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Thanks everyone. Your comments are really helpful. We hope to have our list narrowed down to around ten names sometime soon. I'm sure I'll be back to ask for your help again.

Aidan- ok but not that special
Cavan- dislike
Carrick- dislike
Cian - ok
Ciaran- better than Cian
Cillian - ok
Colin- nice, I heard this on a little boy some days ago
Conall- like it
Conor- like it
Cormac- love it
Declan- dislike
Eamon- so cute!
Owen- dislike, I thnk it's boring
Fintan- dislike
Finn- love it especially as a NN to Finley
Hugh- dislike a lot
Kevin- see above
Lachlan- very cute
Padraig- dislike
Riordan- like it
Ronan- ok
Rory- ok
Sean- dislike
Tadhg- "Will anyone know how to say/spell it?" Well, I didn't but then I looked it up. And if you like it I think you should use it!
Alastair- love it!
Caelan- on my list, love the sound of it
Callum- dislike
Cullen- dislike
Donovan- nice
Duncan- it's so cute
Gannon- dislike
Graeme or Graham- no!
Grady- dislike
Grant- dislike
Ian- dislike
Keegan- ok
Kellen- dislike

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My favorites are:
1. Caelan
2. Finn (Finley)
3. Alastair
4. Duncan
5. Cormac

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Aidan- I like it but it does seem to be very popular in the U.S.

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Ciaran - I love it.
Conall - nice and unusual
Conor - nice but too popular
Cormac - nice
Owen
Finn - I like Fionn
Hugh
Lachlan

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Riordan
Ronan
Rory
Alastair
Callum - - what about Colm?
Donovan
Duncan
Ian
Kellen

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I don't like Tadhg myself and if you use it the spelling and prn. will be an issue. But if you really love it maybe you should use it. Have you tried it out on people you know? There are worse things in life than having a name people can't spell. You could well give him an easier to spell and prn name that people still get wrong and end up wishing you had used Tadhg!

I hear Aiden too much and think that if you used it, your son would be one of several Aiden's when it comes to school.

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My favourites are:
Ciaran - My absolute favourite boy's name though I spell it Cieran.
Lachlan
Rory
Sean
Alastair
Duncan
Grady
Ian

I like/love:

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Cian - I really like it, but I don't think ppl will pronounce it right
Colin
Conor - Connor looks far nicer to me
Owen
Finn
Hugh
Lachlan
Ronan
Sean
Callum
Donovan
Keegan

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My Top 3 would be: Ronan, Donovan and Keegan

I work in a newborn nursery, and we have at least one or two Aidans at a time. It's very popular. Tadhg is nice, and unique... but people will call him Tad-hig... so I'd probably steer clear of that name. Sorry.
My favorite from your list is Owen, it's nice, well known w/o being overused, and it has the same sound/feel as Aidan which you said you liked.
Best wishes!
~Amy

I love quite a few Irish & Scottish names, so I can understand the hesitation in using them in the U.S. :-/ However, from your list, I like (and think could work nicely...)--

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Cian - I love this spelling, but Kian might be a little easier and it's still nice.
Ciaran - Same here, but I love this spelling so much more than Kieran (and it's not like people won't butcher that, too - LOL)
Cillian - I like this but be prepared for mispronunciations. I dislike Killian and Kilian (kill Ian? lol), but perhaps with the actor Cillian Murphy gaining more popularity people will be more aware of how it's prn.
Colin
Declan - getting more popular
Eamon
Finn - love!
Hugh
Lachlan
Ronan
Rory - I adore this!
Tadhg - This is probably the hardest to spell/prn. on your list, unfortunately. I love it, too, though. :(
Alastair
Callum
Cullen
Donovan
Duncan
Graham
Grady
Grant
Ian

This message was edited 5/1/2007, 8:37 PM

I like:

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Aidan -- but would never use it due to its popularity
Cian -- really like this
Ciaran
Conall -- especially like this
Declan
Eamon -- prefer Eamonn
Finn -- prefer Fionn
Sean
Tadhg -- pr. tige
Donovan
Duncan
Ian

I really love all of these and love the idea of using something so uncommon in the USA to go with your common LN, it will just help to reinforce you child's distinct personality and show your love for him.

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I think many of these names will work, a lot of them aren't as popular as we might think, now if you actually go to Ireland or Scotland then the names will get more popular.

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Aidan ~ It's not all that popular in the USA really but the spelling Aiden is actually more popular. I really like the Gaelic Aodhan spelling quite a bit but it would definitely be confusing in the US.
Cavan ~ well I usually hear this being pronounced like Kevin so I'm sure that's how people here will try to spell it.
Carrick ~ this would work well and is really cute!
Cian ~ I love this but if you're thinking on pronouncing it like Cain / Kane then I think it could get really confusing. Now if you pronounce it like kee-an then I think it would work.
Ciaran ~ I adore this and God willing this will be the name of my first son! I know that the Kieran spelling will be more easy for my family to spell but I dearly love the C as is would honor my father with the initials. I think it could really work. :)
Cillian ~ this is so cute and would work well I think though the Killian spelling would be easier to spell.
Colin ~ this is my dad's name and I dearly love it and would definitely use it. Most people pronounce it right though some say cole-in and my maternal grandma often spells it Callin. But in general I think it would work. :)
Conall ~ nice but rather like a surname.
Conor ~ very popular like Connor and Conner.

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The names I really like:

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Cian
Ciaran
Cillian
Eamon
Owen
Finn
Lachlan

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They names that I think would be nice and work:

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Cian
Ciaran
Cillian
Colin
Declan
Eamon
Owen
Finn
Hugh
Lachlan
Riordan
Ronan
Alastair
Callum
Cullen
Kellen

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Names that I think are too popular (and I know a lot of these, so in my opinion I wouldn't use):

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Aidan
Conor
Kevin
Rory
Sean
Donovan
Graham
Grant
Ian
Keegan

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my favorites are : Aidan,Cormac,Owen- it`s alittle overused though ,Padraig-love this one it sounds like a pirate name,Ronan and Grant.

Tadhg is a top ten boy's name for me. I'm American, but my mother is from Ireland so these names are special to me.

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Tadhg is Irish and pronounced exactly like the English word tiger, but without the "r" sound. As a surname, it is sometimes spelled Tigue, but I still love the original Tadhg spelling more. (In Irish Gaelic, the "h" usually, although not always, silences the letter in front of it. That's why the "d" is not pronounced in Tadhg.)

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You have many of my fav's:

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Conor (love this spelling)
Cormac (a top five name for me)
Eamon (a top ten name, although I prefer the Eamonn spelling. "AY-mun")
Finn
Padraig
Rory
Callum

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I'd toss out Aidan if popularity is an issue. Aidan is very popular. And when you throw in all the Bradens, Cadens, Haydens, Jadens, etc. (and all the hideous misspellings) you start to wish you'd never heard the "AY-din" sound at all. It's a shame, because I really love the name Aidan too.

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One that's not on your list that you might like: Malachy ("MAL-uh-kee"). It's the Irish form of Malachi ("MAL-uh-kie"). Another name I adore is Desmond. It means "from Munster (= southern Ireland)".

I love Tadgh, but it may be hard for people spell/pronounce. But that shouldn't prevent you from naming your child what you like. Plus, it would only take one quick correction, and they wouldn't forget after that.
I like Colin, Declan, Callum and Padraig.
Aidan is VERY popular, as well as Conor, Owen, Sean, Grant and Ian.