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Help[Opinions] Eireann (pron. Erin)
My friend's sister just named her baby Eireann, because she "likes Irish stuff" (Eire being the Gaelic name for Ireland). Their heritage is not Irish and she has never visited the country, so I just see this as part of the "wannabe-Irish" trend.
I'm not wild about the name Erin in general, but this spelling is unfortunate. Since Eire is pronounced (vaguely, at least) "IRE" (like the word), I want to pronounce Eireann "IRE-an". She'll constantly have to spell it out for people, and it's just confusing.
However, I must admit that I prefer an alternate spelling for Erin. I have a friend whose middle name is Aran (pronounced like Erin), after the islands that her parents visited shortly before her birth. I like the spelling and the significance.
Comments?
~ Cait
Edited for clarity.
I'm not wild about the name Erin in general, but this spelling is unfortunate. Since Eire is pronounced (vaguely, at least) "IRE" (like the word), I want to pronounce Eireann "IRE-an". She'll constantly have to spell it out for people, and it's just confusing.
However, I must admit that I prefer an alternate spelling for Erin. I have a friend whose middle name is Aran (pronounced like Erin), after the islands that her parents visited shortly before her birth. I like the spelling and the significance.
Comments?
~ Cait
Edited for clarity.
This message was edited 1/11/2005, 1:58 AM
Archived Thread - replies disabled
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Replies
I personally don't like the ppl who do the wanna be Irish trend, but I don't think of Erin as overly Irish. I guess because I knew ppl with this name who definately aren't Irish. Anyway I really don't like that spelling.
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I can kind of see the appeal of the spelling Eireann because it is an original way of spelling Ireland. (well, the word Erin for Ireland if that makes sense!) But I do prefer the Erin spelling. Being of half Irish descent, Erin is a favorite of mine-I just love the sound and meaning and picture a beautiful girl. It is also my sister-in-law's name. If it weren't hers I would have considered it for a daughter!
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You're right about the wanna-be Irish trend. That is absolutely HUGE in naming trends where I live - so many people who've never even seen Ireland but are 1/5000000000th Irish are naming their kids Aidan and Brendan and whatnot. It drives me a little crazy, but I'm naturally trend-averse.
I definitely like the idea behind the Aran spelling better but its so close to the word Aryan, it kind of gives me pause.
I definitely like the idea behind the Aran spelling better but its so close to the word Aryan, it kind of gives me pause.
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Well, you're right: Eireann is not pronounced like Erin,
so it would seem like your friend has tacked on a bunch of
confusing letters just to get Erin. (The first spelling
makes me think of Irish television (RTE and the E stands
for Eireann, so it's kinda weird). I guess I don't care
for Aran either because it's a place name and not the same
as the name Erin at all. (And yes, I have been to the
Aran Islands several times). Similar, yes. I think your
friend is going to get a lot of Air-ann pronunciations;
I certainly wouldn't guess that this is supposed to be
Erin.
so it would seem like your friend has tacked on a bunch of
confusing letters just to get Erin. (The first spelling
makes me think of Irish television (RTE and the E stands
for Eireann, so it's kinda weird). I guess I don't care
for Aran either because it's a place name and not the same
as the name Erin at all. (And yes, I have been to the
Aran Islands several times). Similar, yes. I think your
friend is going to get a lot of Air-ann pronunciations;
I certainly wouldn't guess that this is supposed to be
Erin.
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But Eire is pronounced Ay-rah (like in say) because of the accent on the e, so I would pronounce it Ay-ran.
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Thanks for the info! I'm obviously not from there, so I was approximating the pronunciation as best as I knew.
~ Cait
~ Cait
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I don't particularly care for the name, but if I had to use it I'd go with the Eryn spelling. Being Scots-Irish and spending plenty of time in Ireland, I do love lots of Irish names but this just isn't one of them :-(
Aran is not pronounced like Erin in my accent anyway, but Arran is getting popular where I live and I like it.
Aran is not pronounced like Erin in my accent anyway, but Arran is getting popular where I live and I like it.
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I don't care for the name Eireann (or Erin), but if they're in America, then I think the spelling will cause many problems, and she should have gone with the spelling Erin. But, I see no problem(s) with people using a name, like an Irish name, even if they haven't visited the country or have any Irish in them. If we stuck with names we only have a heritage from, or countries we've visited, we would have very limited name choices. Also, I don't see a "wannabe Irish" trend (and I actually think that's a foolish term, sorry). If we all thought that way, we'd be a lot of wannabe's: "wannabe unisex," "wannabe a girl with a boy's name," "wanna be a surname."
This message was edited 1/11/2005, 6:46 AM
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My perception of what I've heard called the "wannabe Irish" trend is that people with little or no Irish (or Scottish) heritage who've never spent time there give their children names that are (for lack of a better way to put it) VERY IRISH.
For example, Erin is the Anglicized version of an Irish name. However, it doesn't seem VERY IRISH the way that Eireann does. In the United States (maybe anywhere?) the names wouldn't be pronounced the same, so that it's awkward to spell a child's name Eireann and pronounce it Erin. It seems like the namer is trying to make the name more "unique" (in the slightly negative sense often associated with kre8ive names). Erin is a perfectly good Irish name, but Eireann is (in my opinion) "too Irish" for someone not from there.
Have I managed to convey some of my thoughts on the matter? I think the "wannabe Irish" trend definitely has something to do with Anglicizations. For example, Aodhan would be far more "wannabe Irish" than Aidan, its Anglicized form.
It also DOES have something to do with heritage. I don't think that naming a child something from a completely different tradition is the worst naming style, but it can make a full name odd if the first and last names come from completely different languages. Aidan O'Rourke sounds a lot better (in my opinion) than Aidan Maslowski, or Aidan Klein.
