pretty name?!

Was definitely easier naming boys!

An anglicisation makes sense, your other names were all Irish language pronunciations so I think that’s what confused me ☺️

I think eh-tane sounds too much like attain for me, but if you love it go for it.

Little bit different!

Irish people also use French names.

Etc etc etc