How do you pronounce Cathal?

[SugarSweet]

My OH and I are deciding on names for our wee boy due in May.

In Ireland I think most people will know how it is pronounced but we live in England!

Please take this quick poll revealing what your gut reaction was when you seen the name. Thank you!

 

[AlaskaYoung]

I know someone called Cathal, I ususally pronounce it Kaa Hul

 

[birdiex]

I'd say it phonetically

 

[discoclare]

I voted for the phonetic way knowing full well that it must be wrong! But I have never met anyone called this and if I saw it written down and didn't know the person was Irish I would say Cath-el (I voted Ka-thel). If I knew they were Irish I would probably just ask!

 

[mushroom]

It's in my Irish names thread! It is pronounced Coh-hull...so there's no 'a' sound and the t is silent. The first part rhymes with the sound of 'what' without the t, emphasis is on the first part so it's COH-hull. Definitely nothing like the sound of 'cattle' or anything A lot of Irish names are anglicised, or spelled phonetically, you can have it pronounced anyway you want but be prepared for corrections from people if you go an untraditional route! A great example of this is Caoimhe, which is pronounced correctly as Kwee-vah here, and Kee-vah elsewhere.

 

[sarahchops86]

im in ireland and here at least its pronounce ca-hil x

 

[Hayley83]

my brother and father inlaw our called Cathal we pronounce it Ka - hal

 

[SugarBeth]

I'd pronounce it like Kath-hul, never heard of it before so I'd try to pronounce it the way it looks.

 

[Amygdala]

Sorry, I would have had no idea how to pronounce it. I would have gone for CATH el and I would have guessed it's a girl's name. I take it you're not planning to live in Ireland in the future? Personally I'd maybe go for something a bit more obvious internationally but I do totally understand wanting to honour your heritage, especially if you live the name. I guess worst case scenario he'll have to clarify the pronunciation when he first meets people.

 

[CharlieP]

it is usually pronounced ca-hal

 

[RubyRainbows]

I thought "cath-el" when i read it -- and thought it was for a girl...

 

[SugarSweet]

Thanks girls there seems to be a mixture of responses. Most people in Ireland know it's pronounced "Ca hull or Ca-hal" but outside of Ireland, people tend to think Cath-el.

We don't want the poor wee mite to have to explain it the rest of his life as we don't live in Ireland now.

We have another name we are thinking of, which is more straight forward and easily recognisable. Ciaran. I think that may be a better choice xx