Tips For Choosing An Irish Name For Your Baby
There are a number of things to bear in mind when choosing a name for your baby and
one place to start is to explore your cultural background and roots. America being the great melting pot chances are there are some fantastic names if you look back through your own family. The number of Irish Americans for example is humongous and Irish baby names may prove to be a wonderful source of inspiration. Genealogy tends to be an interest that kicks in when people get to about forty years old so that probably hasn't happened yet if you're reading this. But it's a great place to look.
For some people the traditional route may be the one to follow. Naming your son or daughter after their grandparents or perhaps using the middle name may be a good way to please and honour your parents. The thing to be careful of is to make sure all grandparents are represented as you can easily put someone's nose out of joint.
Another crucial thing to think about when choosing a name for your baby is the surname that the name is going to be said with. One tip here is to say the names out loud, both quickly and slowly, and in front of other people to see how they sound. Some names will be difficult to say together. Others will have an entirely different meaning when run together!
Places to find baby names
There are lots of websites and books with baby names and sometimes the choice is too big. One unusual place to find names especially if you're a history buff is to take a walk through an old cemetery. You can find wonderful and unusual old-fashioned names on crumbling headstones. The cemetery in Mount Jerome is a wonderful place to visit and was the first privately owned cemetery in Ireland with graves and tombs dating back to the 1830's with a number of famous writers interred there. It's a great source of inspiration for Irish baby names.
Lots of people take names from their favourite actors and actresses and Sophia was the most popular girls name in the US last year. Sophia Loren is a famous and formidable bearer of the name. The name Isabella was the second most popular, so Isabella Rossellini must be pleased. Unfortunately, no Irish baby girls names feature in the top ten for 2011. For boys, the name Michael was the sixth most popular. This Irish baby boys name has strong Irish associations and there is a string of famous people, such as the pivotal historical figure Michael Collins and actor Michael Fassbinder, with the name.
Many of the Irish baby names are difficult to pronounce and to spell and you may want to take this into account when choosing one. For example, the name Shaun has become more popular in English speaking countries outside of Ireland than the Irish name Sen that it comes from. Many other Irish baby names have been Anglicised, or Americanised, for ease of use but still have strong Irish connotations.
The situation is quite different in France where there is a prescribed list from which a first name must be chosen. In Denmark also there is a prescribed list of about 3,000 boys names and 4,000 girls names to choose from. If you want a different one you have to get permission. Danish law also stipulates that girls and boys must have different names. In Brazil, you are not allowed give a name that might confer ridicule on the child. And in China you cannot name your child using a character that cannot be read by computer.
In Ireland there was a tradition of giving the first son the name of the father's father and the first daughter the name of the mother's mother. The second son was named after the mother's father, the third son after the father and the fourth after the father's eldest brother. The second daughter was named after the father's mother, the third after the mother and the fourth after the mother's eldest sister. However, this tradition has long since died out.
But the main thing to remember about which of the many Irish baby names to choose is to keep it personal and to use your gut instinct. At the end of the day it has to feel right when you look at your baby.
by: Sinead Murphy
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