# Irish name pronunciation :)



## mushroom

Just noticing that there are a lot of Irish names pronounced wrong here, also several names described as Irish when they;re not at all. Not criticising or anything! I'll phonetically spell out most common names here, feel free to ask me how to spell (though there are variations besides names that have been anglicised)/pronounce another name.

Girls

Aoife- Ee-fa- very common
Sinéad- shi-nayde- Jean in english- common
Siobhán- shuh-vawn -common
Áine- awn-yah -Anne in english- less common now
Aisling- ash-ling -meaning is dream,vision- very common
Cáit (this is THE most difficult one!) cawtch- comes from kate, from catherine, meaning pure- common
Róisín- row (as in boat, not fight!)-sheen -very common
Emer/Eimear- ee-murr -very common
Aoibheann- ee-veen -only common recently
Aoibhe- ee-va -only common recently
Sadbh- rhymes with I've -one of the Irish translations of Sarah -only common recently
Mairéad- murr-aid- Margaret in english- less common now
Síofra- sheef-rah -only common recently
Máire- moy-rah- mary in english -not common anymore
Caoimhe- kwee-vah. not keeva, the 'caoi' produces a kwee sound- very common
Sorcha- sore-kah -a version of sarah in english- only common recently
Niamh- neeve -very common
Maebh- mave -common
Saoirse- seer-sha- meaning is freedom- common
Gráinne- grawn-yah -Grace in english- common
Orlaith- orla -common
Caitríona- cah-treen-ah -Catherine in english- common
Eilish- eye-lish- not that common
Ailish- ay-lish -not that common
Ailbhe- al-va -Olivia in english- not that common
Eithne- et-nah -not that common
Muireann- mwir-in -not that common
Bébhinn- bay-vin -Eleanor in english- common
Bláthnaid- blaw-nid -not sure, but bláth is flower- only common recently
Clíodhna- clee-nah -not that common
Dearbhail- durr-vil -not that common
Chlodagh- clo-dah -common
Réaltín- ray-ul-teen literal translation=little star- only common recently
Caoilfhionn- keel-in (prononuciation different to Caoimhe because the l is soft..) Anglicised as Keelin- common
Iseult- ee-zult- pretty sure this is an Irish version of Isolde- only common recently
Nóinín- no-neen- literal translation Daisy- only common recently
Imadin- Imm-igin- translation of Imogen- not common
Radha- Ray-a or rye-ah- not common
Ribh- Reev- not common

Boys

Ciarán- keer-awn -very common
Cian- kee-un -common
Oisín- ush-een- common
Daragh- darr-ah -very common
Eoghan- o-un -very common
Séan- shawn -John in english- very very common
Ferghal- fur-gull -not that common
Fionn- fyunn -not that common
Caoimhín- kwee-veen- Kevin in english -not that common
Cathal- coh-hull common
Naoise- nee-sha (can be unisex) not that common
Diarmuid- deer-mud common
Dónal- doh-null common
Niall- nile Neil in english very common
Padraic- poy-ric Patrick in english common
Padraig- pod-rig another version of patrick common
Cillian- kill-ee-un common
Ruadhán-roo-awn uncommon
Odhrán- oh-rawn uncommon
Ruadhrí- roo-ree- rory in english-uncommon
Rian- reen or ree-un- Ryan in English- uncommon

These are all traditional spellings, anglicised versions of the names and of the spellings are to be found everywhere. You won't find too many Erin's in Ireland! Personally I love Sadhbh, Maebh and Oisín...OH does not like the latter two though. Also love Iseult and Nóinín and Réaltín are just TOOOO cute, but not sure how great they'd be on a 30 year old..hmm.


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## teddiebear_hu

Very interesting! Thank you for posting this.

Padraic has been a name on my list for decades. I have never heard it pronounced poy-ric or said to be pronounced that way. I have only seen it has pronounced paw-ric and pod-ric. A friend of ours that is Irish says paw-ric.


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## mushroom

I've heard it pronounced paw-ric too. Poy-ric is the more traditional spelling..might depend on regional differences though!


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## phoebe

thankyou lovely x:flower:


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## IrishGirl

LOL as you can see im a Dublin girl.I get ALOT of people asking me how to pronounce my OHs name lol.Theres no harm i really dont mind tho:)


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## mushroom

Forgot some boys names- I don't think there's as many? They're not as common. Séamus- shay-mus (James) would be the most common one I forgot.

Yeah I totally see why people wouldn't know how to pronounce them! Particularly some variations that have loads more b's and h's, like Sadhbh.


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## CandiceSj

Thanks for that! Very instructive!


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## whoops

Great thread! :thumbup:


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## LittleSpy

Since there's so much incorrect information out there in name land, can someone tell me if Maisie is really a nick name used for Mairéad?


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## IrishGirl

As far as i know im nearly sure its a nickname for May:)


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## neadyda

:thumbup:

like this thread 

My name is Sinead! and my sons middle name is Declin (after my dad) even though most people spell Declin-Declan


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## neadyda

and my sons first name is James!


