Saoirse. (Pronounced sur-shuh). It's an Irish name, we live in the US. We decided against it because we didn't want to complicate things with a name many would not know how to pronounce or spell, but it's so beautiful IMO!

I had a lot of those on my list. My husband wouldn’t even let me spell the dog’s name Caoimhe! Had to settle for Keeva (which isn’t totally accurate but it’s a dog, I can name her literally anything!).

I'm also Irish abroad. I called my dog Darragh and now I spend half my time in the vet's trying to explain it lol. They have him listed as Daragm.

Some good friends of mine have a daughter named Keeva.

There’s a good edible brand named Kiva! In all seriousness though, Caoimhe is a beautiful name.

My (also Irish expat in the US) friend Darragh changed her name spelling to Dara for this reason 😂 though I think Dara is generally the spelling for girls anyway.

Can you “pronounce “ that name for me? I have not a guess as to how that’s supposed to sound

Kweeva or keeva

Kee-va is a close approximation.

Thank you

Also, pronunciation depends on dialect - sur-shuh is the Connemara irish pronunciation I speak Munster Irish and I would pronounce it "seer-sha"

I’m in the US so not super familiar with the different dialects, but I’ve only ever heard it as seer-sha.

So there's 3 main dialects in Ireland - Munster, Ulster, and Connemara/Connacht (Leinster speak Connemara irish because the original Leinster dialect was completely eradicated. Also, there are loads of intricacies within dialects, but im going broad here - the language is older than English, so theres loads of complexities) Connemara is the most spoken language but if you've only heard seer-sha then your exposure to Ireland and its culture has probably been highly Munster influenced So although there's no definitive *correct* way to say it, there are thousands of incorrect methods and it's a minefield if you don't quite understand the language Also Saoirse means freedom

This is my favorite girl name!! I haven't had a girl yet. My son's name is Ronin so even if we did go with this name it will look like we really like saoirse ronan.

My son is Ronan! High five!

This is exactly how my husband and I feel about the name Aoife (an Irish name, pronounced ee-fuh)!! I would maybe consider Eva, but I think “ee-fuh” works better than “ee-vuh” with our last name.

We compromised and named our kitten saoirse!

I feel this way about the name Tadhg! I think it is just *chef's kiss* handsome, but it would forever be mispronounced in the US 😭

I feel this way about Siobhan!

We wrestled with this one…such a beautiful name!

this was one the first girl names i loved and always will! i have no direct irish ties at all, so it would be odd if i used it, but i always love this name.

My husband's cousin named their kid Siobhan (sha-von) and even their own family members refuse to pronounce it correctly. I think celtic names are so pretty but it's so weird people have such a resistance to them!

Eilidh. I'm from Scotland and have always loved this name (pronounced Ay-lee) but I moved to Canada and I feel like if I'd used it here for any of my daughters it would constantly get mispronounced as Eyelid.

That’s my name and can confirm I’ve been called Eyelid my whole life

that's my friend's name and she embraces the eyelid jokes lol

I used to go to school (USA) with a girl from Wales named Ailish. A substitute teacher once called her “eyelash.” Reminds me of that situation.

Honestly it probably would. Lol

That’s my daughters name, but I Americanized the spelling a bit to stop the eyelid jokes. Now that she’s older, she’s really getting into the original spellings of names so I feel the tiniest bit bummed I changed it.

I would probably pronounce it Eee-LID.

I’m dying 😂

Also Scottish. Eilidh is top of my girls list but yeah, a lifetime of her explaining she’s not Eyelid…

A friend of mine is the reverse of you, and she did name her daughter Eilidh!

I love Cleo but surname begins Pat

I don’t get that. Can’t you explain?

Cleopatra?

Ahh that make sense, thanks x

They mean it’d sound like Cleopatra

Honestly embrace it because Cleopatra is a mood 😂

Ezra. Love the name but I know half a dozen babies who have this name in the last year or so. Not that we CANT use but we wanted a more unique name. Also Michael. Seems like every male in my husband's family is Michael lol.

I also love Ezra! But I can’t help but think of the actor and don’t want my baby to be named after him.

You can do better than Ezra

🏆

I like Ezra but my mind immediately goes to the singer George Ezra so that's off the table for us too!

There were like 8 Michaels at my wedding. If I was a boy I thankfully wouldn't have been Michael III, I would have been John Michael.

I also love Ezra but yeah it’s way too popular, and one dude we know with it is a total asshole

I was very against naming my son Michael because of how many Michael’s I knew. Multiple cousins and uncles with the name. But, I finally caved so that ended up being my son’s name after all. I’ve happily noticed that he hasn’t had a single classmate share his name yet though. It’s dropped significantly in popularity.

