Irish names

[americandiva.livejournal.com]

Ok so I really love some Irish/Gaelic names but am having some issues. I live New York and I think that if I used these names with their traditional gaelic spellings..a lot of people will have no idea how to pronounce them. I have a name that I had to correct the pn of all the time (esp when I was in school) and although it was a hassle, it never made me dislike my name.

So I'm going to give you guys my fav gaelic girls names and then the "American" spellings of them that I can think of.

What do you think of these names and if you had to pick a spelling...which would u pick. If you think of any other alternative let me know.

Caoimhe -  Keeva  (pn. Key-vah)

Niamh - Neve - Nieve  (pn. Nee-v)

also i saw this one on an Irish site once but im not 100% its acutally Irish. I've seen some variation but I'm listing it anyway bc im confused about spelling


Neela - Neala - Neila  (pn Nee-lah)


thanks!!

Comments

[samaside.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they're cool names and all but no one is going to have any idea what to call your kids if you use the traditional spellings. They'd be like, "Cow-im-he?"

I know a 'Nila.'

[xpaniic.livejournal.com]

I like the Neela one the best.

[jejuneraccoon.livejournal.com]

"Neve" would probably be pronounced the way Neve Campbell does, and any Spanish speaker will likely pronounce Nieve "nyehveh", which means snow.

[theonides.livejournal.com]

Sean is Irish-Gaelic, too. It's just a matter of getting used to it. You wouldn't believe how many people ask my brother how to spell "Cash", and if you've got a Slavic last name, you get used to offering up how to pronounce your name and how to spell it on a regular basis. It's no big deal. There ARE rules for how to pronounce Gaelic names. I would usually pick the Gaelic spelling personally, but my last name is Irish, so it would make sense together. At least, most of the time.

I actually like Siobhan (pronounced Sha-vahn). Another one I like, I can't remember the Gaelic spelling for except that it's spelled with a B instead of a V, but the Anglicized spelling is Vevina. (something like Bebhine?)

[the-good-ship.livejournal.com]

I don't think you'd have to change Niamh, because I don't think most people would be too confused by why it's pronounced that way; but with Caoimhe it could get very confusing.
An Irish/Gaelic name I love is Sian, pronounced sh-arn. I don't live in Ireland either, but if I did use it, I wouldn't bother changing the spelling to make it more Anglicised. For one, what I like about it most IS the spelling, which I think looks pretty.

[the-good-ship.livejournal.com]

Ignore me, Sian's actually of Welsh origin. However, my comment still stands, because I don't live in Wales either.

[bornto-fly.livejournal.com]

This is coming from an educated, culturally aware person who is usually good with languages: I would have no idea how Niamh is pronounced, nor does it make any sense to me how mh is a v sound. I mean, I believe the people who say it is, but I don't get it. And considering how uneducated a good portion of the US population is, I highly doubt I'm in the minority on that.

[miss-tee.livejournal.com]

I knew a Sian in high school but she pronounced it Shawn.

[lneef.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't do them at all. The Irish spellings would prove inconvenient and the Anglicized spellings are wrong and appear uneducated. It's unfortunate but unless you are around a good number of people who will say them/spell them correctly (live in a heavily Irish community for example) they are just not good names for America.

Even if having to explain it doesn't make you dislike your name, it's a pain in the butt and time you could spend doing something else.

There are SO MANY names out there, you'll find ones to like that are pretty and spellable if you keep looking.

[bornto-fly.livejournal.com]

I'd definitely stay away from the traditional Irish spellings. Yeah, it'd be cool to use them, but people ARE going to have a hard time saying them, and it's not like some culturally specific names where it's easy to sound them out - they make absolutely NO SENSE to me. And I'm usually good with languages, haha.

I like Keeva, Nieve, and Neela.

Neve is pronounced Nev, like Neve Campbell, the actress, so people won't say it the way you want them to. and Neila might be Nay-luh, like Leila with an n. Neala is okay, too, but I prefer the double e's.

[ex-bluebonn.livejournal.com]

I prefer the Irish spellings in this case. Caoimhe and Niamh are both lovely names.

Neela - Neila - Nila - Neala I would all pronounce the same way.

[neroli.livejournal.com]

Another option is to use a traditionally spelled name as a middle name. Middle names are said aloud and written down so rarely that a challenging spelling wouldn't really matter.

[miss-tee.livejournal.com]

I like the way the traditional spellings look way more...but I agree that people will stumble over the pronunciation.
Another celtic name I like which isn't spelled too differently than it sounds is Sinead.

[isoldereverie.livejournal.com]

I'm in the traditional spelling camp on this one. It kinda bugs me the way so many cultures seem to be absorbed and then erased by US culture. I feel that bowing to the general ignorance of the American public and using a dumbed down spelling of such a lovely name would be a disservice to the name and the culture it comes from.

I also think that with the current trend towards alternative spellings that most kids in this generation will have to both spell and pronounce their names for their entire lives. So, let common sense prevail, choose a name and spelling you like. If you choose to use the traditional spelling (yay) you could think of it as bringing a little bit of culture into a new part of the world! (but yes your child might hate it growing up!)

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

I would say, spell them the original way, or don't use them. :-\