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Help[Opinions] Re: Iarla
in reply to a message by astronomicon
Ooh, interesting. I like it. Just had a google and there seem to be a few of them around, so he won't be the only one. And there are plenty of other Irish male names ending in an ah sound, so don't think it'll seem feminine, either.
(Celtic names never sound 'fantasy-ish' to me, probably because I am one.)
(Celtic names never sound 'fantasy-ish' to me, probably because I am one.)
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Haha, I don't -dislike- it, it's totally fun to say and write (well, fun to write), but I don't think I could ever in a million years use it myself, even if I didn't have a new relative with the name. I appreciate it in a GP way, but it does have its flaws.
Yeah, regardling the -a ending, I think it'll work in Ireland, but elsewhere, not so much. It's a bit like, I love Dara (not so much spelled Daragh etc.) on a boy and have a couple of relatives with that name who have never had any problems in Ireland... but even though there are a couple of famous (m) Daras in the UK, a lot of people still think it's very feminine and I personally have come across more female Daras and zero non-family male Daras (in person, that is). Dara, Iarla, etc. fall foul of sounding-feminine-to-anyone-not-acquainted-with-Irish-names syndrome.
What I meant about 'fantasy' is, I guess, about accent, and ease of pronunciation, and culture. My dad can make Iarla sound so pretty and natural, but with my accent, it comes out all high-fantasy and Lord of the Rings sounding. It has that natural stress on the rl sound that you just can't get right if you've grown up speaking Queen's English your whole life, so it does sound a bit Tolkien rather than natural when I try and say it. :3 It sucks, I just can't focus on the central bit of the name. Dad's like "eeRLa", I'm like "EEErla"... blargh. :3 That, as well with the fact that it does sound girlish in the context of English names, and any Iarla is going to be doomed to spelling his name and explaining that it's masculine, is why I just don't see it working here.
I must say, we had it written down and got round to writing it in our Birthday Dates Book (yes, it deserves the caps. My mother does birthday cards with the regularity of a military exercise), and my dad jokingly said 'Let's find the bit of paper with the magical name on it', and Iarla really does sound kind of elfish and prettified, so perhaps that's what I mean by 'fantasy'-style names.
Yeah, regardling the -a ending, I think it'll work in Ireland, but elsewhere, not so much. It's a bit like, I love Dara (not so much spelled Daragh etc.) on a boy and have a couple of relatives with that name who have never had any problems in Ireland... but even though there are a couple of famous (m) Daras in the UK, a lot of people still think it's very feminine and I personally have come across more female Daras and zero non-family male Daras (in person, that is). Dara, Iarla, etc. fall foul of sounding-feminine-to-anyone-not-acquainted-with-Irish-names syndrome.
What I meant about 'fantasy' is, I guess, about accent, and ease of pronunciation, and culture. My dad can make Iarla sound so pretty and natural, but with my accent, it comes out all high-fantasy and Lord of the Rings sounding. It has that natural stress on the rl sound that you just can't get right if you've grown up speaking Queen's English your whole life, so it does sound a bit Tolkien rather than natural when I try and say it. :3 It sucks, I just can't focus on the central bit of the name. Dad's like "eeRLa", I'm like "EEErla"... blargh. :3 That, as well with the fact that it does sound girlish in the context of English names, and any Iarla is going to be doomed to spelling his name and explaining that it's masculine, is why I just don't see it working here.
I must say, we had it written down and got round to writing it in our Birthday Dates Book (yes, it deserves the caps. My mother does birthday cards with the regularity of a military exercise), and my dad jokingly said 'Let's find the bit of paper with the magical name on it', and Iarla really does sound kind of elfish and prettified, so perhaps that's what I mean by 'fantasy'-style names.
This message was edited 11/14/2013, 3:04 PM
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