10 Things… That Are Annoying About Having an Irish Name

Irish names themselves are all-in-all quite wonderful but sometimes there are things that make them a bit off-putting.

Here are 10 things that are annoying about having an Irish name.

 

1) The pronunciation

We can understand that there are people out there who find it difficult to pronounce our Irish names but it can get quite exhausting trying to correct them all of the time!

 

2) Letters everywhere!

To an outsider, it may seem that our Irish names don’t actually follow a logical pattern with it comes to spelling. Good luck trying to explain your name to people, if you're “Conchubar” or “Fachtna.”

 

3) People assuming that your Irish name is exotic

This is particularly true for when you’re abroad. Try saying your name to the locals and they think it’s very unusual - yet there are probably a million people in the country called Aoife and Colm.

 

4) Other countries butchering the real pronunciation of your name

We’re looking at you “See-air-ah" aka Ciara.

 

5) Forgetting the fada

If you’ve a fada in your name no doubt you can relate to the annoyance when someone forgets yours. Sure it’s spelled “Úna” not “Una”, otherwise it would be pronounced “unna”!

 

6) People presuming that because of your name, you’re clearly Welsh or Scottish and definitely not Irish

Though there are similarities in our names, there are definite differences, especially when it comes to spelling. It’s also worrying when people think they’re all the same country!

 

7) Online fada woes

Fadas are a nice addition to a name but they can ultimately ruin your day if you’re, say, putting your name into an online form. Many a time have we seen the letter “Ú” become something like “®€@”

 

8) People trying to anglicize your name for the craic

Please stop. Our names are our names – don’t try and change them!

 

9) Explaining Uí or Ní or Ó

Trying to explain the daughter of, son of and of a particular family can be quite a chore, especially if the person asking thinks they’re related to you!

 

10) People judging your gender because of the sound of your name

This can be particularly unfortunate if your name is Proinsias or Caoilainn.