Baby girl name

[indigomama]

We are waiting to adopt, and to keep my mind off the wait I've been thinking of baby names. We have two options for a boy, but cannot agree at all on a girls name. 

 

My current favorite is Niamh - pronounced knee +v. I love, love, love this name, but DH is not so sure. So, I thought I'd ask the hive. 

 

What do you think of the name. Also, I like the traditional Irish spelling, thoughts on alternative spellings? I figure most of the time people will hear the name before they see it spelt, so it shouldn't be too big of a deal. 

[Tap]

I have absolutely no idea how that pronunciation comes from that combination of letters.  LOL 

 

Sorry, not crazy about it but I wouldn't think twice if someone named their child that.  

[Storygirl]

I think it is a lovely name, but I don't think anyone will ever pronounce it correctly. I often see a name written before I hear it pronounced, so I wouldn't count on that helping. I once knew someone named Neva, which was unusual but easy to know how to pronounce. I would vote for an alternate spelling of Niamh if you don't want her to have problems with the pronunciation for her whole life. It's an issue to consider.

[wendyroo]

Neave is listed here as an alternate spelling.

 

or you could spell it Neve like Eve or Steve.

 

I think spelling it Niamh would mean people were forever mangling the pronunciation.

 

Wendy

[catz]

LOL - I know a child with this name ( spelling and pronunciation).  And no, it is never ever spelled or pronounced correctly.

[bibiche]

I like it,  knew how it was pronounced, and prefer it spelled that way. But then, I also like the name (and spellings) of Aoife and Saoirse.  And I dislike the name Siobhan spelled "Chevonne." 

 

Go with the name you like and the spelling you like. I have a name that people mispronounce and spell wrong all the time and really, it has never bothered me and I rather like having a relatively unusual name.

[Scarlett]

I have a very unusual name. I have had to explain and spell it many many times in my life. But I do have to say that once people knew it they never forget it.

[Caribbean Queen]

Don't really like it.  Hate the spelling.  Sorry.

[Stacia]

I have absolutely no idea how that pronunciation comes from that combination of letters.  LOL 

 

That was exactly my thought. I've seen the name previously, but had no idea how it was pronounced, so thanks for posting this!

 

I think it's very pretty & I love unusual names. I'd go with your spelling.

[indigomama]

OP here. My name is very unusual as well, and has very rarely been spelled correctly or pronounced correctly. The spelling part never really bothered me, the pronunciation part was annoying, but I'm just used to it I guess. 

 

I do like hearing everyone's thoughts, though. So, don't feel bad if you don't like the name, I won't take it personally  :D

 

As for the spelling, my American understanding is that "mh" in Gaelic is a soft "v" sound.

[UnionJack]

I love it.  :)  I'm reading Orphan Train right now and the name of one of the (Irish) characters is Niamh.  I love the spelling.

[ThisIsTheDay]

Love the name. Hate the spelling.  I feel guilty saying it, but I think you are asking for honest opinions.

[Jasperstone]

I agree that's it's a beautiful name, but the spelling of it isn't.

 

What about Nevie?

[Tsuga]

Are you Celtic? If not, I'd drop the Celtic spelling and do the alternate. I believe in choosing a name you love. You can never please everyone so let the name be a family affair.

 

That said, as the mom of two kids with ethnic names, if anyone here is under the impression that phonetic spelling will help people with an unfamiliar name, you are in for a huge disappointment.

 

My daughter's names are transliterated as the language they are from has a different alphabet. So every sound has a letter, every letter has a sound. And they are the common letters for the sounds.

 

But--people cannot do it. They cannot sound out long words. I would say about half the population, based on whether or not they can sound out a phonetic three-syllable name, is functionally illiterate.

 

Nevie, people will pronounce "neh-vie" as in, rhymes sort of with necktie. I KNOW "Stevie" is spelled like that. Believe me, people's brains don't work that way.

 

It is very sad.

[Catwoman]

We are waiting to adopt, and to keep my mind off the wait I've been thinking of baby names. We have two options for a boy, but cannot agree at all on a girls name.

 

My current favorite is Niamh - pronounced knee +v. I love, love, love this name, but DH is not so sure. So, I thought I'd ask the hive.

 

What do you think of the name. Also, I like the traditional Irish spelling, thoughts on alternative spellings? I figure most of the time people will hear the name before they see it spelt, so it shouldn't be too big of a deal.

Unless you are planning to move to Ireland, please don't saddle your baby with a name that no one will ever be able to pronounce or spell. You may love the name, but your child will have to deal with a lot of ridicule as a child, and will have a lifetime of "explaining" her name.

 

I'm sorry to say that, because I know you love the name, but the way it is spelled is so unusual that I really think you'd be signing your kid up for a lifetime of wishing she was named something else.

 

Could you use it as a middle name?

