Irish girl's names

[Babygirlname123]

Considering an Irish girls name for our last baby.
We live in the UK, DH is Irish.
Thoughts on the below
Croia (kree-ah)
Clodagh (Cloh-da)
Fiadh (Fia)
Saoirse (Seersha)

Are they too difficult to live with over here in terms of spelling/pronunciation?
I don't really like any other Irish girls names. I kind of like Maeve, Niamh and Aoife but not enough to use them.

Most people will hear the name said before they see it written. My son has a Scots Gaelic name and I'm in Essex. Everyone pronounces it fine as most people heard me say it before they saw it.

I love Saorise, although she might struggle with her first phonics lesson in school.

Cree.
Craoibhín
Criadha

Croía means generous, brave, big-hearted. Can spell it the old way, Cridhe. Such a great meaning.

If you leave out the fada you could consider it an anglicised spelling. The spelling Órla, rather than Órfhlaith or Órlaith, is not an anglicisation though, it’s a more modern spelling of the name. I know a few Órlas.

The trouble is orla is also a word in the Irish language that means vomit. It’s pronounced ur-lah.

That said a lot of Irish Orlas don’t use the fada either, but then again most Irish people aren’t fluent speakers of Irish. As I said the name is always pronounced in Ireland as if the fada were there so it’s never said as ur-lah anyway and the association isn’t made. It’s really not a thing. But…just so you know.

Cridhe hasn’t quite the same pronunciation as Croía (even if OP had suggested using the fada in the latter, which I don’t think she did).
And Croía isn’t a modern Irish word. It’s now croí, not croía. If she wanted to use the Scottish version that would be fine.

It was never croía, to be clear.

I'm 61, Irish and have a Greek/French name and growing up in rural Ireland and all through my life including living in London for years I've had people mispronounce my name but I love it and it's never bothered me correcting people on how it's pronounced.

I know I've struggled to correctly pronounce some names from other countries or cultures and have had to ask them how they pronounce their name to limit me butchering it.

I think Irish girls names with their traditional spellings are almost impossible to pronounce and spell outside of the Emerald Isle.

I remember years ago, the Northern Irish singer Clodagh Tigers routinely referred to as Clodjah.

I rest my case.

Choose something that is sweet and easy to spell and a pronounce.

Most people will hear the name said before they see it written. In my case, nearly everybody gets it wrong. They hear it but as pp what they (think they) hear doesn't match the name. Often only half the letters are right and they won't necessarily be in the right order, and even if they are there will be some letters added.
Something similar might be Persephone written as Prestephanie or said as Pursey phone.

Clarification:

"Cridhe" is the older spelling of Irish word croí meaning heart.
Scots Gaelic still uses the spelling cridhe.
Cree is the Manx spelling:
http://www.mannin.info/Mannin/fockleyr/e2m.php

I remember years ago, the Northern Irish singer Clodagh Tigers routinely referred to as Clodjah.

I remember the singer Clodagh Rogers. Don’t recall anyone mispronouncing her name tbh.

Mind you, my name is Oonagh so maybe it seems about a million times more straightforward to me.

And the spellings Croía or Croíagh or Croíadh were never used until the recent makey-uppy name spellings.

I’ve a very Irish name that’s been mentioned several times on this thread. Grew up in Ireland but spent 20 years living and working in England. Never had any negativity, and whilst it’s hard to spell (for some people) it’s quite easy to say once you know how to say it. It was always a conversation starter but I wouldn’t have changed it.

I love Cara and Fiadh. I’ve heard Orla mangled in England (Aw-la) so I’d give that a miss.

I assure you that even the most insular, ignorant Little Englanders can, in fact, if they really, really try, get their tongues around Saoirse, Tadhg, Caoimhe, Niamh, Sinéad, Daithí, Ciarán etc.

Love Saorise - the Saorise I know pronounces it sair - shur which I think is really pretty. (Maybe this is due to our regions accent in UK?) Clodagh is a lovely name too. I think people get it that lots and lots of names come from other languages and are pronounced according to different rules. I have a DC with a Welsh name - it’s a bit more work than going through life with a name everyone knows how to pronounce and spell but not massively so.

@BigKissByeBye , your assurance depends on them actually wanting to and them having the linguistic ability.

I had to look up Daithí, and I can't work out if it's DAH-hee, DATH-hee or DAKH-ee.

Saoirse is hard if you don't have a rhotic R. It will be SEE-uh-sha. It gets misspelt. See pp.

Caoimhe- KEEV-a or KWEE-va?

Niamh - NEE-(uh)v or Neev?

Ciarán - KEER-an, KEE-rawn or Kee-RAWN?

You don't have to look it up. If you meet a Daithí, he will say his name to you. All you do is copy what he says. And if you have a rhotic accent, you can still learn to pronounce 'r' in places where you wouldn't usually voice it. Non-Welsh people saying Welsh placenames will manage some approximation of 'll'. A friend of a friend has a Xhosa name with a click. I'd never made that sound before I met him.

@BigKissByeBye , I've heard LL said as LL, L, CL, TH, THL, CH, ChL ...
(examples Laneli, McInleth, Pwth-eli, Chlanffuh-feckun, Clanwurst),

All you do is copy what he says. Some people have no ear for sounds. They can't be taught.

You don't have to look it up. If you meet a Daithí, he will say his name to you.
I would look it up if I had the opportunity. I listened to it being said just now. I still don't know how to say it.
What if I needed to say the name out loud. Would I say 'Mr Surname?' (I wouldn't have known it was a male name without looking it up. I was called as Mrs Names as a child because of my first name, fortunately DM was there).
Should I attempt to say it knowing I'd probably get it wrong?

It can be hard. I was in a hospital waiting room recently in Ireland and a nurse was coming in and out calling people’s names to be seen. There was some butchering of Eastern European names going on I can tell you! The poor nurse did seem quite flustered though nobody seemed to mind her getting them wrong. But there was a definite air of relief about her when she came in and asked for a Mary O’Sullivan.

There’s a Fiadh in my son’s school in SW England. People don’t have any issues with pronouncing it.

Caitríona

How do you know? I'm sure someone's son was at school with me but that someone wasn't at my GP/hospital/dental/opthalmic appointments or with me when I pick up prescriptions.

I meant that other parents or teachers at the school don’t seem to have any issues with pronouncing it.

Fiadh isn’t difficult to pronounce even for people who have no knowledge of the Irish language…once they know how. There are no special sounds that aren’t in English.

Reading it for the first time is when people will have issues, as pp said at hospital appointments etc. They’ll likely get it wrong.

This bothers some people a lot and others not much at all. You’ll have to guess which your child will be, that’s the issue.

@Firebird83 , I only remember one teacher getting my name wrong.
Generally, anyone new I meet will find it difficult.

@Butterbeersallround , I don't think Fiadh would be a problem after the first time either.
The issues I see might be Fiadh/Fia/Thea mix-ups and Fee-ud/Figh-ud mispronunciations.
Some people can't seem to 'get' names.