if you can bear another naming post :)

[DualvansMommy]

I'm due with dc #2-gender a surprise any day now....

for a boy, we got a name and solid with our decision.
it's girl names that we're struggling a bit...

we both love the name Isabella Marie, however i'm feeling bit guilty for not naming this DC an irish name since I'm from Ireland. In addition to that, our first born does not have an irish name but a common traditional name instead.

any help would be appreciated!

so far we have Ciara (Ava as middle name) but DH isn't overly in love with that name. He does not want any variations with K.
he likes names like Grianne (a very irish name, one i'm not too crazy about)
we both have and like Aine as a middle name but i am open to having that as a first name.
another we came up is Claire...a name that is growing on me. I do not want Clare, as to my mind that's a county back in my homeland.

my struggle is it has to be a name that is irish with ease of spelling and pronuntion...so names like Meghan, Maeve, Caitlin, etc comes to mind...the names DH comes up or/and likes doesn't have that criteria...i suggested Siobhan but he hated that! we can't have Meghan or Maeve since it's also our niece names as well.

our last name is fairly common and very Irish too with 3 syabells, begins as letter D.

hit me up!

[♥ms.pacman♥]

my struggle is it has to be a name that is irish with ease of spelling and pronuntion.

i guess that is the tricky part! i'm not Irish but i love the names. i had a friend named Niamh (who was from County Clare, lol) which i thought was the *coolest* name ever, but i admit she was often getting very annoyed with so many people who could not pronounce or spell it, even after being told how it's really pronounced. I guess though you can use alternate spellings (e.g. Neve)?

I love the name Siobhan (had a classmate with that name!), too bad your DH is not a fan!

[123LuckyMom]

i guess that is the tricky part! i'm not Irish but i love the names. i had a friend named Niamh (who was from County Clare, lol) which i thought was the *coolest* name ever, but i admit she was often getting very annoyed with so many people who could not pronounce or spell it, even after being told how it's really pronounced. I guess though you can use alternate spellings (e.g. Neve)?

I love the name Siobhan (had a classmate with that name!), too bad your DH is not a fan!

That's so funny! I was going to suggest Niamh but with an American spelling like Naeve! Saoirse is another name I like, and it's becoming more common in the US, so more people know how to pronounce it. That one I wouldn't do with a phonetic spelling. I'd look at other good Irish names and see if they lend themselves to American spellings.

[JenChem]

How about Brianne, Brenna, or Erin?

[lizzywednesday]

I find girls' names to be rougher than boys' names, to be honest! (It's one reason I haven't been thoroughly enthusiastic about pulling the trigger on a 2nd DC yet - I fear having another girl and yet another discussion about girls' names wherein my DH's weakness for flowery ones wins out against my insistence on old-fashioned.)

Our DD's name has Celtic (well, Welsh) roots, which oddly enough works quite well with our (German) last name.

Would you be open to looking in another Celtic country, even if it's not Ireland, to find a name you both could love?

Also, I wouldn't feel guilty about not choosing a Gaelic name over another region's - my great-great-grandmother who WAS from Ireland had the very plain, very ordinary first name of Alice! (Which I have suggested repeatedly as a potential DC name, but DH feels it's an old-lady name. *sigh*)

[DualvansMommy]

That's so funny! I was going to suggest Niamh but with an American spelling like Naeve! Saoirse is another name I like, and it's becoming more common in the US, so more people know how to pronounce it. That one I wouldn't do with a phonetic spelling. I'd look at other good Irish names and see if they lend themselves to American spellings.

I had to laugh at ms. Pacman and your postings! Niamh is actually my first name, a name DH loves but like ms. Pacman's friend, I'm going nuts over people mispronouncing my name! Lol

DH actually came up with Saoirse and Sorcha last night. The first, I fear will end up like my name for DC. A headache for her to deal with! I prefer Sorcha if we had to go with either. So I'll be putting that on my list :-)

[sariana]

What about the Scottish Elspeth?

Moira
Shannon
I second Erin.

[jbbhb]

There is a teacher at my sons school named Aisling. I think it's a beautiful name.

[georgiegirl]

What about Aoife?

[DualvansMommy]

What about Aoife?

I like that name, but can foreseen my DC struggling in correcting people if given that name.

[TwinFoxes]

I love Irish names! DH is Irish-American, and he didn't like any of the ones I wanted (including Siobhan!) Anyhow, I think a lot of you are giving the American public too much credit for knowing how to say some of these names! :) I think a lot of them are great, but OP wants an easy to pronounce/spell name.

I like:

Brigid
Cara
Siobhan (sorry to your DH!)
Norah
Cassidy
Catriona (OK, this one's pushing it when it comes to pronounce-ability! But it's so pretty, written and spoken.)

I kind of like Rory, even though it's a boy's name.

[TwinFoxes]

One more...is Tamsin/Tamsyn Irish, or is it English? I like that one too. :)

[KpbS]

I would go w/ Claire (or Clara) a beautiful name, Cassidy (charming and cute), or Cara (such a sweet meaning, my dear one). I grew up with a name that was constantly mispronounced and misspelled and I hated it. I purposefully gave my kids easy to pronounce and spell names as a result.



Or Bridget (love it, so cute!) or Fiona (lovely name).

[NCGrandma]

Saoirse is another name I like, and it's becoming more common in the US, so more people know how to pronounce it.

Guess this one hasn't made it to my area yet -- I've never seen it and haven't a clue how to pronounce.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1)

[YouAreTheFocus]

I second Fiona, it's a lovely name and very straightforward to spell/pronounce. I'm also a fan of Aoife & Siobhan.