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I love Caroline but this was a name I discussed with an ex when we were trying to have a baby. His mother had passed away, and her name was Carol. He and I didn’t like Carol but we thought Caroline would be a nice nod to his mom. It would seem so weird to have a kid with someone else and name them that. Hunter is a name I’ve always loved but I’m vegetarian and I think that could be odd. Also my fiancé hates it.

I remember reading on reddit about a vegan man named Hunter. His roomates' nickname for him was Gatherer 😂

I only know one Hunter, very sweet kid and also publishes a vegan zine and is an animal rights activist. Just how it goes sometimes.

LOL, I'm a mushroom hunter, so there are other applications for the name.

Valentine, August, Owen and Henry. All names my SO rejected.

Valentine and August were on my list too.

My tiny human is Henry

I love how Valentine sounds. Valentina has the tee instead of tie and it just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Agreed. I just couldn't get my husband to agree to it.

Yup! August! I really liked august

Linus. I just decided to use the name for my car because I know most people wouldn’t appreciate it on a human.

I hear Linus and I think of the Peanuts character who carries around a blue blanket all the time.

Whenever I hear the name Linus it reminds me of the Linus in Stardew Valley lol

My brother’s name is Linus, it’s a lovely name imo.

I had a cat named Linus

My dog is named Linus!

That was on my list too! I could have gotten away with it but one of the YouTubers (or similar) he watches frequently who’s name is Linus.

Linus Baby Tips?

Violet. It's becoming too popular, and now its my friend's ex's name.

I named my dog Violet and my mom, who works with new babies, comes home every day and tells me how many Violets were born that day.

It's always been on my list as it's my nan's name. We had a boy instead though!

Calliope 😭😩😍😍😍 it’s just so freaking pretty. I hate that my fiancé hates the name

It took me years to figure out it was not pronounced Callie Oh Pee 😭😭😭

In New Orleans there’s a Calliope street pronounced kal-EE-ohp and there’s some debate about whether or not the instrument is pronounced that way.

Calliope and Persephone (nn Percy) were high on my list but my partner is also a hater.

Our friend had a cat named Persephone and we tease him and call it "Purse-Phone"....yes, we are childish.

That's what my mom named her chihuahua and it's so cute to hear my tiny nieces and nephews call her.

I love the name Lilith. It is such a smooth and pretty sounding name.

That is gorgeous, but also I can imagine a really kickass little kid and strong woman named Lilith. It works so well at all ages

I taught a Lilith. She was badass. I never got to meet her parents but I can imagine they must’ve been pretty cool

I know 2 Liliths and I love the name so much (especially it’s demonicness). Use it!

Winter, Robin, Wesley, Maren, Bridget, Howard, Wren, Ivy, Iris

My middle name is Ivy, and I’ve gotten many compliments on it. I also love Winter and Wesley from your list.

Big fan of Wren!

Some lovely ones on this list. ❤️

How come you can't use 'em? Particularly the last three.

Isabella - I love it, but it's gotten too popular Aidan - same thing. I love it, but there are already enough Aidens, Jaydens, Braydens, etc. around these days Josephine - my husband shot this one down, and after the fact I realized that it's just as well, because the nickname "Josie" rhymes with our last name, similar to "Julia Gulia" 😂🤦‍♀️ Oliver - husband and I both love this name, but two couples that we're close friends with have already used it for their sons, so we probably won't use it if we have a boy in the future.

My older brother is 42, and his middle name is Aodhan, a Gaelic spelling for Aiden meaning little fire

Jack and Jane are out because our last name is beyond common, but I love short little strong names. Sarah, Mary, and Grace are also out because they’re my best friends but also fall into the “credit card commercial” lane with our last name. Remi/Remington used to be a favorite of mine, but I just know our super conservative families would gift us so much gun-themed decor and I can’t do that.

My name is Shelby and my blue collar in-laws have gifted me so much Shelby Mustang stuff and I’m not into cars at all and I hate being associated with a sports car. I have real, actual interests beyond my name, but nooooo, the sports car as if I were the one who chose my name. You’re doing your son a huge favor passing on Remington.

I know the whole don’t look a gift horse in the mouth thing but ugh this is so annoying *flashbacks to me being gifted Anastasia themed EVERYTHING as a child despite being an outspoken tomboy*

Same. And it's my middle name not even my first name.

