[Opinions] Finn and Oisin
I've been into Irish mythology lately, and I've been loving the names Finn and Oisin. Does Finn seem substantial enough to be a first name, and what impressions does it give you? Oisin is basically a guilty pleasure because I know no one would say it right (it's oh-SHEEN according to my book), but I'd still like to get impressions.
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I don't personally know any Finns, but it's a common name, friendly and unstuffy, and I wouldn't expect it to be short for anything.
Oisín = very tall, dark haired, lovably silly, a bit of a hippy, former housemate. Generally known as Osh. He did get a lot of mispronunciation, living in the UK: people either thought his name was pronounced like hoisin sauce, or was spelt Ocean. The Welsh version Osian (OSH un) is very common in Wales and I know several. I like both versions.
Oisín = very tall, dark haired, lovably silly, a bit of a hippy, former housemate. Generally known as Osh. He did get a lot of mispronunciation, living in the UK: people either thought his name was pronounced like hoisin sauce, or was spelt Ocean. The Welsh version Osian (OSH un) is very common in Wales and I know several. I like both versions.
My son is named Finley and called Finn about 75% of the time. He gets compliments on it a lot. I'm too close to him to form an opinion. I will say I think it absolutely stands alone. I already had a son with a longer formal name and a one syllable nickname, so I followed suit with my Finn. Otherwise, I may have just named him Finn.
Oisin is ok. I like the look of it more than the sound.
Oisin is ok. I like the look of it more than the sound.
Even if I loved Oisin and wanted to use it, I think I'd spell it O'Sheen, which is a completely different name, but oh well. I wouldn't want to constantly be correcting people about the pronunciation...or maybe not. I don't know the story of Oisin.
Yeah, Finn is substantial enough to be a first name. I think it's sturdy and plain, which is about the impression I get from John.
Its rise in popularity in the US kind of reminds me of the way Liam rose in popularity a few years ago...or its like Sean was a few decades ago.
Yeah, Finn is substantial enough to be a first name. I think it's sturdy and plain, which is about the impression I get from John.
Its rise in popularity in the US kind of reminds me of the way Liam rose in popularity a few years ago...or its like Sean was a few decades ago.
This message was edited 6/24/2018, 10:11 PM
I’m not a big fan of Finn. It seems childlike to me, and I think it works best as a nickname for something more complex.
I’d pronounce Oisín correctly (as aw-SHEEN, approximately), but then international names are one of my interests (and my partner is Scottish). The average American wouldn’t be able to pronounce it easily.
I’d pronounce Oisín correctly (as aw-SHEEN, approximately), but then international names are one of my interests (and my partner is Scottish). The average American wouldn’t be able to pronounce it easily.
Finn seems to me like one of those short cute glib piratey names... Finn, Flynn, Wynn, Dex, Rex, Jax, Jett, Ace, Cash, Nash, Dash. Not my thing in general, and I admit to being slightly annoyed by it. But that could be because I've never met one. I think I'd get used to using it pretty easily. It's a little better than Finley IMO, and it is substantial enough to be a first name.
Oisin I've always thought was aw-SHEEN. Oh- pronunciation is too much like an O'Surname, and like the word Ocean for me. I'd rather just see Ocean used as a name. Either way, though, the aw-SHEE... or oh-SHEE.. part reminds me very immediately of "aw/oh, sh**" and that would make me avoid using the name. It's shallow, but I think it would bother me and not stop bothering me. Cool name for an Irish guy, not so cool for a son of mine.
Oisin I've always thought was aw-SHEEN. Oh- pronunciation is too much like an O'Surname, and like the word Ocean for me. I'd rather just see Ocean used as a name. Either way, though, the aw-SHEE... or oh-SHEE.. part reminds me very immediately of "aw/oh, sh**" and that would make me avoid using the name. It's shallow, but I think it would bother me and not stop bothering me. Cool name for an Irish guy, not so cool for a son of mine.