[lizzywednesday]

Guess this one hasn't made it to my area yet -- I've never seen it and haven't a clue how to pronounce.


...

Saiorse is traditionally pronounced something like "seer-sha."

For more, see/listen here: http://www.babynamesofireland.com/saoirse

I like it, though it becomes the name of the titular object in the travelogue Round Ireland with a Fridge, which might make me rule it out for a baby myself. I like the meaning, though - liberty or freedom, depending on your source - and could maybe get over the fridge bit if I thought it would go with a middle name of "Alice."

[elektra]

I like Siobhan too. I was pushing for it for DD but DH could not get on board with the spelling. I like Aoife too.
I have an uncommon name that people would butcher all the time growing up in both spelling and pronunciation, but I still really like my name and people are more used to seeing it nowadays.
I know how to pronounce these two names (I have met people with these names) and I think other folks will too, even if your DD runs into trouble from time to time. I am sure you have been through it with your name too!
I do like Saoirse too.

Or what about Shawn, Shayne, Eva, Sarah??? So more American versions of the Irish names?

[sariana]

Saiorse is traditionally pronounced something like "seer-sha."

For more, see/listen here: http://www.babynamesofireland.com/saoirse

I like it, though it becomes the name of the titular object in the travelogue Round Ireland with a Fridge, which might make me rule it out for a baby myself. I like the meaning, though - liberty or freedom, depending on your source - and could maybe get over the fridge bit if I thought it would go with a middle name of "Alice."

I don't know anyone IRL with this name, but there was an interview with the actress Saiorse Ronan in which they gave a pronunciation of SIR (as in Yes, sir!) sha. She was in several movies in a row (Atonement, The Lovely Bones, and at least one more), bu I haven't seen her in a little while.

It is true that traditionally ethnic names are becoming more "accepted," for lack of a better term. Actors no longer are expected to "Anglicized" their names, and we see names such as Saiorse Ronan and Ioan Gruffudd with their original spellings.

I do know a woman named Rhiannon (had to look up the spelling, but it's pronounced Ree-ANN).

[TwinFoxes]

I don't know anyone IRL with this name, but there was an interview with the actress Saiorse Ronan in which they gave a pronunciation of SIR (as in Yes, sir!) sha. She was in several movies in a row (Atonement, The Lovely Bones, and at least one more), bu I haven't seen her in a little while.

It is true that traditionally ethnic names are becoming more "accepted," for lack of a better term. Actors no longer are expected to "Anglicized" their names, and we see names such as Saiorse Ronan and Ioan Gruffudd with their original spellings.

I do know a woman named Rhiannon (had to look up the spelling, but it's pronounced Ree-ANN).

To my ear, Saiorse with an Irish accent sound in between seer and sir. I think it's pretty.

I agree that ethnic names are more common and in a lot of places really admired. OP wants an easy to pronounce name though.

My my current favorite ethnic name is Xiomara (not Irish!)

[flashy09]

I love Aisling. But she would have to spell it every time. Have you thought of any the very familiar Irish names like Erin, Tara or Shannon or are those too boring?

Here is a Nameberry list http://nameberry.com/list/2/Irish-Baby-Girl-Names?page=1

[DietCokeLover]

Colleen
Aileen
Brenna
Finola
Fiona
Kyla

Not particularly Irish, but from the continent - Felicity

[lmh2402]

love, love, LOVE the name Orla. not a huge fan of Aine.

[TwoBees]

What about Caoimhe (Pronounced Keevah I think, I'm sorry I probably butchered the spelling). There's a girl in DD's school with that name and I think it's really pretty.

[sariana]

Have you considered using a traditional Irish name with an Americanized spelling? So to use the post above, just spell it Keevah, for example.

[DualvansMommy]

What about Caoimhe (Pronounced Keevah I think, I'm sorry I probably butchered the spelling). There's a girl in DD's school with that name and I think it's really pretty.

I LOVE that name, DH does like it too...but is bit hestiate with the ease of spelling/pronounction. My cousin has the male version of that name and always thought it's a nice name, but he lives in London nowadays and said his name is a nightmare, just like mine is here. LOL

lots of good suggestions so far....DH & I will have to go over the names i've added from your suggestions and see how it works for us along with our surname too. DH is praying hard for a boy right now, LOL cuz we both have an Irish name that is solidly set and abosutely love the name too...we'll see soon enough, I guess!

[DualvansMommy]

I love Aisling. But she would have to spell it every time. Have you thought of any the very familiar Irish names like Erin, Tara or Shannon or are those too boring?

Here is a Nameberry list http://nameberry.com/list/2/Irish-Baby-Girl-Names?page=1

I've tried floating your familiar Irish names by DH last night, and he felt it's too boring...which I kind of think too. Darn! if only it isn't sooooo difficult picking out a girl's name????

[Aishe]

What about Mairead? I think it's so pretty and it's easy to tell people that it rhymes with parade.

[AnnieW625]

A friend of mine has 4 daughters and they all have very traditional Irish (or Celtic names):
Finnoula
Erris
Caiohme
Oonagh

I went to school with a girl named Meara and I thought that was a great name, a bonus was that she was absolutely gorgeous (and probably still is).

In my family Catherine, Kathryn, Maria (provinces Moriah, I think), and Elisabeth/Elizabeth were popular with my Irish born relatives.

[wendibird22]

I love Claire and Norah. But because DH is a primary school teacher and therefore a ability to pronounce and spell the name was of utmost priority to him we went with Erin and Megan.

[Tondi G]

I'm sure you've probably been on this site
http://www.babynamesofireland.com/irish-girl-names

I love Cora and Nora/Norah

other names

Brianna
Keira
Fiona
Teagan