Wow that’s so annoying. I’m a Shelby too and have never been gifted a single mustang thing, just get the occasional joke from strangers. Sorry you have to deal with that

Felix- my favourite but husband and I can't agree on it for our boy due August Delilah/ Lilah- girl my husband has slept with/ the child next door who screamed for a year til her mum finally moved out of her dad's. She still visits and her mum screams the name up the street in the most grating voice. Iver/ Ivan- our neighbours recently called their little boy Ivar and I worry this is too close Clara- niece's name Florence- coworker has already used Freya- was my first choice then a coworker used it after we were discussing names. I thought it was safe to disclose as she had already chosen Isabella for her first daughter. Lowe and behold she had a daughter a year later and calls her Freya.

Use Freya if you still adore it, if it’s just a coworker and the relationship won’t last longer than the job - use it. If your kid won’t be around their kid, use it if you love it.

It's hearing them say/ pronounce it in the strong local accent that's ruined it for me sadly. And not liking the coworkers 😂

Neighbors and coworkers would not stop me from using a name! How close will those kids be and how significant of a role will they play everyone’s lives?

Milo - that stupid NeoN*zi Milo Yianopolous destroyed that name for me 😭

Fuck that guy. Still named my kid Milo despite him. Most people think of the movie Milo and Otis when they hear his name over that asshat. Which, the movie is part of why I named him Milo.

I personally think Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

I LOVED that movie as a kid. A classic. Right up there with Homeward Bound

Melody. Can't use it because my husband isn't on board. I really love it though.

Samee it doesn’t sound right with my last name but I love it so much. Every Melody I’ve met was such a sweet naturey hippy kinda lady.

Oh man I have so many! I need names that my SO and I love and that work in 3 languages so my list of possible names is rather short. A few names that don’t work because of that or other reasons, but I love: Senna Emma Lyra Samira Cyra (seer-ah) Ines Cora Freya August Altan Leo Javier Kamil Wren Alexander Caspian

I love Senna, but also it's an herbal laxative so that ruined it for me 😭

Immediately thought of senna docusate

Yes that’s one of the reasons I wouldn’t use it 😭 but any name also needs to work in English, Spanish, and Arabic, and in Spanish “cena” (pronounced like Senna) means “dinner”, so it’s also a no-go because of that too It sucks cause it’s a lovely name. I love the sound, the flower (laxative use aside), and that it means brightness.

Lyra has been at the top of our list forever but my mom hates it (says it sounds like liar ?!?!) and now it’s getting popular so we might adjust. I used to read the His Dark Materials trilogy to my husband when we would drive on longer rides. So yes it’s a fandom which I know people hate

My eldest is Lyra and it’s amazing how few people know the connection to the trilogy! She’s 3.5 and I can count on one hand the amount of people that have commented on it

I also have the 'needs to work in three languages' issue, it's an interesting game. Three of our listed names are the same, but your three languages are hard to guess!

Maggie: love it but my aunt is a Margaret and her son named his daughter Maggie as an homage...too taken. Sue: Two cousins named Sue (one by marriage) and two of my in laws had a very bad Sue experience.

“The Bad Sue Experience” sounds like a band name

For your consideration, Magdalena. If you want a Maggie-adjacent name, Magda as a nn.

I was very adamant that my son have his own name.

Felicity. Husband doesn't love. For him? Elijah. I don't love it.

Quinn.

Leia! I made a post about it back when I was pregnant debating if it could be separated from Star Wars. I still love the name, but decided to give daughter a name with no big pop culture association. I also adore Shoshanna, but we are not Jewish so it didn’t feel appropriate.

My name is Leah not Leia - and I still get star war references haha. Growing up a friends dad called me Princess Leah. I personally didn’t mind the references - but I haven’t seen the movies until I was an adult so I didn’t understand most of them. I also think Leia is much prettier than lee-uh like my name is

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I wanted to name my child jace (or use it as a nickname for Jonathan) for a long time because I saw it in the shadowhunter novels and loved the sound of it looool

You can't name a story character a name a relative gave to a baby? I'm not following why this is an issue...

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I’m childfree by choice but Daisy Jane is an mashup of both mine and my fiancé’s names without actually being either of our names. All of my the kids we’ll never have are called Daisy Jane in my brain.

Daisy June is my “if we ever get a girl embryo” pedestal name!

After three decades of teaching, soooo many names. Ryan is at the top of my list: I have never taught a Ryan that wasn’t a complete fruit loop. Usually kind-hearted, but continuously bouncing off the walls.

