Saturday, October 16, 2010

Go Green: Use a Gaelic Name

I've always loved Gaelic names. They're exotic, yet useable, and some are already familiar to Americans: Sinead, pronounced (shin-ADE), from the "Nothing Compares 2 U" singer; Siobhan (shi-VAUN), who competed in a season of American Idol, and Sean (Shawn) are some good examples. Some other "Irish" names that are well known in the U.S., but aren't necessarily fresh:

Shannon
Brian
Fiona
Brady
Maureen/Doreen/Eileen, and all the other "eens"
I could go on, but you'd get bored. The exciting Gaelic names, that deserve to be more well known on the U.S.' shores, are:

Girls:

Niamh (Neev)
Sorcha (Soar-ka, or Soar-uh-ka)
Saoirse (Seer-sha or Sare-sha)
Fionnuala (Finn-oo-la)
Grainne (Grawn-ya)
Maeve (Mayve)
Caitriona (Catrina)
Aoife (EE-fa)
Emer (EE-mer)
Bebhinn (BAY-vin)
Aoibheann (EEV-in)
Caoimhe (Keeva or Kwee-va)
Orla (Oar-la)
Nollaig (Null-ig)
Sadhbh (Sive)

Boys:
Oisin (USH-een)
Lorcan
Lachlan (Lock-lin)
Tadhg (TYG)
Breccan
Diarmuid (DEER-mid)
Tierney
Finn
Angus
Fergus
Padraig (PAW-drig)
Piran
Niall (NYE-ul)
Phelan (Fay-lin)
Eoin (Owen)

This is not, of course, a comprehensive list, but it gives a pretty good picture of the awesome names we're missing out on over here! I love Niamh as a middle name, as well as Tadhg, and definitely have soft spots for Aoibheann, Lorcan, and Saoirse as well. What names do you like? Know any great Gaelic names I should have included?

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