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It strikes the right balance between soft and sharp, but I prefer the sweeter and more distinct Nia.

I love it, but wouldn't use it because I'm not Irish and in this country it would be misspelled and mispronounced constantly. However, it is a beautiful name with a beautiful meaning - "bright". I like the 'eve' sound too; it's in Eve and Evie as well as Niamh, and I love all three names. I knew a girl called Neve once, spelled like that instead of the traditional way, so that's an option if you want to avoid the spelling and pronunciation errors that Niamh is so often victim of.

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I quite like the sound and love the look, but using it outside an Irish context would be asking for a lifetime of trouble. I'd be much more likely to use Eve or Maeve.

I like it fine, but that's because I've been on this board for years. In a US English context... I would probably spell it "Neeve." Anyway, I think it's a pretty sound and a gentle yet tough little name

positively.

Lovely name. Wouldn't use it myself since I live in America where it would be butchered on a daily basis, but it's still a beautiful name.

I love it! It’s my second favorite Irish girl name after Róisín.

It depends on where you are from. Irish pronunciations are not intuitive for those that don’t speak Irish Gaelic. As someone from the US, I want to say “Nye-am.” I don’t love the Neev sound (for the same reason I don’t like the name Eve). If you are thinking of naming a child this, and you aren’t living in Ireland, you are inflicting your child to a lifetime of having to pronounce, spell, and explain their name.

I have a soft spot for Niamh, but that could be because I love Liv(1) and Siv, which sound similiar in Norwegian. Siv and Niamh both are notable characters in Mythology (different ones though), which usually is a win for me.
I don't see myself using it, unless I have a kid with someone Irish. Then it'd definetly be an option.

If you're not Irish and not very familiar with Irish pronunciation, Niamh's spelling and sound don't make any sense. The sound neev is not very attractive to me anyway, and the spelling reminds me of the book I read when I was a kid about lab rats "Mrs. Frisbee and the Rats of NIMH" NIMH being the National Institute for Mental Health.

It's ok

It isn't my favorite by no means.