View Message

This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

[Opinions] Re: Irish names
in reply to a message by Lily
Sinead is one of my all time favorite Irish names! And it's definitely "shin-AID." (my mother was born and raised in Ireland so blame her if any of my takes on pronunciation are off. I have no idea about popularity or how the names are viewed. You'd have to ask my cousins. :-)Yay, Sinead! Siobhan is great too. My sister used it for her dd's mn (Clare Siobhan). She was born in 1987 and it was before that "American Idol" (or whichever show) contestant made it more known to U.S. audiences. If she were born today, she might use it after all as a fn. Caoimhe -- I'm surprised the Anglicized spelling hasn't caught on more here. I prefer the Irish spelling, but it's a bit of a handful. With all the Kevins born in the 1980s I would have thought the feminine form would be of interest by now.Aine -- My name in Irish, so I'm biased. It's the best name in the world. :-)Niamh -- If I had a dd tomorrow she would be Niamh. This spelling. Aisling -- Beautiful, but too similar to Ashley for me. Aoibhe -- Gorgeous.Aoibheann -- Wow. But I fear it's too much for the U.S. at the moment. Sad.Saoirse -- Heaven bless Saoirse Ronan's parents for making this name well known. Perhaps we all should be brave and then our child will be the one to make a Celtic spelling of any other name well known. Diarmuid -- Another personal favorite (Cormac, Malachy, Tadhg, Eamonn, Finbarr, Muiris too). I love the "deer-" sound at the beginning. It's very romantic sounding.
Archived Thread - replies disabled
vote up1

Replies

Oh, I definitely agree with you re: Saoirse Ronan. One of the best names EVER!
vote up1
I love Clare, especially this spelling. I think it looks so much calmer and more elegant than Claire. I like Saoirse but I think Saoirse Ronan is actually mispronouncing it. I mean I have no idea, but I read somewhere that she pronounces it SIR-sha and that the correct pronunciation is SEER-sha. I like both pronunciations and I think it's awesome that the name is usable because of her.
vote up1
I met a lady online several years ago from Ireland. Her name is Saoirse and she told me there are two common pronunciations in Ireland. One is SEER-sha. The other is SAYR-sha which is how this particular woman pronounces her name. When you think about it, SAYR-sha and Saoirse Ronan's pronunciation, SIR-sha are very similar so I wouldn't be surprised if the SAYR is what her parents were going for and it came out as SIR (sort of like mad-uh-LEN vs. mad-uh-LYN).
vote up1
Oh. I hadn't heard that. I've only ever heard her name as "SEER-shuh." Perhaps I'm not paying close enough attention. I'm glad you like the Clare spelling. Sometimes I think I'm the only one. I fear most people think of it as a misspelling, when really it's the English way. The French Claire looks prissy to me. I pronounce them the same way so there's no logic to it. It's just my weird take, influenced no doubt by my sister and niece.
vote up1
I read an interview where Saoirse Ronan says she pronounces her name to rhyme with "inertia" (so, sir-shah, probably) but she knows it's not the correct pronunciation. I'm a little irritated at her... before Atonement came out one of my favorite sibsets was Saoirse, Orla, and Ronan, and now I can't use it.
vote up1