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.

Depends if you are Irish or not

I was referring to my own name.
It doesn't matter how many times I correct them they won't get it right.
I normally only repeat my name once, but the spelling gets messed up a lot. Letters in the wrong order, extra letters, only a few correct letters, or a different name entirely.

As for my username, I can tell people it's R-U-A-I-R-I as many times as I like but they'll still spell it Rhauri, Ruari, Ruaridh , ...

I agree it’s the spelling that gets people but the actual sounds (if they never saw it written down) are not hard to say.

I really like it. I've not heard it before.

Ruadh is the older spelling of rua.
They’re both pronounced the same, Roo-ah. There’s no d sound there, the dh is silent in Ruadhán,

https://forvo.com/word/ruadh%C3%A1n/

I absolutely love this name

I don’t much like it - it’s very close to Rowan/rohan and those names are too popular for me now - I know 5 boys under 12 with those names, I think the only boys name that beats Rowan/rohan around here would be Theo or maybe Jack. That may be a local trend though?

I really like it, my friends son is called Tadgh and no one could prounce his name in school in London, she moved to North East England, near the Scottish Border and no one has had a problem since! I think it all depends on where you live

Agree

I agree with this - op I think what you written suggest you will be massively defensive around people checking pronunciation - that will give young child repeated negative experiences around their name

I like the name - go for it - but you need patience and to be open to helping people understand/pronounce it

just to give you the historical context this name in the 13 century would have probably been like a John smith so you can’t compare the naming process as being unusual then as well - dialect and language have evolved dramatically from then to now

Is it not Ru un?

I'm not fussed on the Roo sound. I like the full name but not the Roo shortening

I love it but have only experienced it for boys with strawberry blonde hair/ red hair. Does red hair run in the family or does the meaning not matter to you?

I like it. But why not Rowan? Quicker than explaining how to pronounce it

Only if you are Irish (or Scottish). Otherwise - why?

Gorgeous

I’m Scottish and I like it. It’s pronounced differently here. However, I have a basic knowledge of Gaelic so would know how to say it, most wouldn’t. The kid will end up being called Roo all his life.

It's a beautiful name, although if you're not Irish/of Irish heritage I'd not do it because that would be cringey.

If you've any Scots in you, Ruadh is also lovely.

My name is Gearòidìn. My mother was Irish but I am not. Nor do I live in Ireland. Nobody (except for Irish folk) can spell or pronounce my full name. Please do not saddle another poor child.