[Tammi K]

I like the name and the spelling. I'm partial to Irish names. But, I think she will have a life long battle with people mispronouncing it.

 

However, if you like it I think you should use it. There are worse things in the world then having to say, "Actually it's pronounced 'Neeve' "  And those who know her will catch on quickly.  

 

That being said, I wanted to name my youngest Declan Rhys and my husband vetoed the idea because he didn't think Americans would know what to make of it.  So we opted be a more traditional first name and kept Rhys for the middle name. DH was right - most people mispronounce it the first time. (For some reason people think it's 'rice') 

[JFSinIL]

If you must use it has her first name, give her a middle name easier to pronounce and spell, or a nickname, for daily use.

[Lab1]

We went modern after my informal survey revealed that no one could pronounce my son Alister's name. They still can't spell it, but they say it right.

 

Then my DH fell in love with the name Moira and used it for one of our twins. I thought it was pronouncable. Every single nurse at the hospital got it wrong. I thought surely everyone has seen Peter Pan. Its one of Wendy's middle names. Nope, I get blank stares. Its unspellable and mispronounced constantly. I can't get my MIL to pronounce it right! It's been a frustration I hadn't planned on! I thought her twin named Giselle would be the hard one, but we've only had one person say it weird.

[LostSurprise]

We kept the unusual ethnic names as middle names in our family. Lots of kids can have different reactions to an unusual names (especially @11-14), so I wanted the ethnic name to be the super secret beautiful jewel that they could hide as a middle name or wear proudly instead of their first name. 

 

I have one sibling with a very unusual German first name. He's always gone by his middle name. Even though the first name is phonetically as it looks, no one has ever gotten it right. It is completely unfamiliar and more than one syllable. They give up right there. This sibling is not embarrassed by the name. He doesn't hate it. As he's aged, he's actually found it amusing and interesting. But public school with it could be a chore and we moved a lot. He fell back on what was easier and hid it for several years. 

 

 

[KrissiK]

Well, my honest opinion, having not read any of the replies.... it's pretty, but the poor child will have to spend her entire life explaining to others how to pronounce her name and how to spell it. I've had to put up with a moderate amount of that, and my name is not unusual, there are just a couple different ways to spell it.

[Guest]

I would only use this name with an Anglicized spelling. We had a similar name consideration before. Dd's name, had she been a boy, was set to be Reece. The traditional spelling is Rhys. While I think it would be interesting to harken back to our ancestral roots, there was no way I was going to use a spelling that would constantly mess with English-speaking folks.

[wendyroo]

My niece was born while the family was living in Germany.  My BIL and SIL thought it was important to name her something that was easily pronounced in both German and English (their older son's name was virtually unpronounceable in German causing all sorts of confusion).  The name they chose was easily pronounced in both, but it was pronounced differently.

 

For the first two years of her life, niece's name was pronounced one way, and then when they moved back to the states the pronunciation changed.  They didn't do it abruptly, but SIL was so opposed to niece having to constantly explain that her name wasn't pronounced like everyone thought it would be that the family just gradually went with the flow, didn't correct teachers/nurses/friends and let their own pronunciation shift.

 

Wendy

[Desert Strawberry]

I've known a few little girls named Niamh, all pronounced Nev. I like the name, but I would not use the traditional spelling. 

[Tanaqui]

I have absolutely no idea how that pronunciation comes from that combination of letters.  LOL

 

It makes perfect sense - if you happen to read Irish Gaelic. Actually, Irish orthography is more transparent than English once you understand it, isn't it?

 

[indigomama]

OK, lots to consider. My name as I mentioned before is very rarely pronounced correctly. But it's my name, you know.

 

For those who think it's just asking for trouble, do you think it's an even worse idea for a child who will have special needs, and might have speech difficulties? 

 

Maybe I need to find another name that might be easier, that I like. Any suggestions? I like somewhat unique, but not crazy (besides Niamh, apparently) feminine names.

[Loowit]

My youngest has a Irish name with a traditional, rather than Anglicized spelling.  He does have people mispronounce it at first much of the time, but he is quick to correct them.  He loves his name.  I say go for it, I think it is a beautiful name.

[Word Nerd]

Are you Irish or do you live in an area where traditional Irish spellings are common? If not, I'd choose a different name or use an English variation on the spelling. It's also difficult to pronounce correctly. Is it nev, neev, or nee-iv? I've heard all three.

[wendyroo]

OK, lots to consider. My name as I mentioned before is very rarely pronounces correctly. But it's my name, you know.

 

For those who think it's just asking for trouble, do you think it's an even worse idea for a child who will have special needs, and might have speech difficulties? 

 

I need to find another name that might be easier, that I like. Any suggestions? I like somewhat unique, but not crazy (besides Niamh, apparently). I like feminine names.

