The BBC sets a bad example; if your name is coming up on the credits and you want to make it stand out, change the spelling. So plain old John becomes Jonn and plain old Mary gets changed to the Gaelic Maireid.

Maeve = May-v, as far as I’ve been brought up to pronounce it.

I have an odd name sufficiently odd to have only met one person who shares it in my life and am aware of a single fictional character who has it. Despite my mum’s strenuous denials I am sure she named me after the fictional character as she was a big fan of the radio show.

Is it Rollo, as in King Rollo? My mate has that as his middle name.

Maeve = May-v, as far as I’ve been brought up to pronounce it.

Oh yeah.

I have an odd name sufficiently odd to have only met one person who shares it in my life and am aware of a single fictional character who has it. Despite my mum’s strenuous denials I am sure she named me after the fictional character as she was a big fan of the radio show.

Goon.

I have a friend called Aonghas.

Any non-Gaelic speakers want to have a crack at pronouncing that correctly?
“Mate”

I’d guess Angus too.

I’d guess Angus

And you’d be wrong.

Neither is it the most commonly guessed effort of Ay-ong-a-hass.

It’s actually pronounced the same as Innes.

It’s actually pronounced the same as Innes.

Told you so. Both are “Mate” .

I’ve mentioned this on here before when the topic comes up but there were boy/girl twins at my daughter’s nursery who were called Blade and Trinity.

I’ll fess up to having given my kids “stupid” names. Only as their middle names, if that gets me any redemption. Eldest has Bodhi (as in Point Break and buddhism, and as in Bode Miller if he could spell) as one of his middle names (Andrew is the other) and the youngest has Ziggy Bob as his two middle names. I think we got sillier the second time around and so he got two 🙂

They have sensible first names and can use their weird names if they become rock stars or street artists. If they want to be doctors or lawyers they can use their first names.

I’d like to apologise to all here that I may have offended by doing this to them 🙂

I used to know a chap called Hastings. Trainee lawyer, absolutely smashing chap, and every bit as posh as you’d expect.

I’ll fess up to having given my kids “stupid” names. Only as their middle names, if that gets me any redemption.

Seeing as though we are confessing I’ll join in. My sons middle name is Hendrix. I love Jimi, Mrs Funks dad’s middle name is Henry and her mum’s family are German. Killed three birds with one stone there. He also has an uncommon forename, but it’s a proper name, just really old and no longer popular.

she’d just had her 7yr old daughter’s eyebrows tattooed on

Is facial tattooing of a 7-year old even legal?

I know someone who has just had another child and one of their two middle names is “Danger”.

That’s fantastic. “Danger is my middle name… no, really, look”

took me ages to work out how to pronounce Niamh

Why? It’s like the batteries innit…
[/quote]

Aw, bless little Nickel Metal Hydride.

there’s two vowels in there so it’s more like hu AN (hard to express in type). So Joaquín is, by extension, ho a KIN

Why’s it not ho-a-koo-in then?

Eldest has Bodhi (as in Point Break and buddhism, and as in Bode Miller if he could spell) as one of his middle names (Andrew is the other) and the youngest has Ziggy Bob

Would’ve been more professional if you’d named the second one Doyle…

Any non-Gaelic speakers want to have a crack at pronouncing that correctly?

Throatwarbler Mangrove

I’ll join in with jnr#2 who is Xavier.

Even though we and he have repeatedly explained how to pronounce it to his teachers, they still go with the American version, rather than Spanish or French. Happily he’s known as Xavi or Xav though.

I will claim the credit for getting the 3 kids initials past the fun police though; XJS, WMDS, IRS…

I know a lad whose parents names him Aeneas.
Its pronounced Neil, or at least that’s what he says when you ask his name.

It seems Jo-a-king is the German way.

Almost. The German equivalent is Jochen, pronounced YohChen (with the CH pronounced like the Scots pronounce Loch – a gutteral chh from the back of the mouth/throat)

Pinetree Jr is called Ruaridh as both my wife and myself are Scottish and really liked the name. Would be great, except we live in Plymouth…
“Rudy? Roorid? Roderick?” We’ve had some belters.
Best one was in the early days – I was out walking in the park with him early one morning (after much sleep deprivation) and a lady stopped to say hello:
“Who’s this then?”
“This is Ruaridh” Being so tired I must have slurred the first two words, as she responded with:
“zuhroory? that’s a lovely name”
Proves one of two things: A) She has terrible taste, or B) People will nod and smile through anything.

Almost. The German equivalent is Jochen, pronounced YohChen (with the CH pronounced like the Scots pronounce Loch – a gutteral chh from the back of the mouth/throat)

Jock?

Jock?

Sassenach…

Sassenach

How do they get that with a J?

How do they get that with a J?

It’s a silent J

Ah!

Gealic is more confusing than Spanish.

Gealic is more confusing than Spanish.

Scottish or Irish?

I don’t even know if we’re joking any more… Have i genuinely misinformed you?

It’s a silent J

I thought Bob was the silent one?

took me ages to work out how to pronounce Niamh

Why? It’s like the batteries innit…
Aw, bless little Nickel Metal Hydride.

I laughed (as the dad of a Niamh)
Not many Niamhs are born in France, I’ll tell you that (for justification she does have an Irish passport)
They have a field day trying to pronounce it 😀

ho a KIN?

I believe the correct spelling and pronunciation is : ye ken?

I thought Bob was the silent one?

LOLZ

I believe the correct spelling and pronunciation is : ye ken?

That’s if he’s from Edinburgh

Judging by what some of my mates have called their offspring in recent months, the current fashion seems to be picking a bunch of letters and forcing them together then worrying about how to pronounce them later…

Can’t put them here as it will show up in any Google searches they may do in later life. And one of the mates is a fellow stwer… though hasn’t been active for a while.

Re the NZ names –

IIRC you may not register a name in NZ that confers any kind of rank – therefore no Judge, Justice, Prince, etc.

I also think there’s something about it not being offensive but aside from that it’s fair game, hence the legendary Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/546018/Court-orders-name-change

VERY NOT SAFE FOR WORK or kids!!!!!

Lee Mack on Irish names.

[video]https://youtu.be/OcLOKQOpj7U[/video]

Aw, bless little Nickel Metal Hydride.

i wonder if she has any siblings?…probably called Nicad and Lipo 😆

one of the kids in my sons class has a sister called Princess…when she was born her parents had some vinyl decals with her name, birth date, weight and baby picture made for their car…the dad looks like a slightly sober version off Shameless and the mum looks a bit Waynetta Slob…proper chavvy!! 😆

you cant beat a bit of Moon Unit and Dweezil Zappa though 😀

I don’t even know if we’re joking any more… Have i genuinely misinformed you?

😆

Thanks to my parents I’ve never felt particularly welcome in Wales.

I’ll see myself out.

Allan

No time to read all of this but i was recently in a shop and got served by a young lady called ‘Shalamar’
Do i win ?

No time to read all of this but i was recently in a shop and got served by a young lady called ‘Shalamar’

A “shop”, eh? 😉

No time to read all of this but i was recently in a shop and got served by a young lady called ‘Shalamar’
Do i win ?

Thanks to my parents I’ve never felt particularly welcome in Wales.

I’ll see myself out.

Allan

My name’s Alan and I approve of this joke.