[Opinions] I love them
in reply to a message by ash
But then again, I understand them.
I am Irish and it is likely that at least one if not more of my kids will have a traditionally spelt Irish first name and all of them will at the very least have a mn (for eg Susannah Claire Aoibheann or Ruby Annette Ceibhfhionn). I love the meanings and the history of the names and that is lost if they are spelt any other way. I understand how it could be frustrating to some people but I think more Irish names are making it into the mainstream, at least here in Australia.
A lot of people here are starting to recognise Niamh, the vast majority can say Siobhan with no problem, there was a girl in my high school called Caoimhe and people learnt that pretty quickly and my little sister Eimear doesn't have too many problems (she is only in preschool but people learn quickly).
I am Irish and it is likely that at least one if not more of my kids will have a traditionally spelt Irish first name and all of them will at the very least have a mn (for eg Susannah Claire Aoibheann or Ruby Annette Ceibhfhionn). I love the meanings and the history of the names and that is lost if they are spelt any other way. I understand how it could be frustrating to some people but I think more Irish names are making it into the mainstream, at least here in Australia.
A lot of people here are starting to recognise Niamh, the vast majority can say Siobhan with no problem, there was a girl in my high school called Caoimhe and people learnt that pretty quickly and my little sister Eimear doesn't have too many problems (she is only in preschool but people learn quickly).
Replies
I love them too, even though I have no Irish heritage. Part of the attraction for me is the way they look. I'm going to use Caoimhe as an example as it's one of my favourites- Keeva just doesn't look good to me, even though it sounds the same.
I realize that it would cause difficulty, but I agree with Aine that it's doable- I see Niamh fairly often here in Aus, and pretty much everyone knows how to say Siobhan. People learn, you just have to be patient ;) I have a very unusual but spelled-as-it-sounds kind of name, and people never get it right, and it doesn't bother me.
That being said, I probably won't use any of my favourites (Caoimhe, Caoilainn, Aislinn/Aisling) simpoly because there are names that I love more, but I wouldn't hesitate to use a traditionally spelled Irish name, just because it's spelling will cause problems.
Oh, and sorry Aine, this probably should've gone under the OP- just wanted to add my two cents about Australia ;) To make it more relevant, I just wanted to say I love Eimear's name- and Daisy's too. How is she doing?
I realize that it would cause difficulty, but I agree with Aine that it's doable- I see Niamh fairly often here in Aus, and pretty much everyone knows how to say Siobhan. People learn, you just have to be patient ;) I have a very unusual but spelled-as-it-sounds kind of name, and people never get it right, and it doesn't bother me.
That being said, I probably won't use any of my favourites (Caoimhe, Caoilainn, Aislinn/Aisling) simpoly because there are names that I love more, but I wouldn't hesitate to use a traditionally spelled Irish name, just because it's spelling will cause problems.
Oh, and sorry Aine, this probably should've gone under the OP- just wanted to add my two cents about Australia ;) To make it more relevant, I just wanted to say I love Eimear's name- and Daisy's too. How is she doing?
This message was edited 2/27/2008, 5:14 AM