Niamh

Niamh: a radiant shimmer like the first light of dusk. The luminosity of a sun-kissed horizon, caressing the sky with hues of hope and promise. Sparkling with effervescence, Niamh is a divine manifestation of the undying light that illuminates the shadowy trails ahead. A treasure of unwavering resilience, a feast for the eyes and tongue. A silver bell, a soft gleam of light, a muffled splash in a pond. Subtly breathtaking.

In a country where everyone will get the pronunciation wrong, it’s best to either spell it phonetically (Neev) or pick a similar name with easier spelling (Eve).

My name is Niamh and I love it. Having to correct a few people is fine and once pronounced properly is amazing people only say it wrong if they read it saying my name is Niamh then reading Niamh is different because saying it shows how to pronounce it while reading it is like reading it in another language is hard because Niamh is spelled funny but that just makes what people say funny because sometimes it leads to funny nicknames like Niam H or Nima which are completely made up but sound funny and people nickname me that because of the name which is beautiful. I'm happy to have this name and it's a rare name.

Lovely name, the spelling, but no hate of course, I do understand that this isn't an American and won't have American pronunciation, that makes total sense, but in America, your child will face many issues, because the look of the name doesn't match the spelling. Teachers, classmates, coworkers, bosses. Will probably be confused on how it said, but if you like the name I understand, and I don't want to be cruel.

I thought this name was pronounced Ny-am. Looking at the pronunciation, (I could be wrong because I’m not great at reading pronunciations) it looks like it sounds a little like the word Naive.

I love this name so much! Although, I think people who are not familiar would likely have trouble pronouncing it.

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My favorite pairs with this name are:
Mairead
Sinéad
Eilís
Louise
Mae
Maya
Theodore
Thomas
Nathaniel
Jonas.

So I am Dutch and my daughter's name is Niamh. When I was pregnant and saw the name I was in love with it.
So we know you have to say Neve, but we choose to say Nieamh. By reading the comments I see this is more common in America, did not know that. Especially in the Netherlands, Niamh is not common and that's what I love about it.

Love the name and spelling isn’t important. I looked it up to see the correct pronunciation and that made it even more interesting.

A lovely name let down by the spelling, which, apart from the initial "N" bears no resemblance to the pronunciation whatsoever.

I thought it was pronounced Nie-am. That's the problem with it in the US.

It's a normal name to me. Nothing wrong with it at all.

I prefer Neve.

I HATE THIS NAME.
Everyone I’ve come across called Niamh is cruel. PLEASE, don’t name your child this. It’s a horrid name.

My name is Niamh and I live in the UK where I find that the name is a lot more common than in America. I was the only Niamh in my year at Primary School however when I went to High School there were 3 or 4 others in my year and some in other years too. Because there were quite a few Niamh's at my school the teachers and students had come across a Niamh before so they were familiar with the name and the majority could spell and say it correctly. I don't know how this differs across the UK and other parts of the world though!

I was born with the name Niamh, and I am thrilled to have it. I personally think it's funny when people mispronounce it or spell it wrong, and it's nice to be the only one with my name in a crowd (I live in the USA). I would suggest against using Neve instead. It's kinda boring and has less history.

Very pretty, sadly no one in the US is going to be able to pronounce it and a girl named Niamh might get called Naomi or Nemo or something.

At first I wanted to say Nee-Amm-Huh. Now that I know its Neeve, I love it. It's much better than the overused Naomi.

I absolutely love this name. Niamh (when pronounced correctly) is like a beautiful whisper that somehow reminds me of freshly fallen snow and warm sunshine all at once. I couldn't use it, however, because the poor girl would spend half her time correcting people. Sadly, the anglicized spelling 'Neve' removes all charm from the name. When I first came across this name, I pronounced it 'NEE-am', thinking it absurd that one would actually pronounce the 'h' at the end. However, this is exactly what my family did when they say it written down. Hmmm...

