You can choose any name you like for your child – but it’s probably wise to ensure you can pronounce it.
The world of baby names is vast, with endless choices ranging from traditional to unique. Parents often grapple with whether to opt for a name that has personal or cultural significance, especially if they’re living in a different country from where they grew up.
Yet, one mum has come under fire on social media after she named her son in an effort to “embrace his Irish heritage”. The American mum had a conversation with an Irish person who was visiting the US for work, and it soon became clear she couldn’t pronounce the name she had chosen for her son.
In a Reddit post, the Irish visitor expressed their concern when the American mum said she “has a great affinity for Irish people” and that her husband “was of Irish heritage”. She then shared that she had named her son after a “great mythological Irish warrior”, which took the poster by surprise.
At first, they assumed the mother meant Fionn Mac Cumhail, the legendary Irish hero known for creating the Giant’s Causeway, and had named her little boy Fionn. But the mum admitted she didn’t know about the warrior and went on to say her son’s name as “Choochalin”.
The Irish person was left baffled by the pronunciation of a boy’s name, which led to a surprising revelation – the child’s actual name was Cú Chulainn.
They said: “This is where I should have smiled and nodded. But I didn’t. Instead, I tried to correct her pronunciation. (Coo Cullen is a simplified way). She argued, asking what did I know – Irish people don’t even speak Irish, it’s not a real language. This really upset me.
“I told her that I was literally from a Gaeltacht in the west of Ireland, I speak Irish fluently, and if she was going to give her American son an Irish name, she might as well say it properly.”
Despite being corrected, the mum refused to accept her error and continued to insist on her version, claiming she and her family were “Irish Americans, so they have their own way of pronouncing Irish words.”
The post sparked confusion among commenters, with many taken aback by the mum’s assertion that “Irish is not a real language” while choosing an Irish name for her son. Some criticised her and other parents for not thinking about the consequences for their children.
One commenter said: “These parents never think of their kids and what they’ll have to live with. It’s all about making themselves feel special.” Another lamented: “Bad choice. I’m sorry for the kid having to explain this his whole life.”