Ruadhán as a name

[GladHazelPoster]

What do you think of the name Ruadhán?

Ruadhán - Roo-awn - meaning 'red' or 'red-haired'
Saint Ruadhán of Lorrha was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland, a group of early Christian saints who studied under Saint Finian of Clonard. Wiki to Saint Ruadhán

Well-known people with the name now include Ruadhán Mac Cormaic is an Irish journalist and author who became Editor of The Irish Times in 2022, following a career that included various roles as a Foreign Affairs, Migration, Legal Affairs, and Paris Correspondent.

To all those who are going to say it's hard to spell please save your breath. If you had your way everyone would be called James Smith and if they weren't they would be forced to change their name to it. Have some confidence with names that aren't in the Top 5 each year please. By the way clearly the parents of this learned Saint weren't worrying about spelling when they named their son it.

@ArtfullyDistressed seems like you have the prejudice

Likewise, I get agitated by blue eyed Hazels or miserable Felicities.

I like it.

It's new to me.

In some countries it could sound like ..
Row on!
Ruin
Rohan
Rowan

Be mindful of where you live.

These threads honestly… “tell me what you think of this baby name but if you don’t like it you’re obviously prejudiced”.

OP - I don’t have a view on the spelling as I think it can be learned. But I do have a view on the pronunciation - I don’t like the “awn” sound. It sounds quite awkward to me, although I like Roo-ahn a lot.

But however little regard you have for people’s view on spelling, it’s his name and it’s him who will have to go through a lifetime of correcting people’s pronunciation and spelling it not just once but multiple times at once as it’s so unusual. Especially if it’s not even common in Ireland.

Probably not what you wanted to hear but you did ask.

I live in Ireland, so I can pronounce it - and I love Roo as a nickname, and the only issue I have with the spelling is anything with fadas is going to be mis-typed basically everywhere else in the world - so as long as you're not uptight about that, it's lovely - I think I do prefer the shorter spelling if I'm honest (I have a long name - common, but still often mis-spelled, and we always prefer what we don't have)

I actually think it's the other way around - if the baby's a red-head it feels a little bit on the nose to name them 'red-head' doesn't it?

I’m Irish - it’s a beautiful name in Ireland with Irish people who can pronounce it especially with that spelling. Look at it please from your child’s point of view. Growing up with a name that no one can spell or pronounce (not because they are little Englanders but because it’s in a language they don’t speak) is a PITA. There are lots of lovely names out there / some nice ones on this thread. This is what your child has to live with not something to make you look interesting.