Personally, I feel that there are so many wonderful names from EVERY naming tradition that there are plenty to choose from. Also, in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia, where many of the members of these boards are from, almost everybody is originally from somewhere else, and most people (in the United States, at least) have ancestors from at LEAST four different countries. There's a lot of stretch room within that.
You may not agree with me, and that's okay, but I hope that I've been able to explain some of my thoughts on the subject.
~ Cait
Edited for grammar.
For example, Erin is the Anglicized version of an Irish name. However, it doesn't seem VERY IRISH the way that Eireann does. In the United States (maybe anywhere?) the names wouldn't be pronounced the same, so that it's awkward to spell a child's name Eireann and pronounce it Erin. It seems like the namer is trying to make the name more "unique" (in the slightly negative sense often associated with kre8ive names). Erin is a perfectly good Irish name, but Eireann is (in my opinion) "too Irish" for someone not from there.
Have I managed to convey some of my thoughts on the matter? I think the "wannabe Irish" trend definitely has something to do with Anglicizations. For example, Aodhan would be far more "wannabe Irish" than Aidan, its Anglicized form.
It also DOES have something to do with heritage. I don't think that naming a child something from a completely different tradition is the worst naming style, but it can make a full name odd if the first and last names come from completely different languages. Aidan O'Rourke sounds a lot better (in my opinion) than Aidan Maslowski, or Aidan Klein.
Personally, I feel that there are so many wonderful names from EVERY naming tradition that there are plenty to choose from. Also, in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia, where many of the members of these boards are from, almost everybody is originally from somewhere else, and most people (in the United States, at least) have ancestors from at LEAST four different countries. There's a lot of stretch room within that.
You may not agree with me, and that's okay, but I hope that I've been able to explain some of my thoughts on the subject.
~ Cait
Edited for grammar.
This message was edited 1/11/2005, 2:20 PM
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I tend to agree - Eireann looks all wrong to me. I want to pronounce it Ire-Ann (Particularly as 'ei' says "eye" in Welsh names like Eira).
I don't mind Erin, it's a bit 80s trendy for my tastes but there's nothing wrong with it.
Aran is nms, and couldn't be pronounced the same as Erin in an Australian accent anyway :-)
I don't mind Erin, it's a bit 80s trendy for my tastes but there's nothing wrong with it.
Aran is nms, and couldn't be pronounced the same as Erin in an Australian accent anyway :-)
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Eirann is pretty bad. Especially with no Irish heritage.
This message was edited 1/11/2005, 4:14 AM
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Hmm. My mum always says that if you have to start by saying, "I mean no offense", you're probably going to say something offensive. I know you didn't mean it that way, but that's certainly how it came out.
Also, it's pretty rude to ask "what's wrong with" someone just because of their naming choice. I don't agree with my friend's sister's choice of a name either, but I wouldn't dream of suggesting that there was something "wrong" with her. Crikey, I've never even met her! Worse is to suggest that there is something wrong with my friend. I'm going to assume that you just didn't read carefully or mistyped or something.
Besides, asking "what is wrong with your friend?" puts me in a situation of having to defend or back up my friend. I don't have to do that, so I won't. I just hope that you'll be a little more carefull with your wording next time.
~ Cait
Also, it's pretty rude to ask "what's wrong with" someone just because of their naming choice. I don't agree with my friend's sister's choice of a name either, but I wouldn't dream of suggesting that there was something "wrong" with her. Crikey, I've never even met her! Worse is to suggest that there is something wrong with my friend. I'm going to assume that you just didn't read carefully or mistyped or something.
Besides, asking "what is wrong with your friend?" puts me in a situation of having to defend or back up my friend. I don't have to do that, so I won't. I just hope that you'll be a little more carefull with your wording next time.
~ Cait
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Ditto ... I hate those phrases ("I don't mean to be nasty but ...", "Don't take this the wrong way but ...").
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I edited this because I realized what the problem was.
This message was edited 1/11/2005, 4:13 AM
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Sorry, but she's right . . .
I always wonder why people find it easier to tag "no offence" onto an extremely offensive sentence, rather than refraining from being offensive in the first place?
Asking "what's wrong with" someone is aggressive and judgemental, and extremely unfair. There are much better ways to express your opinion of a name than to attack the mental stability of the namer.
I always wonder why people find it easier to tag "no offence" onto an extremely offensive sentence, rather than refraining from being offensive in the first place?
Asking "what's wrong with" someone is aggressive and judgemental, and extremely unfair. There are much better ways to express your opinion of a name than to attack the mental stability of the namer.
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I wasn't attacking anyone's mental stability. My god. I was only joking around to begin with. I apologize to anyone else who may have been offended by my "aggresive" and "judgemental" tendencies.
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If you're "joking around", put in a smiley to make it clear that your comment is not designed to be taken literally. That's the accepted practice in internet/email communication, and has been for many years. It avoids this sort of confusion.
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To Cait
I see what the problem is. In my original post, I asked what was wrong with her friend, when I meant the friend's sister. I think that was part of the problem. So, to Cait: I'm sorry. I really had no intention of offending you, or anyone else. I'll change the other posts to avoid any future problems. Sorry. I hope there are no hard feelings.
I see what the problem is. In my original post, I asked what was wrong with her friend, when I meant the friend's sister. I think that was part of the problem. So, to Cait: I'm sorry. I really had no intention of offending you, or anyone else. I'll change the other posts to avoid any future problems. Sorry. I hope there are no hard feelings.
This message was edited 1/11/2005, 4:15 AM
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No problem, thanks for the apology :-)
~ Cait
~ Cait
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