Pronouncing some of those names...

[SoupDragon]

OK, have been giggling at the assorted humorous name threads but some of them I can't imagine how they're pronounced so help me out here...

Caoimhe
Trygve
Muireann
Seren (Not really hard to pronounce but is as in Serenity?)
Jago
Collum (Not Column, surely or was it a typo for Callum?)

\link{http://names.daire.org/celtcornmale.html
names.daire.org/celtcornfem.html
\link here}

Bum, didn't realise there were two.

one link here

other link here

Aha, I knew it, that Cornish list doesn't include Demelza

(It was invented as a girl's name by Winston Graham in Poldark, it was just a place before that. So was Warleggan I think.)

Yes, Warleggan is a village on Bodmin Moor JanH. Not sure about Demelza but I know it is not a real name (or not unless you are a Poldark fan)

Lel, do locals really pronounce St Austell "snozzle"?

Boy there are some GREAT boys names in that list! Makes me wish I was having another son!

think it's only St Austell people that call it snozzle! there's also Launceston, which some call Lanson, and others go mad if you call it that. Bude is BOOD, always said very loudly! St Teath is St TEF. Mousehole is mousel. LM, can you think of any more? I think they're lovely!

DD tells people she lives in Nooky!

LM - thanks with the links. (I'm not very good at them, can you tell?)

LM, have you got to "175 ways to spell Jennifer" yet? lol!

Hm:

Wonder if that's where George Lucas got the idea (only turned it around, naturally!) (Sith was dark side, wasn'it it?)

I thought everyone knew Mouzel by now. There are loads of funny placenames in Cornwall. My grandfather came from near St Columb (as did his family for generations back) and I have done some family research in the local records office. It is very hard to ask for information on certain places when you have no idea how they are pronounced! Anyway, my grandparents would have known all the correct pronunciations if they were alive today...

JanH, IO will look at that part. My name is similar to this and my mother admitted I might have been Guinivere if she had realised it was a genuine Cornish name!

I knew a Denzil when I was growing up. Also Morwenna, Demelza and Tamsin were fairly popular (and Jennifer of course). I've also heard Kerensa and Kensa, and I knew a Morvah (not sure if she was just named after the place or if it's an accepted Cornish name). As well as Columb, I also like Petroc and Pascoe for a boy. I thought that Tegan was a Cornish name, but it's not on that site you linked to. Having looked at that site, in the (unlikely) event of me having a dd3, I'd love to call her Tressa (Cornish for 'third'), but I can't see dh agreeing to it. He doesn't agree with us giving our children Cornish names, since I no longer live in Cornwall and he comes from 'up country'. Oh, and he thinks the Cornish are all in-bred...

Ellbell - was just going to post ' no, they're only inbred in *, then stopped myself, just in case anyone was born in the place I was thinking of! but as a Registrar there's certainly one place I know of, where they seem to be interbreeding! the rest of Cornwall is fine, honest!

Tressa - brilliant! I toyed with Tessa when we were expecting a girl but dh said it was a dog's name! If I could have suggested Tressa instead...

I persuaded him to call ds3 Finbar after we discovered a church dedicated to St Fymber in Cornwall. Is Fymber on that list?

No it is not. Not a definitive list then.

I'd always call St Austell 'snozzle' (and I'm not from there), but I'd call Launceston 'lawnson' (... but never a hint of a 't' in it). What about Reawla (ree-olla)? Towednack ('twednuck')? My personal favourite placename is Praze-an-Beeble. Not hard to pronounce, but just plain odd...

no - there's lots of Cornish names missing. I've got a good book at home, which has a couple missing but seems to have most. I often have it in the office if I have couples arguing over spellings!

Lel... won't name the place, but my sister was a member of a Young Farmers' Club in which about 75% of the members had the same surname (and most of the other 25% were probably related in some way)! Scary!

Launceston doesn't have a t in it? I mean one you sound? Oh dear, my grandfather will be turning in his grave! I always call it Lawnston. Funnily enough, there is a Launceston in Tasmania, and when we went there, they pronounce it phonetically and I had to stop myself from correcting them all the time! I suppose it is their right to call Launceston exactly how they want to.

lel, do you find people use Cornish names a lot down there? Nice to think they are keeping their heritage alive.

My grandfather came from a huge family - all living in the same place (not saying where exactly but in the St Columb district). He and my grandmother did not live in Cornwall after their marriage but always holidayed back in his place of birth and were once strolling the lanes and met some people outside their farm and got talking... turned out to be first cousins! When I am down there, I often see people I think look like my grandfather and are probably direct relatives of mine!

Ds has Myghal as a middle name (pronounced Mer-hail) which is Cornish for Michael, a 'family' name. We're not from Cornwall, but live here, and love it. He was nearly called Jago (Jay-go), which is Cornish for James. He will probably be ribbed about it, but at least it's not his first name.

Gosh, this thread ran away from me ...
Like Soupy says, Sadhbh is pronounced Sive as in Five or Jive ...
She used to sigh and say, "Sive, like Five but with an S" ...

Soupy - Yes, Seren is pronounced as in Serenity. At least, the way I pronounce Serenity. I seem to be from the bit of Wales that insists on mispronouncing words!

hehe - that's the problem with "how do you pronuonce..." questions because it's so subjective. I'm sure a Welsh pronunciation of Seren is completely different to South London