My name is Niamh and it was a nightmare in school. Absolutely no one could say it right even after I told them how to pronounce it multiple times. Or if they did get it, they would forget it shortly after and call me "Nehv" or just have to ask me how to say my name again. Like, why? Anyway, before I started high school I decided to spell it "Neve" just to make it easier for people to read and avoid all the name butchering— and I'm glad I did. But some people still managed to call me "nie-am-huh", "neema" or "nee-ham" (My high school misspelled it to "Niahm" on a lot of stuff, and seriously refused to fix it in their system. So irritating)

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When I got married I started spelling it Niamh again because honestly it's a lot classier than some stupid made up version of the name. And it still confuses everyone I meet— but I just tell them the "mh" makes a "v" sound in Gaelic (I don't know if that's even right, so correct me if I'm wrong). But that helps people out a lot with the pronunciation.

I think Niamh is a very beautiful name.

This name is so beautiful and elegant. It's one of my favourite Irish names.

My name is Niamh, and I live in the US. It's a family name, and I love it! Yes, people mispronounce it the first time they see it, but that really hasn't been a big hardship in my life. I explain the pronunciation once, and that's the end of it. I wouldn't want any other name.

I used to work for a models agency in Northern Ireland and I knew a girl there from the west called Niamh. She was such a lovely, kind girl and extremely beautiful. Altough in the myth of Tir na nOg Niamh had golden locks, this girl I knew had dark brunette hair and bright blue eyes yet for some reason the name just suited her so well. I would seriously consider this name if I ever have a baby girl.

Whoever said that Niamh is 'well-known' in australia is wrong! Even in melbourne about every one in one thousand people I meet can pronounce it. I've gotten pretty used to the day-to-day slaughtering of my name though, and it's beautiful - so I don't really mind!

Wow, this name is really popular in England, Ireland, and Scotland, but I've never heard of it in the States. I don't think anyone here would be able to pronounce it, I know I was very surprised to see how it was pronounced. How do you get "neev" out of "Niamh"?

I am called Niamh and used to find my name boring. I am from Ireland (the north to be exact) and lots of girls my age are called Niamh, but after reading all these lovely comments I am feeling much happier with my name. So I suppose I owe you all a thank you! And the name Niamh is pronounced neev. I don't think people should change the spelling of the name. Neeve just doesn't look right or very nice.

I named my daughter Niamh, and we live in the U.S. I thought long and hard about the spelling, but in the case of this name, I don't think changing the spelling is appropriate. I know of people with very traditional/common names who report that people STILL mispronounce/misspell them.

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So far, people have been ultra-careful about the spelling and pronunciation. Once in awhile it's an issue at the doctor's or something, but since I write in the phonetic version, not a big problem.

Wow! A lot of people must have trouble asking others how to pronounce a name. Why would you let other people not pronouncing a name correctly stop you from using it? They say it incorrectly you simply correct them. Being a complete name nerd I know or can usually guess many pronunciations. In my line of work I've met many people with hard to pronounce names. I always ask the correct pronunciation. I believe people appreciate this. Niamh is a beautiful name. One of my favourites. And I would not let other people keep me from using it or any other hard to pronounce name. Cheers to all the Niamhs out there!

I actually really like this name now, especially the meaning. When I first saw it I thought it was nee-am-ah but now I really like NEEV. Although if I were to name my child this it would be hard for them to keep correcting people (since I live in North America). Anyways, really nice name.

Such a beautiful name.

It's such ugly name! Yuk.

I don't like this name. It will never be pronounced correctly in English, and of course it's part of the stupid trend of using unanglicized Irish names. For a long time, Irish people in America used non-Irish names and were satisfied with it. Really, there are other ways to honor your Irish heritage.

How is using unanglicized Irish names stupid? Niamh is used without any real problems in many countries such as the U.K. and Australia by people with and without Irish heritage. It is a nice name and the pronunciation is fairly straightforward. I think you're being a little dramatic.

Yes, Americans (with or without Irish heritage) should limit themselves to Kevin, Ryan and the faux-Irish Colleen and Erin. Fantastic. Are you the name police? The amount of times I've heard people on here with their ridiculously stringent "You shouldn't use this, this and this" drives me mad.

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Niamh may not get pronounced right in the US, but it's a no-brainer in Britain and well known in Australia and New Zealand. Many modern anglicisations bother me more than the scary spellings you mock. And Niamh is hardly Caoilfhionn so get over yourself.

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I love seeing names reclaimed. Not much for heritage are you?