 

Unique, feminine, Irish, easy to say...

 

Brynn, Adara, Neala, Carys, Una, Lilybet (Lily), Calla, Tallulah (Tallie), Wynne

[indigomama]

Unique, feminine, Irish, easy to say...

 

Brynn, Adara, Neala, Carys, Una, Lilybet (Lily), Calla, Tallulah (Tallie), Wynne

 

It doesn't have to be Irish. Not a fan of any of those names  :o

[indigomama]

Are you Irish or do you live in an area where traditional Irish spellings are common? If not, I'd choose a different name or use an English variation on the spelling. It's also difficult to pronounce correctly. Is it nev, neev, or nee-iv? I've heard all three.

 

I might be Irish somewhere down the line, but not something I particularly identify with. I just liked the name, and aesthetically I don't like the look of Neeve or Neve or Neave, or really any of the other variations. 

 

I am pronouncing it like Steve with an "N", instead of the "St".

 

My name is largely associated with being African American, in fact I am the only white person I've ever met with my name. But it never bothered me.

[Surprise Symphony]

We are waiting to adopt, and to keep my mind off the wait I've been thinking of baby names. We have two options for a boy, but cannot agree at all on a girls name. 

 

My current favorite is Niamh - pronounced knee +v. I love, love, love this name, but DH is not so sure. So, I thought I'd ask the hive. 

 

What do you think of the name. Also, I like the traditional Irish spelling, thoughts on alternative spellings? I figure most of the time people will hear the name before they see it spelt, so it shouldn't be too big of a deal. 

 

Go with what you love!   I have an uncommon name in the US and a fairly common (elsewhere) name that is mispronounced (in my opinion) on a current (US) TV show and also in an older Barbie movie, but the people I know and love try very hard to pronounce it the way I prefer  it .  I'm very patient with strangers (My name listed on the board here is a halved and shortened  "Americanized" version).   I named my three kids easy to spell, easy-to-pronounce, easy-to-read American names, and people STILL misspell and mispronounce them regularly. 

 

Go with what you love.  Folks who care about you will get it right.  Your daughter's friends will likely meet her and hear her name before they see it spelled and will not have any trouble at all.

[Desert Strawberry]

 

 

For those who think it's just asking for trouble, do you think it's an even worse idea for a child who will have special needs, and might have speech difficulties? 

 

I think it would be rather cruel to give a difficult name to a child with likely or known speech problems.

[indigomama]

I think it would be rather cruel to give a difficult name to a child with likely or known speech problems.

 

But, I don't think it's difficult to say, once the pronunciation is known. Do you think saying it is actually hard, or that she'd have to explain/correct it? 

 

I wouldn't want to be "cruel" to my daughter by any means! 

[Desert Strawberry]

I don't think it's hard to say, but it would be hard to communicate to someone who is unfamiliar with it, especially if spelling it out isn't helpful. I would choose something easily recognizable. 

[bibiche]

I don't think it is "cruel" or that you would be "saddling" your daughter with this beautiful name even if it might be unusual for most people.  It's a perfectly lovely name, and one I am sure your daughter would be proud to have. If you scroll down on this link, someone with the name talks about the perceived difficulties and how little they matter compared to how much she loves her name. In any case, it is popular enough in Ireland and the UK now so it will probably become more common here.  Look at names like Siobhan, Sinead, Aisling, Moira, Gianna, Juan, Liam, Schuyler -  people were probably unsure  of the pronunciation the first time they saw them but now I think most people don't have problems with them.  

 

When people mispronounce my name, I correct them and that's that. No trauma and there never was, even when I was a very shy child. 

 

I'd much rather have a child with an unusual name than have her be one of thirteen other Isabellas or Avas, Sophias or Emmas in her playgroup. 

[indigomama]

I don't think it is "cruel" or that you would be "saddling" your daughter with this beautiful name even if it might be unusual for most people.  It's a perfectly lovely name, and one I am sure your daughter would be proud to have. If you scroll down on this link, someone with the name talks about the perceived difficulties and how little they matter compared to how much she loves her name. In any case, it is popular enough in Ireland and the UK now so it will probably become more common here.  Look at names like Siobhan, Sinead, Aisling, Moira, Liam, Schuyler -  people were probably unsure  of the pronunciation the first time they saw them but now I think most people don't have problems with them.  

 

When people mispronounce my name, I correct them and that's that. No trauma and there never was, even when I was a very shy child. 

 

I'd much rather have a child with an unusual name than have her be one of thirteen other Isabellas or Avas, Sophias or Emmas in her playgroup. 

 

Thank you for the link! And the kind words :)

[HS Mom in NC]

I would spell it the way it sounds to avoid confusion.  My instincts would be to spell it Neeve or Neev. Not that I think that those spellings would solve all confusion, but I think it would reduce it significantly.  My experience with adults who had names with unusual spellings is that they usually hate it and think it was an unnecessary hassle.  There was something that went around of FB in the last couple of years reaffirming that.

