Sadhbh (ryhmes with five!) for girl

[JuneMammy]

I really like Sadhbh for a girl, but i'm hesitant about it as it is difficult to get the spelling right, and i'm wondering if it would be really annoying to have a lifetime of "Sadhbh; S-A-D-H-B-H; rhymes with five...."

DH quiet likes it but is not overly keen due to difficulty pronouncing it if you are not familiar with it.

It is very popular in Irish folklore (i'm Irish, DH is Scottish). But there is a tendency to accidentally pronounce it SIEVE .

Shortlist alternatives include Aoife, Molly, Ellen and Lily.

Any thoughts? We have to finalise this shortlist very soon!

Why not use it as a second name? My DD2 has a slightly unusual name and we're already having to do a lot of explaining when people ask her name, and lots of the older generation make her name up to suit what they know anyway!!

Love Aoife (friend's DD is called this, though I must admit running back to birth announcement card every time I have to write her name to check the spelling's right!). Also love Ellen and Molly.

I think it sounds and looks lovely but could be quite difficult to live with, especially if you move away from / don't live in a gaelic-language region. However if you love it, go for it!

Aoife and Molly also lovely.

I'm sorry, but to me, who has no Irish Gaelic, it just looks like a collection of syllables which i would have no idea how to pronounce, I think she would have problems with telling people it and explaining it all the time

Unless you live (and are likely to continue to live) in a place where everyoneknows how to spell and pronounce that name, please please^ don't inflict it on you dd.

I have a name that is pronounced as it is spelled, yet because it is spelled exactly the same as a certain male nickname people can never read it correctly. Even when I introduce myself - ie spoken, so they hear the name correctly- they still call me by the male nickname and not by my name. And the hash they make of trying to spell it!

Most frustrating of all is that if I correct them or persist in getting them to pronounce it correctly, they consider me fussy and over-sensitive.

All you alternatives are lovely. Aoife is potentially tricky, but not nearly as difficult as Sadhbh.

I have an Aoife and we often have to spell it and pronounce it for people and many cant recall it several times after they have been told how to.

It doesnt bother me at all I love the name I think it is beautiful it suits her perfectly and ok she has to spell it (and to throw it completely her 2nd name contains a letter that doesnt excist in the English alphabeth) but it really doesn't matter when you love the name.

Our close friends have adapted the friends in school knows how to say her name and ok we have issues when people have to call out her name but really in life its the people that are close to you that matter and they all know how to say your name.

I find it more annoying that I as a 40 year old stilll get letters send to Mr Lonnie because it is so unisex and mainly used for men.

If you love it and your dh likes it go with it its a beautiful name and i learnt something new today didnt know how to pronounche it. with Aoife I often make a joke out of it (the o is silent imagine a drunk Irish man and then say it backward BINGO people get it)

Pretty Candles I am now off course VERY nosey as to what your name is but I would persist to be truthful if people get funny its more them not doing it right that bothers them (embarasses them) than it is you being fussy or oversensitive

I'm familiar with the name, I don't have any irish ties, or many irish people in my area, nor is my area that cosmopolitan (west country) I don't think it is that odd at all, I've definately come across it.

I'm starting to think that many mumsnet members prefer boring-easily-pronouncable-non-unisex-traditional-conservative-english-as-possible-familiar names that are preferably in the top 100 and don't 'sound like' anything (e.g Nell sounds like smell I've just read one one thread!??) Otherwise you can expect large numbers to annihilate your choice. This doesn't appear to be the broadest minded forum or the most tactful, so you may want to take this into consideration!! rolls eyes

PS My name is spelled serval different ways, my last name is of French origin and the british murder struggle to say it and I really do not care, I'm surprisingly unscarred, nor does their ignorance bother me in the least, also I find I can handle spelling-it-out (soooo much better than having a boring name)

Aoife is lovely and while still unusual it is more recognised, I think?

Mind you, these things change.

I met my first proper-Irish-named person (a Niamh) when I first left my home country and went on training in the US. At that time, no-one in the room could figure out how to say her name, whereas now I would say it is probably very well recognised.

I think there is also an argument for having a name no-one knows how to spell so they have to ask. My friend with a name like Oscar Gluckerdeim never has his name spelt wrong as people ask how to spell it. Whereas both my names are the kind people think they know (a bit like Abby Allen) and I get the equivalents of Abi Allan, Abi Alan, Abbey Allin, etc, etc. Drives me nuts!

DH is called Eamonn and has often had Amen written on cards in the past. But friends and family make sure they know how to spell it, they are the one's who matter.

