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01-23-2013 at 5:24 PM
EmeraldSea
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girls names w/ a bit o'irish

Still in the early stages here and while I have an inkling it may be a boy (which is great because we already have a name picked out!) everyone else thinks girl. We are going back and forth through a bunch of names.

We'd like something Irish - either traditional Irish name or a variation on an Irish word or name.

On the table:

- Mara (Irish variation of the word "sea" but also means "bitter". The sea is a big part of our lives and his mother's name is a variation of Mary so I like the idea of this a lot. Also.. how would YOU pronounce it?)

- Cora 

- Clare (spelling chosen as it is the traditional Irish spelling)

- Charlotte (a family named.. I think I prefer it as the middle though!)

- Gillian (DH loves this but our last name also starts with a "G" and I don't love the double double ... amusing since my first name is a "G' though...)

 Other names that float in my head which DH hasn't given thoughts on: Saoirse, Mairead, Aisling

 

Just looking for feedback (I appreciate thoughtful criticism too - if you hate something, could you tell me why? even if it is "I knew a girl with that name and she was nasty"!)
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01-23-2013 at 5:29 PM
mj.reilly
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Love Mara/Maura and Clare. LOVE. Maura is in my top 5.
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01-23-2013 at 5:52 PM
AnnieBN
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Nice choices! My favorites from your list are Cora, Clare, and Mara.

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01-23-2013 at 6:10 PM
snowybride...
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I like all of those names.  I'd pronounce Mara as mah rah
 
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01-23-2013 at 6:16 PM
plunderb
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I really like Mara and Mairead.

I really dislike Saoirse. To me, it is similar to naming your kid Jihad. Sure, lots of positive meanings, but it's really hard to ignore the politics.
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01-23-2013 at 6:35 PM
Fletch82
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I love Mara (it's in our top 10) and Cora. Clare and Charlotte are ok. Gillian is NMS.

Aislin,  Alonna, Faline, Renny, Una, Tegan are some Irish names that are a little less common if you're looking for that.

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01-23-2013 at 6:42 PM
BabyShante...
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This!
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01-23-2013 at 6:45 PM
EmeraldSea
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plunderb:
I really like Mara and Mairead. I really dislike Saoirse. To me, it is similar to naming your kid Jihad. Sure, lots of positive meanings, but it's really hard to ignore the politics.

 

Good point! Which may be why DH hasn't really reacted one way or another on this one. 

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01-23-2013 at 6:52 PM
jallascall...
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I like all your names, but particularly Mairead and Aisling. I have to agree with the other poster, while Saoirse's meaning, "freedom" is in itself pretty cool, it has such a strong connection to the violence in Northern Ireland that I don't think I could use it. 

 Other nice Irish girl names: Oona, Siobhan, Maeve, Roisin, Nuala, Orla, Aine. 
 
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01-23-2013 at 6:57 PM
EmarieDuke
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I like all of the names, but the only one that I even identify as "Irish" is Mara. I wouldn't even put the rest of them in that category.

I would pronounce Mara... Mare - a same as Cara. I like the Maura spelling as I find it lends itself to the pronounciation Mar - a which I prefer.
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01-23-2013 at 7:26 PM
wcvsb3b5
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I like Mara. I would pronounce it Marr-uh. Cora and Clare are both cute. I like Charlotte, but it is very popular. I'm not a fan of Gillian just because I don't care for the hard G sound.
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01-23-2013 at 7:30 PM
luminousbl...
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Love them all with the exception of Gillian, not sure why...maybe cause if were to be shortened I would want to call her "Gill". Also agree about the double G.

 I think my favorites are Mara and Clare and then Cora but they are all fantastic. The only Maras I've ever known pronounced it "M-ah-ra" 
 
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01-23-2013 at 7:32 PM
ChristyD6
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Mara - like, I say it Mar Rah

Cora- love

Clare like

Charlotte love

Gillian- I prefer Jillian, and I have no idea if Gillian is the correct Irish spelling

Saoirse, Mairead, Aislin- I don't have any experience with these names so I would probably butcher the prounciation and for that reason I say no to these.

What about Maddigan? I think that's an Irish name :)

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01-23-2013 at 8:01 PM
Wolfie615
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jallascalla:

 Other nice Irish girl names: Oona, Siobhan, Maeve, Roisin, Nuala, Orla, Aine. 

I was going to suggest Siobhan and Maeve also. I love Clare, Charlotte and Mara.

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01-23-2013 at 9:59 PM
katrinabam...
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I know a couple of Maras - none of them Irish! 

What about Aven?  http://www.babynames.com/name/Aven
 
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01-23-2013 at 10:05 PM
Dancer0919
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My favorite Irish names are Kelly, Megan, Maeve, and Cora
 
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01-23-2013 at 10:23 PM
audbeach
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snowybride08:
I like all of those names.  I'd pronounce Mara as mah rah

This.  I also LOVE the name Aisling, but I think it would be mispronounced all the time.
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01-23-2013 at 10:33 PM
swimiz500
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Absolutely love Mara, hands down favorite, though I do like your whole list! 
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01-23-2013 at 11:47 PM
gimmietimm...
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wcvsb3b5:
I like Mara. I would pronounce it Marr-uh. Cora and Clare are both cute. I like Charlotte, but it is very popular. I'm not a fan of Gillian just because I don't care for the hard G sound.
Gillian=Jillian no hard g.
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01-24-2013 at 2:57 AM
RoryorHenr...
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I love Aisling. We named our daughter Rory even though its a boys name. If we have another dd we will probably go for a more traditional Irish girls name.
 
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01-24-2013 at 5:05 AM
Kimbus22
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I say Mara, rhymes with Clara. I have no idea if that's right or not.  I love Mara Charlotte.

Cora is all right but doesn't get me jumping out of my chair.  Clare I like but it seems like it's been very popular lately.  Gillian would actually be my second choice after Mara. I think it's pretty and you don't hear it much any more.

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01-24-2013 at 6:27 AM
Joy2611
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I looooove Mairead.

I dislike Clare. It's so painfully boring.
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01-24-2013 at 9:11 AM
MelRC117
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I like Mara the best.  I feel Clare and Charlotte are getting too popular and the little bit of Irish "feel" will get lost.  Cora is just eh to me, I don't get the appeal of it. 

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01-24-2013 at 9:24 AM
EmeraldSea
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ChristyD6:

What about Maddigan? I think that's an Irish name :)

 

Oh no. "Maddy" names are very much NMS! Maddigan, Madison... all of them are not great for me. I do like Madeline but inevitably people would go to Maddie as a nickname - I just couldn't do that to a child. 

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01-24-2013 at 10:29 AM
Iloveshane...
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I love Cora! I like Mara and Charlotte! I prefer Jillian and Clara!
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01-24-2013 at 1:44 PM
kmawb
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I like Mara (pronounced Ma-ra, Maura to me is pronounced Mo-ra).

I also like Aislinn/Aislin (was our #2 name), Cayleen, Quinn, Reagan, and Shea for Irish influenced names.
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01-24-2013 at 4:29 PM
KateB1984
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I love Clare and Saoirse. I like Mara too.
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01-24-2013 at 7:20 PM
Lawler89
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I like Mara Clare for a full name
 
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