We are lucky to have so many beautiful – and unique – baby names at our disposal.
Names that tie us to our history, mythology, culture and ancestors.
And we know that many modern-day parents love passing these historically uniquely Irish names on to their little ones.
However, beautiful and unique as these monikers are – and they really are – they sure can pose a bit of a challenge when you encounter foreigners or travel abroad.
The Irish names you might run into some confusion with when leaving Ireland? Well, these ones for sure:
1. Sadhbh
Despite the tricky spelling, the pronunciation is actually rather straightforward – Sive. However, you might need to point this out a few times to anyone not Irish!
2. Donnchadh
Just watch them sweat trying to get this one right. A tip when explaining the name: Remember the 'ch' here is pronounced as a 'k'. And the 'dh' is totally silent....Don-Acka.
3. Caoimhe
You might get a lot of 'caym-hey' or 'kohm-hey' when someone non-Irish first sees this name spelt. However, if you need an easy way to phonetically spell it out to someone, just tell them it's 'Kwee-va.'
4. Oisín
Another one that is bound to cause some confusion. Relax – it's just 'o-shin.'
5. Siobhán
As a foreigner, I totally pronounced this name is Sio-ban for the first few months in Ireland. Until somebody was kind enough to tell me it's simply Shiv-wan.
6. Domnhall
Nope, it's not 'Dom-nal' but rather 'Dough-null.' Geddit?
7. Aoife
I went to a wedding once, where the (foreign) priest pronounced the bride's name as 'Oafy' – when, it was, of course, Aoife. Ee-fa. Simples.
8. Tadhg
Tag? Tad? Nope, it's 'Tii-ge.'
9. Grainne
No, it's not 'Granny' or 'Grainy' – but rather 'Gro-nja' – I know, I struggled too!
10. Ruaidhri
Just imagine a Starbucks barista trying to get this one right! Say it with us, it's simple 'rue-ree.'
11. Meadhbh
You can literally envision people turning pale trying to figure out how the heck to pronounce this name. Well, it's just 'May-ve' – see, easy?!
