I'm still interested in opinions! I think it's fun to see what people think about the topic because I know it's a thing people have very different opinions about.
In terms of remembering how to spell the names... I do feel kinda bad about that for Caoimhe just because it's like every vowel thrown together. I have no trouble remembering it obviously, I memorized it quite early on, and I've already got Ruadhan down haha, but I sure hope she's not dyslexic or anything. There are very few people in our lives who always get her name correct - most people mix up the vowels, but you still get the idea. We also call her Keebs, which helps some people if they can't remember how to spell it so they just call her that.
And like I said, I will 100% back their decisions if they grow up and decide they want to spell their names Kiva/Rowan/etc.
My name is Vaela, and lawd I can't even explain how hard people find that name. TBH I don't think it's that confusing, but people call me Vee-ay-luh, and Veela, and Vale, and Vae-ee-luh, and I'm just like are we reading the same name?!
I've always liked it though because it's a conversation starter, people tend to remember my name, and I like the feeling of being the only Vaela around. My mom goes by her middle name but her first name is legally Mary, so when she gets mail it's often addressed to her as Mary but she constantly get's it misspelled "Marry" which is hilarious to me since Mary is like the most basic name ever to exist lmao! So I'm just of the opinion that people are always going to screw up your name and you can look at it as a bad thing or you can have a good attitude about it.
Well that was a random tangent! My husband seems on board for Ruadhan, I'm so happy because the name has really grown on me and I'm kind of in love with it. Rowan doesn't even appeal to me as much, though I will use it if hubby changes his mind. We will probably call him Ro as a nickname, so again people will have an easy nickname to use if they can't spell it.
Oh and about not seeing Ruadhan in Ireland - if I remember correctly, Ruadhan is a surname or something and the use of Irish surnames as first names is more of a trend elsewhere rather than actually in Ireland. I've also seen that it is pronounced Ruin as well as Rowan, so I don't know if Rowan is just an Anglicization of Ruadhan or if it's an alternate pronunciation like how Caoimhe can also be Kweeva.
Well, on to figuring out how to break the news to my family haha! Thank you all for your input!