 

My daughters are Faith, Mercy and Hope.  People want to know if Mercy is spelled with an "i" or "ie".  Nope.  I went with the standard spelling.  They usually hear "Marcy"  when she's introduced without her sisters.  When it's with her sisters they hear "Mercy." You do the best you can, but sometimes people are just going to be confused.

 

I hope you get adopt soon!  We adopted our youngest was adopted from S. Korea.

[Chris in VA]

If you are looking for something else...

 

I like to look at meanings of names to help me choose. I also look at what's available in our families.

Unfortunately, there's a dirth of male names on my side--not horrible names, but not our tastes (Arthur, Gustav, Herman, Donald, Dean....all perfectly fine, but not what we wanted).

 

Maybe you can find a certain trait or hope for your child and see what names that calls up.

[indigomama]

If you are looking for something else...

 

I like to look at meanings of names to help me choose. I also look at what's available in our families.

Unfortunately, there's a dirth of male names on my side--not horrible names, but not our tastes (Arthur, Gustav, Herman, Donald, Dean....all perfectly fine, but not what we wanted).

 

Maybe you can find a certain trait or hope for your child and see what names that calls up.

 

I agree. I often look at meanings of names. DH really wants a virtue somewhere in the name, as we have used with our other girls. I thought Niamh Joy= Radiant Joy sounded pretty and would ring true. We are so excited to be adopting.

 

My family had really bad names, most of the time :) Grandmas: Amy (ok), Birdie (not ok!), GG: Delphina, Bertha, Marianna, and Cecelia (which is also an aunt, who would not want us to use her name). 

 

I like (but not totally sure on ):

Charlotte

Layla

Hazel (but our last name starts with H, and it sounds weird)

[LibraryLover]

 

 

My family had really bad names, most of the time :) Grandmas: Amy (ok), Birdie (not ok!), GG: Delphina, Bertha, Marianna, and Cecelia (which is also an aunt, who would not want us to use her name). 

 

 

Those are bad names?  I think they are rather nice. I especially love Birdie!  Delphina, and Cecelia are lovely as well.

 

I've often wondered where and when Bertha took a bad turn. Funny how that happens.

[Tammyla]

The first name is pretty, but could cause difficulty.  (I have an uncommon name, and it is almost always pronounced incorrectly; it was awkward and occasionally embarrassing as a kid) especially on first days anywhere my name was called.

 

But, I love, love, love Charlotte.

[indigomama]

Those are bad names?  I think they are rather nice. I especially love Birdie!  Delphina, and Cecelia are lovely as well.

 

I've often wondered where and when Bertha took a bad turn. Funny how that happens.

 

My Grandma Birdie was .....mentally unstable, I don't think the rest of my family would want me to use the name, and I just couldn't call a child "Birdie". Delphina (it might have been spelled Delfina) is an odd name to me and again another animal name. 

 

And Bertha, it just sounds ...harsh. 

[Susan in TN]

Now that I understand it is Gaelic, I love it (spelling too). It was confusing at first, but see how fast I'm catching on? :D I'm guessing that will be the case for most people who will be in her life on a regular basis.

 

P.S. Congratulations on your adoption!

[Guest]

OK, lots to consider. My name as I mentioned before is very rarely pronounced correctly. But it's my name, you know.

 

For those who think it's just asking for trouble, do you think it's an even worse idea for a child who will have special needs, and might have speech difficulties?

 

Maybe I need to find another name that might be easier, that I like. Any suggestions? I like somewhat unique, but not crazy (besides Niamh, apparently) feminine names.

How about Maeve? Mavis? Avery?

[indigomama]

How about Maeve? Mavis? Avery?

 

 

I forgot!!! I also love Maeve and Avery! 

 

But my boys say Avery is a boy name, because it was in Charlotte's Web :)

[Guest]

I forgot!!! I also love Maeve and Avery!

 

But my boys say Avery is a boy name, because it was in Charlotte's Web :)

 

 

Pfffft! What do they know! I was just talking to a new mama with a baby girl Avery.

[Chris in VA]

I have an Avery in my preschool class. It's an "up and coming" name.

It means Elf Counsel.

Are you a LotR fan, by any chance? :laugh:

[Storygirl]

What about Joy, since you know you love it? It is easy to pronounce and has a definite meaning that would be particularly special for an adopted child. You could go with Joy Niamh.

[indigomama]

What about Joy, since you know you love it? It is easy to pronounce and has a definite meaning that would be particularly special for an adopted child. You could go with Joy Niamh.

 

I don't like the name Joy enough for a first name, middle name yes, but not a name I will call her. I've tried to look up names meaning Joy and I haven't found any I like either.