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[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.
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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.
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I like Oisin (and I can pronounce it!) but unless one is Irish, and perhaps even then, it's a one-owner name, like Odysseus.Finn is like a fishmonger in a Richard Scarry book - a fish in a striped apron.
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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.

This message was edited 6/24/2018, 10:11 PM

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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.
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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.
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