A doctor who delivered a baby has expressed her surprise at the chosen name and admitted she couldn’t keep her thoughts to herself.
Deciding on a name for a baby is a significant choice that requires careful consideration. After all, a name must suit an adorable new-born baby as well as an adult navigating the world. Regardless of your chosen moniker, people will always have their own opinions – even your doctor.
This was the case for one obstetrician who recently delivered a baby girl. Following the delivery, the new mother informed her of her intention to give her daughter an Irish name, but with a non-traditional pronunciation.
Many Irish names have spellings that may seem difficult to pronounce for those unfamiliar with them, due to the Irish language’s unique spelling system. For example, the name Siobhan is pronounced ‘shih-VAWN’, and the name Aoife is pronounced ‘EE-fah’.
The new mum chose the name Caoimhe, traditionally pronounced ‘KEE-vah’ in the Irish language. On Reddit, the obstetrician shared: “Delivered a baby today with this name, which is not pronounced in the traditional, Irish way with some variation on “Keeva,” but is instead pronounced ‘Kay-OH-me’.
“I spent most [of the] caesarean section contemplating this horror and finally decided that I could not in good conscience let this happen without saying something, on the off chance that she had genuinely never heard how this name was actually pronounced. So after I finished sewing her up, I told her my concerns.”
The doctor shared further: “She was very surprised but decided to keep it how she wanted because that way it ‘sounds like it’s spelled’ so that it isn’t ‘one of those tragedeigh names’.”
Users on Reddit weighed in with their perspectives in the comments. One person remarked: “by ignoring the language the name is in she has created a tragedeigh. Alas”. An Irish commenter noted: “We’ll just tell them to their face that it’s not how the name is pronounced. Some people are just stupid.”
Another recounted a similar tale: “L&D nurse here. Had a family once name their baby Maison and I said, ‘oh that’s interesting, the French word for house?’ and they’re like, ‘no, it’s Mason’. FFS don’t use foreign words for names if you don’t know what they mean or how to say them!”
And yet another offered their take: “It is Keeva, maybe Qui-vah, it will never be Kay-OH-me”.
Did the mum correct the pronunciation of the name?
The doctor provided an update in the comments: “I was really hoping my earnest appeal yesterday after bringing her child into the world would have had some impact on this poor woman…
“But alas, when rounding today I glanced at the birth certificate and saw that it indeed says ‘Caoimhe’ and the baby is still being referred to as ‘Kay-OH-me.’ Sigh.”