When I first saw the spelling I wasn't sure how to pronounce it. Plus, it reminded me of NiMH batteries[!] I don't think North American people would ever get this name right. The true pronunciation is pretty though as described.

The name Niamh is pretty. I love the associations with Tír na nÓg, and I think the story is really sad, though, because Oisín never gets to visit Niamh again. :(

I'd love the name if only it were spelt differently.

I LOVE the name Niamh! However, I wouldn't name my daughter this unless I lived in Ireland where people actually pronounce it correctly. In America, this name would be a pronunciation nightmare and the kid would be sick of people getting her name wrong.

I personally love this name! I probably wouldn't ever use it as a first name (as to save it from being slaughtered pronunciation and spelling-wise), but I would TOTALLY consider it as a middle name.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the name Niamh! Even though the pronunciation is tricky. In America, they would assume it is prounounced NYE-Amph or something, but they would have to learn it is NEEV. I will probably name one of my children this!

This is an ok name, but I would only use it where people know how to pronounce it, like Ireland or England. I would never use it in the U.S. because they will probably pronounce it NEE-um-huh.

Just because there's an H on the ending doesn't mean Americans will pronounce it, we're not stupid. The most likely pronunciation by us Americans in nee-um or nee-am.

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People should stop underestimating Americans and the pronunciation of names and saying Americans will pronounce a name that way when the person isn't American themselves.

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I love the name Niamh. But I wouldn't name my daughter that since in America people would pronounce it wrong. But I would use Neev or Neve as an alternate spelling.

I didn't like this name when I was younger but now I'm glad that I have a pretty unusual name, even if my French and Spanish classmates pronounce it nee-am! I know some other Niamh's who only like their names pronounced either neev or nee-uv, but I like both pronunciations! If I have a daughter in the future, I might give her this name as a middle name.

I really like this name and I use it as a nickname, because it sounds so mysterious and simple, just like a whisper. I would really like to call my daughter Niamh.

Such a pretty name. It's funny how its spelling differs so much from its pronunciation.

I really like this name. This is a name one of my friends uses as sort of a nickname. I pronounce it as nee-AHM or NEE-ahm, which is probabley wrong but I wouldn't know how else to pronounce it. I am considering using this as a middle name and maybe even first name for a future daughter.

I'm a Niamh and I love my name very much and I'm proud to bear it.

At first I thought it was pronounced "Nee-am", which I think would be pretty too. I love Niamh! I told my mom I was gonna start calling her Niamhy. LOL. I think Niamh sounds like a name for a little fairy.

My sister's name is also "neev" but she spells it Naomh which has a totally different meaning (holy). My parents decided on "holy" instead of "bright" because she was born on a Sunday. I love both names though I think they're beautiful whether they are pronounced "neev" or "nee-av"!

At first, I did pronounce this name "nee-am-heh", but now that I know the CORRECT (xD) way to say it, I really like it!

My first or second daughter WILL be named Niamh. I love this name. It may be common in Ireland but in America it's still pretty out there. I think people with this name will tend to be very clever and serious or will be very cautious and forthright. I know a lot of people won't like it but the middle name I matched with Niamh was Belle. It's French for Beautiful. I used it mostly because of my Great Grandmother (her middle name was Bell). But I thought it was cool. Niamh - "Bright" Belle - "Beautiful". Bright and Beautiful. XD this name rocks I could go on for hours!

A lovely name!

It is a beautiful name, and also the name of one of the daughters in the second book of the Sevenwaters Trilogy (Son of Shadows) by Juliet Marillier. Such a beautiful name was done justice in this book, with such a beautiful, lovely description to match.

Beautiful name! I think it is a name which will carry through every age gracefully.

When my sister Niamh was born no one else was called it but it is so popular now and it is a lovely name.

I really don't like it. It's so ugly looking, and nobody would ever pronoune it right.

This is my little sister's name and I think it's gorgeous! It reminds me of a little pixie!

I am a Niamh living in England. The name Niamh is much more popular here now than it was, the pronunciation is still an issue in England. Many people still call me Nim-ah, or Nime or even Nimph!

Niamh (be it "NEEV", "NEE-av", or however else it is pronounced... but not "NEE-am-ah") is such a beautiful name!