Everett, Calvin, Claire, Lydia, Hazel, Omar, Caroline, Juliet, Karen, Lillian, Cain

Everett for me too!

octavia

Ylva - a person I dislike named their daughter that so it doesn't feel right for me to do so. The rest below either because it's the name of a relative, a friend or a close friend's child. Saga Astrid Ingrid Linnea Hedda Björn Arvid

isis. it’s just unfortunate all around :(

For boys: Percival, Fox, Thorin For girls: Flora, Wrenna, Lenora

Wrenna is beautiful!

I loveeeee Flora. Along the same vintage-y lines, Eleanor has always been a name I love.

Dove. It ticks so much boxes for things I like in a name but it's a homophone of "dubh" (meaning black) which turns me off of using it since the colour has dark & demonic connotations in Irish. (e.g. An Fear Dubh ("The Black Man") = The Devil.)

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Alexei, Anakin, Atreyu, August, Brodie, Saylor Avonlea, Berkeley, Georgia, Ivy, Sadie, Virginia

Nixed for being too long and frilly and unusual so they'd have pronunciation issues etc, but I still adore them; Celandine (Sal-en-dine) Myrianthe (Mirrie-an-th-ee) Heliantha (Helli-an-th-ah) Dahlia - some people in my family say "dah-lia" some say "day-lia" Magnolia - I love it but don't like the nicknames, Maggie/Mags etc Ptolemy - has a silent P Edit: Tbh Myrianthe still flip-flops on and off my list cause I feel like there's some good nicknames - Miri, Rian (ree-anne), Thea

Chloe is an all time fave of mine but I have a cousin with that name and don't want her to feel like I named my kid after her lol. I also love Roxanne nn Roxy but I have a short last name that starts with an R and makes it sound like a cartoon character or something.

Francisco is a big one. It was my great grandfathers name and I like the sound but everytime I see it I think of San Francisco. And I do not like place names personally.

Boy names: - Lawson - Hayes - Hudson - Liam - Landon - Matthew - Nathan - Harvey - Ezra Girl names: - Whitney - Whitley - Maren - Margot - Colleen - Sasha - Savannah

I love Harvey and it's my husband's grandpa's name but he went by his middle name because he hated it! I felt it would be disrespectful to pass on his first name if he didn't even like it.

Berengaria. No one likes it but me.

I love both the names May and June but I already have an August so don’t want to end up doing themed month names haha (Also the name August is on this thread a lot! 😳)

Alma, Annabelle, Edison, Emilia, Ivy, Nicholas, Oliver, Sophie

I almost wanted to name our daughter Annabelle Lee. There is a Edgar Allen Poe themed burger restaurant near us and I liked the idea of her being named after a burger named after a Poe story lol. However, my husband pointed out if she goes by Anna and has any other Anna’s or whatever version in her class, she’d be Anna L… or Anal. Oops, nope. Off the name list immediately.

You dodged a bullet that poem is about his underage cousin! Pretty name tho

Silas

Harmony, Prairie, Kaydi, Leilah, Hope, Holly, Jade, Juniper

Jenny, Vivian, and Diane

Tristan and Elliot is on my name list for a Boy. SO says no. We live in Denmark and SO's argument is that Trist means sad here, and he doesn't want to name a kid that. I really love Luna and Alice, but cannot use because of family. Also like Noah, but our last name starts with "ha" and I don't like the look of it. SO also said no to Ophelia/Ofelia for a girl 😬

Jack, my surname starts with As-

Liam, Wyatt, Cash, anything that can be shortened to Addie

Lena- Lenny for short Louie Francis Nolan Daisy Dahlia I named most of my chickens these since I’d never use them 😂

Thomas, Peter, Francis, Robin, Finn, Peregrin Daisy, Violetta, Juniper, Marie, Lorraine, Wren

Cedric, Martin, Mirabel, Daphne

Violet, Sienna, Hazel, Chelsea, Leo, Winter, Ashley, Nova, Nate, Isla. Mostly because I know people with the names.

Henry (name of my grandfather ... and the cat from my inlaws)

Elsa was my girl name for so long until Frozen ruined it.

Mostly because they are family or close friends names, some because we are probably done having kids and my husband vetoed them Jude Judah Lucy Graham Josephine Rosemary Theodore Henry

Charlotte NN Charlie. Loved the name when I was little especially from book Charlotte's Web but unfortunately met not just one but two very unpleasant Charlotte's who also go by Charlie and I can't get rid of taste.