As long as you are not easily offended by people spelling her name wrong on cards, invitations, etc.. then go with it. Most people like unusual names, especially if they are from parents native country.

I know an Aoife, who is the cutest, cheekiest (in a good way) little thing, as is her brother Cathal. I was actually told that Cathal was called Cackle when I first met him by somebody who couldnt pronounce his name. Everybody quickly learnt to spell their names and say them right because most people do not like to offend.

Ten years ago people thorght Niamh was a strange name, but now it is widly accepted.

Unless you live in Ireland don't do it- keep it as a middle name.

I went to school in Belgium with a lot of Irish ex pat children and it drove them mad to have to spell out their names all the time.

Aoife is becoming more well known I think and Molly also lovely.When I have correctly prononuced Aoife, Siobhan and Aisling from registers the parents and children actually look a bit surprised to not have to correct so it must be a pain.

fwiw my name is Ellen and I've only ever met 2 others in my whole life. Although even with that I get 'what's it short for?' and 'do you mean Helen'

My niece is Ines which sounds so lovely when her spanih speaking dad says it but she gets Inniss from a lot of people or Ines rhyming with Lines.Seeing as it's spelled pretty much as you say it In-es it's a wonder how many people can even get that wrong!

I don't think it's ignorant to be unable to pronounce a name though as a previous poster said- though you should be prepared for a lifetime of having to spell it out and have people still get it wrong even after that. (which is a bit ignorant imo)

Sahhididyjibber isn't a babies name.

Thats what she will be called.

Non-irish people won't have a clue how to say it and it will be a PITA for her!

If you are irish and/or live in Ireland then fine. If not, just don't. It's not like Aoife which at least bears a resemblance to the pronunciation.

Sabhdh? Sabda to the english eye.

@ Dis

I prefer Aoife

Aoife is truly beautiful. How about Sadhbh as a middle name? Aoife Sadhbh is pretty.

It's not just about whether the parents love it and have no bother with continually pronouncing it and spelling it that you have to consider, but the actual owner of the name, who has to live with it for life.

I also agree with PrettyCandles that if you end up correcting people more than once, you're the one who comes off looking overly fussy. The upshot is you have no way of knowing whether you will have a child who'll revel in having an unusual name, or who will resent continually having to correct people over it.

DH's cousin and his wife have given their 4 children very Gaelic names. They live in Hong Kong so will inevitably spend all their time pronouncing and spelling their names.

My in-laws, who are born and bred for generations in the west coast of Ireland when Gaelic is even spoken (good-naturedly) roll their eyes at this and think they're making life needlessly difficult for their children.

The name is not to my taste and not because of the unusual spelling, but if you really love it, go for it.

At least posting in the Baby Names forum gives you an insight into what actually goes through the wider public's mind when they hear the name. If you're armed with that knowledge and OK with it and still love the name, then it's the name for you.

Go for it, it's a lovely name no more unusual than niamh, aoife etc were on initial hearing. Kids get used to spelling out their names and in these multicultural times there are bound to be many trickier names in her class. Fwiw I much prefer to aoife.

So how do you pronounce Aoife?

I think it would be difficult for people.

Love Aoife. Though you will still probably have problems with that name, it is easier.

Aoife is Ee-fa

You could always Anglicise it and call her Sive but I have to say it irks me when I see that! The John B Keane play is being shown around here at the moment and I do feel like doing this to it with a big red marker!

Sive Sadhbh

My cousin has a daughter called Sadhbh,even though she lives in Ireland it is never pronounced correctly.

You may want to look at the definition on urban dictionary first

www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Sadhbh

oh dear funky!!!!

Ooo, loved Sadhbh until I saw the definition. I have a neice who is Aoife, and I think it is lovely, but so are all your choices. We upset all our family by our choice of name our youngest dd, and pronouncing it the US/European way. My mum and sister still continue to pronounce it differently. It did really annoy me for a while, (that is me using polite language for how I actually feel about that), but I have given up correcting them as by ds and other dd do it for me!!!!!

When people blatantly mispronounce a name it is rude and disrespectful. If you choose Sadhbh or any other name that is more "unusual" people may struggle with it, but if your dd grows up knowing that it isn't easy for some people and to acknowledge that to them I don't see what the problem is. How sad it be if we lose the rich variety of names because because they might be difficult to pronounce. You can always give her an easier middle name and she can use that instead if she decides that when she is older.

Lol dis that is what I was saying in my head too, I have a cousin called Niamh pronounced Neeve but I call her Neemaha for fun!

Funky, I love anchorman and know the smelly pirate hooker line but have never heard that word before, not sure it is used in the film tbh.