Spin off, of baby names... pronounce Liadan

[NotUrsula]

You've missed a little something; there is a fada over the initial i. It's actually Líadan.

In Irish, a fada makes the vowel long, so it is properly pronounced lyah-dun.

The trad band by that name pronounces it as Lee-a-dun, so that usage is very common these days. Either way, the final vowel sound should be a schwa, not "anne". The stress is on the first syllable.

PS: If you want something that has a complementary sound, you might also consider Ailis (ay-lish) or Aine (awn-ya)? Also, anything that ends in "in" (een) is going to be a feminine diminuitive. There really are not that many Irish feminine names that begin with L, actually not that many Irish names at all that do. Liam isn't traditional, really; it is the Irish answer to the political incorrectness of William. (My Dad was named William for some bizarre reason; my grandmother never would admit to why. He was known as Liam as a child; otherwise he would have regularly been beaten to a pulp in his Catholic neighborhood.)

 

[CrazyCakeLady]

As someone with an Irish name that gets pronounced many different ways (always dreaded the first day of school), just the fact that there were so many different answers to your question raises a red flag for me. I would've been thrilled to change my name to Kathy or Lisa! My kids have traditional, easy to pronounce names.

I have to agree with this. I actually like Logan as a girl's name.

 

[Purple Nightshade]

You've missed a little something; there is a fada over the initial i. It's actually Líadan.

In Irish, a fada makes the vowel long, so it is properly pronounced lyah-dun.

The trad band by that name pronounces it as Lee-a-dun, so that usage is very common these days. Either way, the final vowel sound should be a schwa, not "anne". The stress is on the first syllable.

Thank you for pointing this out. I was about to suggest that the OP find a Gaelic forum to get the correct pronunciation and spelling.

As you can see everyone is going to pronounce it differently. As a person who has a name that is all ways mis-pronounced it gets old REAL FASt trying to correct people

 

[Mrs.Malone]

I was thinking "Lee-Adan" (with Adan pronounced like Adam but with an "n" on the end instead of "m").

 

[Curiouser&curiouser!]

Apparently I am the only one that thought Lie-dan. I know that is likely not the way it is supposed to be pronounced, but that's the first way that came to mind. It is a very pretty name, both written and pronounced (no matter which way you say it)!

 

[pixiewings71]

I love it!!!! I think it's beautiful! I would pronounce it Lee-AH-Dan as well, but would assume that was slightly incorrect as it is clearly an Irish name. One of my girls is Cassidy, I wanted to spell it Casaide but her Father vetoed it.

 

[Bob NC]

If the 2nd child is a girl she will be named Liadan. How would you pronounce that?

Not sure. But, I wouldn't put "Bin" in front of it.

 

[bumbershoot]

I would've been thrilled to change my name to Kathy or Lisa! My kids have traditional, easy to pronounce names.

You can do it now!

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

Not sure. But, I wouldn't put "Bin" in front of it.

 

[wvjules]

I'm not sure I'd name my child something that I don't know how to pronounce.

 

[minkydog]

I'm not sure how you're supposed to pronounce it, but I'd be willing to predict that this child will be called LAY-din at school every day of his life. If his parents are cool with having to pronounce and spell this name constantly, for the rest of his childhood and will not get their drawers out of joint when their baby's name is constantly mispronounced and misspelled, I say it's a GO.

 

[NotUrsula]

Not sure. But, I wouldn't put "Bin" in front of it.

Oh, good, I wasn't the first one to say it.

Bob has a huge point with this, which is that regardless of the fact that the name is legitimate in another language, it is going to be read by the American brain as "Laden" because of the public awareness of Osama bin Laden. The unfortunate upshot of that is that the average American is going to make that unconscious link, even though it is in no way correct. I'm fond of ethnic names and they are common in my family, but even I think this is one of those times when it is probably best to realize that local perception of the name is likely to be negative on an unconscious level, which would lead me to choose something else.

I went to school with a number of kids from Vietnamese refugee families in the mid-1970's. Several of them ended up legally changing their names shortly after arriving here, when they discovered what Americans were likely to do with the name Phuc. Sometimes a name really doesn't work well in a country other than the one it was created in.

 

[Kellydelly]

I would pronounce that Lie-dun, I think the "Li-a" part of it kind of puts a hiccup in the pronunciation.

 

[Janepod]

I'm not sure how you're supposed to pronounce it, but I'd be willing to predict that this child will be called LAY-din at school every day of his life. If his parents are cool with having to pronounce and spell this name constantly, for the rest of his childhood and will not get their drawers out of joint when their baby's name is constantly mispronounced and misspelled, I say it's a GO.

And this illustrates another problem with the name: people will think Liadan is a boy.

 

[jujube]

Líadan - (LYAH-dan) An Old Irish female name. Líadan was a poetess, beloved by the poet Cuirithur, even though she was a nun. The mother of Saint Ciarán of Seir was also named Líadan. Legend has it that she conceived Ciarán after swallowing a star that had fallen into her mouth while she lay sleeping.

 

[marcyinPA]

I'm not sure how you're supposed to pronounce it, but I'd be willing to predict that this child will be called LAY-din at school every day of his life. If his parents are cool with having to pronounce and spell this name constantly, for the rest of his childhood and will not get their drawers out of joint when their baby's name is constantly mispronounced and misspelled, I say it's a GO.

I agree. My parents named me Marcia. Pronounced Mar-see-a, not Marsha. But, EVERY.SINGLE.TEACHER called me Marsha. And people who do not know me but read my name call me Marsha. Yes, there is supposed to be a mark under the "c"..(I think it's called a cidilla), but you can't usually type that out and so you get Marcia. I got tired of correcting people. Obviously, I never go by my given name.

 

[jujube]

I agree. My parents named me Marcia. Pronounced Mar-see-a, not Marsha. But, EVERY.SINGLE.TEACHER called me Marsha. And people who do not know me but read my name call me Marsha. Yes, there is supposed to be a mark under the "c"..(I think it's called a cidilla), but you can't usually type that out and so you get Marcia. I got tired of correcting people. Obviously, I never go by my given name.

My SIL is spelled Marcia and pronounced MAR-see-a. A friend's name is spelled Marcia and pronounced Marsha.
Another friend's daughter's name is Maria and people call her Marie. My cousin's name is Marie and people call her Maria-go figure.

Wanted to add that I would be afraid people will call her Lay down which might be a problem when she's a teenager. Of course, kids can make fun of any name so I guess that should not figure into anything.

 

[Stitchfans]

I took someone's advice and looked up an Irish website that pronounces words, names so on. Thank you for the advice, did not think of it myself.

Listened to it several times and with the brogue I must admit sounds lovely. For all that said (Lee a dan) or something similar in spelling you are correct.

Tomorrow we will find out for sure if it is Liadan or Logan. Crossing fingers for Liadan.

 

[TheSchragFamily]

No one will ever know how to pronounce it.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

I took someone's advice and looked up an Irish website that pronounces words, names so on. Thank you for the advice, did not think of it myself.

Listened to it several times and with the brogue I must admit sounds lovely. For all that said (Lee a dan) or something similar in spelling you are correct.

Tomorrow we will find out for sure if it is Liadan or Logan. Crossing fingers for Liadan.

Keep us posted!!