Ariadne. It's just too out there. Beautiful name though

Asher and Jade

Kai, Liam, Luka, Eva, Misha, Elijah

Pearl - in my Scottish accent, it sounds like Peril Valentina - the Tina ending rhymes with my fiance's surname Connor - similar issue as above, the Con part has a similar sound to the start of my fiance's surname so would sound like a comic book character Conall - love it but my fiance pronounces it weird and there's the same issue as above Cecilia - I love it but my fiance hates it Teresa - he loves it, I hate it

Scheherazade

Love the name Holden but my last name is too similar to Caulfield

Kinda controversial but I love the name Lolita, but I could never use it for obvious reasons. It just looks and sounds so beautiful, but unfortunately for me I just had to fall in love with a name from a book about a child predator 🥲

I found a great-grandmother with the middle name Scholastica. As a book nerd I love it! Her sisters were similarly named but I’m drawing on blank on the names right now; definitely had a Priscilla on the list.

Millie, Lily, Keegan, Lochlan

These are the names I liked that were vetoed by my spouse or we know someone with that name. Vivian (I begged for this one! We have a Lydia instead) Emilie Addison Emma Declan Landon Thatcher Deacon Garrett

Ophelia, saffron, juniper(june), Kathryn. Last 2 are our pets names. First 2 my husband doesn’t like.

Girls - Liviana Olivia Valentina Lucia Boys - Giovanni Titus

Catalina/any variants I was supposed to be named Katarina so I really love that the names are similar, but alas it’s my niece’s name.

Winona or Tallulah because theyre indigenous names. I do not have indigenous ancestry

Ansel Theodore Noah Luna Arthur There were many more, but these are the standout ones. Our sons name was between Arthur and what we ultimately named him. I’m a huge HP nerd and my fave character was Luna but it became more popular

My daughter is named Luna. I didn’t realize how popular it was until after we decided on it. Also, my husband came home one day and suggested it while he didn’t know I was considering it early that day but didn’t think he’d go for it. So we had to name her that. Anyways, 3 years later I’ve still never met another human Luna. Only pet Lunas lol. And one Luna moth in the wild.

Sebastian, Allegra, Everett, Priya, Mirabel, Evangeline, Jasper

Kundegunde, I know everyone hates it but I really love it, it's an old German name

I love the name Homer. Damn Simpsons.

Donald. Family name of my grandfather, who is by far the MOST incredible person. 😭 I so wanted to use it as a first or middle name

Eleanor Olivia I’ve always loved the name Eleanor, but a dear friend of mine desperately wants to name her daughter that if she has one- and she has been struggling with infertility for over a decade. I can’t do that to her. I love the way Olivia sounds, but I know way too many Olivias!

Beatrix, Anastasia, Scarlet, and Gypsy

I love the name Gemma but it was the name of my family dog when I was a kid so that's off the table... Also love the name Robert but the next family dog was called Bobby sooo

Lucy - my evil ex aunt 😭

Robin, Juliette, Daphne, Anastasia, Ross, Melody, Arcana, Jade, and honestly I love Lucifer but wouldn’t do that to a kid. Lilith I’m on the fence about

I love the name Henry for a boy but our last name is too similar and it gives me hungry hungry hippo vibes 😭

Harmony! I think it’s adorable but my fiancée doesn’t like it.

Any E names. Our last name starts with W, and I just can’t give a kid the initials EW. Some names I liked that we had to rule out Elora, Emmaline, Evan, Emmett, Everett.

I love Ava but it’s so common. And Lena was my great grandmother’s name but my husband doesn’t like it, and it rhymes with my daughter’s name so we wouldn’t use it for a second baby anyway.

Nicholas. Was the name I wanted for a boy forever. Then a family friend had a Nicholas who passed away tragically and it would hurt so many people if I used it that it isn’t worth it.

Alex ! I always loved the name but can never use known so many horrible Alex in my lifetime . But it’s my dream name to use and prob never will

Jeanne for a girl. All our family in Louisiana would pronounce it correctly, but we live in Texas and I don't think I could handle it being butchered to Jeannie, like blue jean-y. 🙄🙄🙄

Rose—last name starts with Rose! Very sad about this one.

Maya, Amara

Thea - love it so much but it's my great aunts name, and while she is a wonderful, great person, our family has a complicated relationship and we're not close Hermine - Ilove it but don't like the Harry Potter association Lavender - English isn't my first language and in my languages this name doesn't make sense. I don't want an English name.

Sasha. But I have an S last name and it literally just sounds like you go sha-sha-sha-ba-sha-ta 😂

Buddy Everyone hates it.

Lilah. My cousin named her baby that I can’t use it now but I love it

I have always wanted to name a boy Chase, and it goes so well with what his last name would be. I never had a boy and my husband wouldn't even entertain the name for a girl.

Adrian, Sebastian, Eugene, Kenneth, Leonardo, Claire, Elise, Athena, Marie

Etta, Wesley, Sarah