Irish names are mispronounced more often than Donald Trump tweets. We're tired of having our names misspelled, mispronounced and butchered on a daily basis. It's exhausting trying to go through the vowel sounds and clarify our names - So much so, we have to use pseudonyms just to order a Starbucks. Here are 21 names that are never spelled or pronounced correctly that you need to know and remember:
1. Shona
If it's not spelled Shuna it's Shauna. It's SHONA and it's pronounced SHOW-NAH.
2. Caoimhe
You never know what spelling you'll get with Caoimhe. It's pronounced QUEE-VAA.
3. Garret
It's either Gareth, Garreth or Gareth that poor Garret gets stuck with. All are different. It's GAR-RET, not Jer-eth.
Advertisement
4. Cathal
It's not Cal or Cotal it's Ka-hul.
5. Tadhg
Best of luck with this one, Tadhg is pronounced TY-GUH.
6. Niamh
Advertisement
Niamh usually gets spelled Neeb or Neve.
7. Daithí
In fairness, we struggle with this one too.
8. Maobh
Usually spelled Mave, not to be confused with a maze. Translates to Maeve.
9. Oisín
Advertisement
Pronounced Ush-Ian, this name is truly butchered by the world.
10. Saoirse
We'll let Saoirse Ronan take over from here:
11. Ailis
Advertisement
Pronounced Ay-Lish, Ellis or Alish is usually how people try and spell it and it's not on any more lads.
12. Diarmuid
Is pronounced Deer-muid. You could say Dermot but that's offensive.
13. Pearse
It's Pearse, not Pierce.
14. Siobhán
Advertisement
Not SIOBAN, Shi-von!
15. Bríd
It's not Breege, it's BRE-D.
16. Afric
No, it's not Africa, it's AF-RICK.
17. Pauric
Advertisement
Is pronounced PAW-RICK. Other options for spelling Pauric include Padraig but get one right. Please.
18. Gearoid
Nope, it's not spelled like Garoge but you can pronounce it GAR-ROID.
19. Turlough
TUR-LOCK, simple really.
20. Lorcan
Advertisement
It's a straightforward name but a difficult one for the average joe to get their head around. It's pronounced Loor-ken.
21. Aoibheann
Eve-een is how you say it but for the love of god don't spell it that way.