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## mushroom

LittleSpy said:


> Since there's so much incorrect information out there in name land, can someone tell me if Maisie is really a nick name used for Mairéad?


I don't think so. Never heard of it coming from that. Unless Maisie comes from Margaret, in which case it technically would be. The name Mairéad is not very common anymore, you won't find it on the Irish name lists anymore but you probably would have 20 years ago. My friend Mairéad got called Ray occassionally, or Ray-ray!


Oh that's nice, James Declin. Or Séamus Déaglán! :)


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## whoops

LittleSpy said:


> Since there's so much incorrect information out there in name land, can someone tell me if Maisie is really a nick name used for Mairéad?

I'm fairly sure it's a Scottish nickname for Margaret... I've never heard it in relation to Mairéad before.


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## mamamay

Very interesting thread, thanks x


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## Marzipan_girl

Eeee you forgot Ruaridh! Which is the traditional gaelic spelling for my son's name, Rory! We spelt it the easier way haha


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## mushroom

Marzipan_girl said:


> Eeee you forgot Ruaridh! Which is the traditional gaelic spelling for my son's name, Rory! We spelt it the easier way haha


I find it easier to remember girls names! Ruaridh would be the way it's spelt in Scotland, Irish (or Gaeilge) is very similar to gaelic but has differences. It would be Ruadhrí here, or Ruarí. Lovely name in any language!:)


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## Nixie

Great list thanks ;)


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## pumpkim

I Liked this website for irish names, it's good to actually hear them pronounced because sometimes even with phonetic spelling it can be hard to know you're saying it right (if you're not Irish).

https://www.babynamesofireland.com/pages/girl-names-a-c.html


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## JosieM

mushroom said:


> Forgot some boys names- I don't think there's as many? They're not as common. Séamus- shay-mus (James) would be the most common one I forgot.
> 
> Yeah I totally see why people wouldn't know how to pronounce them! Particularly some variations that have loads more b's and h's, like Sadhbh.

Great thread, thanks! You forgot my baby boy's name, Odhrán! Apparently it's quite old-fashioned, a wee elderly lady in the street told me she hadn't heard it in a long time. I love Meabdh for a girl, or Orlaith. If it's a wee boy, not so sure, maybe Aodhán/Aidan, but it's quite similar to Odhrán.Can't believe we're back to thinking up baby names again so soon! But it's fun!


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## brunette

I really like Naoise for a girl but Oh not keen as can be Unisex. I think it sounds quite feminine. What do you think?


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## JosieM

I know a wee girl who has that name so I think of it as a girly name, it's lovely!


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## mushroom

brunette said:


> I really like Naoise for a girl but Oh not keen as can be Unisex. I think it sounds quite feminine. What do you think?


It's a guys name in Irish mythology, that's why it's seen as unisex. I'm not sure what the rates would be for male/female usage now..I know one girl Naoise and that's it! 

Yes sorry, forgot Odhrán! Lovely name. Should really edit that first post ha. Lovely name. Boys names are not as common as girls names- there are a few 'core' Irish boys names like Séan, Dónal etc- very popular, and then ones that have only become popular in the last few years- like Odhrán- but are very old- and then random translations from English that are very rare, like Proinsias- Prun-chee-us, which is Francis. Girls Irish names tend to be more widespread, I know an awful lot more girls with Irish names than boys. I love Meadbh as well but OH isn't keen (we won't be TTC for a good while but still have provisional lists ha) and it's my cousin's name. But I don't know any Sadbh's and OH likes that one :) I want at least one of my children to have an Irish name. I love the way Irish names have spread to other countries, even though the original spellings cause confusion! It's great :)


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## JosieM

Sadbh is a lovely name Mushroom, I don't know anyone with it. We picked Odhrán as we couldn't think of a boy's name that wasn't too common or on the other hand, too unusual, plus we're Irish (well, Northern Irish technically!). Thanks for your post, I'll probably keep coming back to it for ideas.


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## BabyBumm

Great thread!
My DD is called Cliona, I found Cliodhna on a website and loved it but thought it would be too difficult for her to spell and sounded too much like Cleaner lol! So we anglisised (sp!) it to Cliona (like Fiona)
I love the name but it's amazing how many people get her name muddled (no, she is not called Chloe lol!)


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## mushroom

I love that name, don't know anyone called it though, except for a Colína which is slightly different. Came across the boy's name Ruadhán today on an election poster (roo-awn), LOVE that one. Going to edit the OP ha.


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## lovesexy

Great thread!!

I called my 2 boys Shay and Conor, I am Irish and know quite a few Shay's and I think Conor is still a widely used Irish name.

The names I have picked this time round are Saoirse and Oisin.


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## 3rdtimelucky

My sons name is Rían. It means "little king" in Irish. :thumbup:

Love love love the name Odhrán, that was on our list. If we had have had a girl she would have been Sadhbh or Naoise.


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## Treelo

Great thread :thumbup: 
I put up some of the pronunciations on the other thread for Irish names a while ago after i seen a lot of people thinking Finn and Fionn were pronunced the same :nope:


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## mushroom

Bump :)


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