Comments
Meaning
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I knew coming in here that I'd get my feelings hurt lol. This is my name, and I like it a lot! I love the fact that it just means "girl," I think it's a fun fact about the name. My parents pronounced it "cay-lin."
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I think it sounds pretty. I also think the meaning is cool. Nice variant to Nina.
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Another annoying variant of Kaylyn, plus why would you name your child a Gaelic word meaning "girl"? I believe it's pronounced like Colleen in Gaelic rather than Kaylyn.
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At first glance most will probably mistake this for Caitlin.
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My name is Cailin (pronounced cay-lyn) is BEAUTIFUL. If anyone ever tries to call me Colleen, OOOOOOO honey, they got a big storm comin! In what world would this name be pronounced Colleen?
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I like this because it's the true version of my name Colleen and it also shares the pure meaning so it connects with me and my aunt who I was very close with that died when I was a kid. I might use this as a middle name if I have a daughter because me and my aunt never liked our own names.
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The name Caitlin, means 'pure' and the word Cailín (which is Gaelic/Irish) means girl.
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My name is Cailin, pronounced (Kay-Lynn). Where I am from this name is unique, and I am not named after anyone or the meaning of the name such as Colleen. It is Cailin, and just Cailin. I have never personally met someone named Cailin (regardless of spelling) and I found it fascinating to come on here and read all of the things people have said about it. I for one love my name and the spelling of it. Although I do get called Caitlin quite a bit and it is something I do not like.
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I like this for a boy as well, spelled Calen.
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My name is Cailin. My parents liked the look and its Irish origins (as my dad is of Irish ancestry). They chose to pronounce it "KAY-lin" because we live in the Untied States and it would be easier for people to pronounce it that way. However, we do know that it is traditionally pronounced like the name "Colleen" and that it is not actually a name but like a pet name meaning "girl". I get called CaiTlin all the time and it is quite a pet peeve of mine.
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Mom's Irish. I have a cousin Ferlin. I always understood the suffix "lin" or "leen" to mean "light". Kath-leen = pure light, Fer-lin= bearer of light, etc.
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My name in Cailin and my parents chose to pronounce it Cuh-leen. Perhaps their own accents created it so, or perhaps the lovely Irish train conductor who suggested the name to my father had a thick accent, or said this was the proper pronunciation. Whatever the case, I don't think it matters. Names are given to hold space for the fulfillment of a sacred and unique individual - even when carried on the backs of a heritage or cultural tradition - once they are given as names, they get to be as special and unique as the bearer.
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I named my 9 year old daughter Cailin. I didn't get it from the Irish though. Her dad and I are both Scottish. I came across it in a Scottish name book and it's meaning was 'victorious'. We live in America and everyone mistakes it for Caitlin, which drives me nuts! My daughter doesn't correct them, she likes it, that drives me more nuts! We also pronounce it 'Kay-Lin', I'm happy with our choice.
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Some people's comments here are a bit much. I can call my daughter whatever I want, pronounced however I want. I chose to call her Cailin. Pronounced like Caitlin, without a t. I looked up the meaning, saw it was girl in Gaelic, but that had no bearing in my process at all. I named her after a cousin I had named Caitlin who died very young. I also found a beautiful song of the same name (pronounced the same way as my daughter) and that sort of clinched it for me. Like to point out that not once, in Canada or Australia, has anyone ever ever called her Colleen. Last time I checked Ireland was a pretty small country, perhaps you are overstating your global reach? Many names start out in one region, with one pronunciation, then are popularized in other areas with local pronunciations being adopted. Not a new phenomenon.
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I'm a "Colleen" born in Massachusetts. I was given the name as an Americanized variant of the Irish "Cailin." My Irish family members always pronounced it more like the Irish way (kah-LEEN); however, most people I interact with pronounce it kol-LEEN. The name is fairly common in the US but never used in Ireland, as I understand things.
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I named my daughter Cailin (born 1998) for its meaning in Gaelic, as my husband put it... you wanted a girl, and you got a girl, let's name her Cailin as it means girl. We pronounce it as Cay-l_n to alleviate the confusion for those that are not familiar with the Gaelic pronunciation. I love to hear her name (in Gaelic) spoken in the brogue of our Irish friends. It's the 17th here today in Australia... So Beannachta na Feile Padraig oraibh! (I hope I got it right).
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My daughter's name is Cailin. I think it's a really pretty name. A lot of people call her Caitlin, but I like it more because Caitlin is so common.
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This name is just weird. Aren't you basically naming your child "girl" in Irish? Plus it's also a dumb spelling of the monstrosity Kaylyn. Colleen sounds better, but I don't like that name either!
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This is my name and I think that it is a very pretty name. I like it pronounced cay-lin. The only thing I don't like is all the mispronunciations like "caitlyn, colin, or caylee." I actually had someone argue with me about the pronunciation of my name. I said "my name is Cailin" and they said "hi Caitlyn" and I said "no it's Cailin" and they contradicted me and said "no it's Caitlyn!" Can you believe some people?
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A very beatiful name! It shouldn't be a variant of Kaylyn though. I also love the pronunciation KAH-leen better than KAY-lin.
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Really, the *correct* pronunciation is "caw-leen". I've never heard anyone with this name. It's just a word to me. It would be weird for me to meet someone with the name Cailin or Buachaill as they are words to me.
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"Caw-leen" is not the correct pronunciation. It is the long a (á) that is pronounced "aw." Cailín has the short a (pronounced "ah.") The word may be accented on either the first or the second syllable depending on dialect. (Either "KAH-leen or "kah-LEEN.")
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I know Gaelic and it's easy for me to say that this is not a name. Ironically, "cailín" is actually masculine (despite its meaning) because of the "-ín" suffix. Why this is, I don't know.
I despise all the mangling of this pretty name into "Kaylyn", "Caelin", and the like (there's more lovely names that are befouled with these dreadful spellings and ghastly pronunciations in pitiful efforts to be "unique", but that's another story); there really should be some Respect For Language/Names courses for these people.
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I despise all the mangling of this pretty name into "Kaylyn", "Caelin", and the like (there's more lovely names that are befouled with these dreadful spellings and ghastly pronunciations in pitiful efforts to be "unique", but that's another story); there really should be some Respect For Language/Names courses for these people.
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The name is pronounced like Colleen. It's my Mum's name and she hates it when Americans pronounce it Cay-lin.
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I love this name! I noticed on the ratings thing that 22% of people thought this should be a boy's name. Why would you give a boy a name that means 'girl'?
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I know of one girl with this name and she pronounces it Kay-lyn.
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I know it sounds weird but I've never seen Colleen spelt like this and pronounced that way. I only know one little girl and she pronounces it CAL-yeen (I don't like that). I think Colleen sounds much better.
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The word for "boy" is "buachaill" (pronounced "BOO-a-khuly" (the "ly" being the sound used in "million" by those who do not pronounce it "mill-yun")). For some reason, I've never heard of any men with this name.
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Um, it does NOT mean "country girl." That is inaccurate.
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This can also mean 'country girl'.
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My name is Cailin. It is actually not a name, but a word. It is the word "girl" in Gaelic and is pronounced "Colleen". For example "cailin rua" is the "red-haired girl" and "cailin dubh" is the "dark-haired girl". There is actually an accent over the second 'i' (called a "fada" in Irish.) [noted -ed]
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