I love the name Niamh too. Anglicized though, I prefer Neeve because it seems closer to the Irish version to me. I'd also suggest Tierney or Keely, which I think pair well with Nolan.
I think just go with Niamh. People have to deal with other cultures and their differences in spellings. Plus there are loads of people in the USA with Irish roots. In the UK most people know how to pronounce Niamh and even name their children it and that wouldn't have happened if every Irish person living here had anglised it.
What about Fiona? My daughter’s name is Finley & we call her Finn quite often. Both names are variations of old Gaelic name Finnoulah (not certain of the spelling as I’ve seen many variations!).
Mar 21, 2023·edited Mar 21, 2023Liked by Emma Waterhouse
I have 3 daughters - Catriona, Ailios and Liusaidh - Scottish Gaelic.
I live in Scotland and people still get them all wrong. My point is that I wouldn't just not use a name because it feels too foreign for the locals. Once you teach someone your childs name, they will know from that point on. I have great trouble with Ailios, its pronounced the same as we would pronounce Eilish here in Scotland but I note that it was said Billie Eilish taught people how to pronounce it...... but I don't think thats how we would pronounce it 🤔we say Ay - lish gaelic for Alice.
I love the name Niamh too. Anglicized though, I prefer Neeve because it seems closer to the Irish version to me. I'd also suggest Tierney or Keely, which I think pair well with Nolan.
I think just go with Niamh. People have to deal with other cultures and their differences in spellings. Plus there are loads of people in the USA with Irish roots. In the UK most people know how to pronounce Niamh and even name their children it and that wouldn't have happened if every Irish person living here had anglised it.
What about Fiona? My daughter’s name is Finley & we call her Finn quite often. Both names are variations of old Gaelic name Finnoulah (not certain of the spelling as I’ve seen many variations!).
I love it when you give the phonetic spelling of Irish names!
It is a difficult language to learn and I'm wrong most of the time
when I guess! Thank you!
I like Fiona and Fia would be a good nickname.
I have 3 daughters - Catriona, Ailios and Liusaidh - Scottish Gaelic.
I live in Scotland and people still get them all wrong. My point is that I wouldn't just not use a name because it feels too foreign for the locals. Once you teach someone your childs name, they will know from that point on. I have great trouble with Ailios, its pronounced the same as we would pronounce Eilish here in Scotland but I note that it was said Billie Eilish taught people how to pronounce it...... but I don't think thats how we would pronounce it 🤔we say Ay - lish gaelic for Alice.