Conor or Cillian

[TakingTheStairs]

I am Irish and quite keen that my child will have an Irish name. My own (Irish) name does not sound like it is spelled and a lot of people in the UK struggle with it, so I want to give our DS an Irish name that most people can manage.
The middle name will be Patrick. It was both of my grandfather's first names, it is my DF's middle name and my DB's middle name, so DH and I are quite keen for that tradition to continue.

I'm not a fan of Killian with a K, and prefer Cillian (which is pronounced the exact same way).

Can I have your opinions please?

[nostress]

I know a cillian and its a good name. Easy to spell & say when you know its a C. Conor is a bit common i think!

[nostress]

I know a cillian and its a good name. Easy to spell & say when you know its a C. Conor is a bit common i think!

[5madthings]

I know a cillian and I like it :)

[loler]

What's the problem with the K spelling?
He'll have to spell and correct Sillian the whole of his life if living outside of Ireland. Could get annoying.

[TakingTheStairs]

There's nothing wrong with the K spelling, I just prefer the look of how it's written with a C.
I didn't think the C spelling was so unusual that it will cause that many problems. I think he'll have some issues no matter what name we go with.
Is the name Cillian that unusual that everyone will think it's Sillian?

Interesting to hear that Conor is very popular. nostress does your friend have issues with being called Sillian?

[TWinklyLittleStar]

I don't think 'sillian' would be that much of an issue. There are plenty of words starting with a hard C in English.

I like both names.

[Elquota]

I'm afraid I assumed it was Sillian, sorry!

I do like Conor though.

[badtime]

I will say, I have had to correct a fair few English people talking about 'Sillian' Murphy.

Conor is a nice name, although MN seems to dislike a lot of perfectly pleasant Irish boys' names.

[BunnyLebowski]

Cillian definitely. It's a fab name. And it's really not that obscure outside of Ireland - Cillian Murphy is pretty famous.

I'm Irish too and hate Irish names being spelled with a 'K'.

Conor is lovely but half the men I know at home are called Conor

[loler]

I've never heard of Cillian before (I have a surname very very similar starting with a K) so I would have noticed. There are lots of words starting with hard C but people generally know these words and have read them lots of times. I use the 'dr waiting room test' - nurse calls out name. What are they likely to say, having never seen the name before.

Conor is not uncommon but not the most popular. We considered it but at the time lived very close to Stoke-on-Trent where I could get past the 'I can't conor do that'

Why not Patrick for the first name?

[RaRaZ]

I assumed it was Sillian as I've never heard the name before, and thought Oh god what a horrible name! Killian, however, is nice - different in a good way :-)

[soontobeslendergirl]

Conor/Connor etc is pretty popular here in Scotland and I've never come across a Cillian or Killian for that matter although I have heard of the name before.

I have a Ciar prn Keer and he occaisionally gets a bit of a pause as people wonder how to pronounce it but Ciaran is becoming used a little more often now intead of Keiran so that seems to fix it better in peoples heads.

I also like Cathal, that's Irish too right?

[TakingTheStairs]

Thanks for all the input.

soontobe I think Cathal is too difficult for most of the people in the UK. The 'th' really throws people.

loler we've decided to avoid Patrick for the first name as it would inevitably be shortened to Paddy, and I have often heard "paddy" used in a sneery/patronising way to refer to Irish people while in the UK , so avoiding that one!

Interesting that a few of you thought it was Sillian. I didn't think it would be that much of an issue. hhhmmmm

[RaRaZ]

How DO you pronounce Cathal??

Tbf OP , I'd never heard/seen the name Cillian/Killian before and mebbies other non-Irish people haven't either. That's our ignorance - shouldn't really be a reason to avoid using the name if you like it; people should learn! I'll certainly not forget how to say it now :-)

[5madthings]

I am in the UK and I don't think it would be that much of an issue, I only know the one cillian, there are quite a lot of Connors.

You are right about 'paddy, its a word for a tantrum/strop as well or was when I was a child and yes it can be used negatively about theirish.

Funnily enough my mil, who is Scottish suggested the name Patrick, I could never use it for very personal reasons but I know a toddler Patrick and he gets called Pat.

[5madthings]

I am not Irish BTW.

[rockybalboa]

With a C I would pn it Sillian whereas K would def be Killian.

[TakingTheStairs]

Cathal is very difficult to write phonetically, but I'd go with "Ka + hal"

And thanks RaRaZ :)

[AllegraLilac]

I read Sillian.

[soontobeslendergirl]

Cathal is Cat-hal I think but stand to be corrected by an actual Irish person :o

[soontobeslendergirl]

...tho the one I know doesn't seem to mind being called Cath-al most of the time

[burberryqueen]

it would depend on where you are living, i have a brother Ciaran who doubtless has had to correct people/spell it out, but then tbh that is true of any name that is not John Smith IME.

[Mollydoggerson]

There is no K in the Irish language, so C is the more authentic version of the name.

I have a Cillian, English relatives find the Kill connotation weird and have commented on it, but then again no-one thinks of Diane as Die- Anne!

Cillian is very popular for small boys in southern Ireland. Oscar is more popular in Leinster.

Conor is lovely (I think), but I know it's not always popular and apparently it is very similar to a rude French word. That would put me off, I think it's supposed to sound like the French word for fanny.Be warned!

[soontobeslendergirl]

Agree with burberry - you'd also get the " is it connor with one N or two and with and O or an E?" so you cant win really.

[BunnyLebowski]

Cathal is not Cat-hal.

It's Kaah-hul. Not a favourite of mine.

OP - if you do choose Cillian please don't spell it with a K to make life easier for ignorant folk.

It completely ruins the name.

Fwiw I also like Cormac, Caolán, Conan and Conal.