Re: Shelagh--how do you pronounce your name>>>

Heh. I knew that. :) We chose a fairly obscure Celtic name for our daughter. If people first see it spelled, they have to ask how to pronounce it. If people first hear it spoken, they have to ask how to spell it (and both my parents and my in-laws, even after 10 years, have a hard time remembering how to spell it. :P )

Tracey

Heh. I had a character I wrote about named Seileach ("SHELL-lock" is the closest pronunciation I can come up with). It's Scots Gaelic for "willow". Anyway, everyone who read the stories about her called her Sea Leech.

And that's why my first daughter is named McKinley instead. :)

--Threnody

Okay, give - what did you name her? And the pronounciation too, please..... ;>)

Shelagh

I probably would have said "Sea Leech" too.(snicker). And I love that you wrote "Scots"..... of course you know how many people say "Scotch". When I hear that it's like fingernails on a blackboard.... I usually say - you drink Scotch, the people are Scots.(grin)

Shelagh

LOL

Siobhan. Okay, so it's not *totally* obscure but she sure don't have to worry about people not knowing which Siobhan people are talking about. :P

And pronounciation is Shu-VON as in shut and don.

Tracey

Heh - I knew the pronunciation of that name - only because of the singer who shaved her head..... that's when I heard it.

Shelagh

No, no, no. That was Sioned. Our daughter wouldn't be named after a pop star!!!!

Instead, she's named after a character on a soap opera. :P

The 'bh' always messes with people though.

Tracey

OH, I know several Shibhons. I was hoping for something *really* different.

Higs, Katherine

Now I would have NEVER thought that....Celtic Shelia......well it's a beautiful liooking word, so esoteric, thanks for the answer!!!!!!! maggs

Shelagh,

I always imagined it was pronounced She-LAY (soft "e"). Do you accent the first or second syllable?

Hesira

Shillelagh wrote:

Tee hee...... don't worry Maggs, a lot of people haven't seen that spelling - it's the Celtic or Irish way of spelling Sheila. So, it's just She-la. I get She-lag a lot, and as a matter of fact my best friend calls me She-lag just for fun. I've heard She-laf, She-log, She-luf, and sometimes just a puzzled face. When I see that, I just pronounce it for the person, and you should see the look of relief on their face! ;>) Shelagh

I wonder if it's the same soap character I thought of when I saw the name....:)

BB who has a son named Ryan - the soap called to my attention how much I liked the name, although now there are Ryans everywhere.

Let's see. Siobhan. Ryan. I'm thinking it is. That kinda dates me, doesn't it?

Tracey

I'm dating myself by saying I named my son Ryan before it was such a popular name :) I never even considered Seneca for his name though...

Siobhan was a cool character and is a neat name.

BB

Hmmmmmmmm, I had to think about that. Perhaps a little stronger on the first....

Shelagh

I was a linguistics major in college after I dropped opera. Gaelic was my concentration language -- even though I was studying computer artificial intelligence and communication disorders. The maternal side of my family consists of Scots immigrants who've been trickling over brother by brother since about 1850-something. We grew up hearing Scots English and Gaelic phrases a lot, so when I had to choose a language for my major it seemed an obvious thing to choose that one. My father's people are Sicilian, so I could just as easily have chosen Italian, but it seemed like *everybody* was studying a European language and I didn't want to waste my time by picking up something I could easily learn later in life.

Anyway, I nearly wrote "Gaelic" instead of "Scots Gaelic," because as far as I can recollect, the Irish call their language Irish, not Gaelic nor Irish Gaelic. It's a pure Americanism from what I can tell.

I met my husband in my first night of Gaelic class. He was an engineering student but had visited Scotland that summer and was intrigued by the language when he heard it. Over all, it worked out nicely for me. :)

--Threnody

In Australia, women are known as "sheilas" so its very popular there!......regards Alison B