An Irish woman who has lived in Australia for a year said it is an ongoing battle to get Australians to pronounce her name correctly.
Cliodhna Hughes has a traditional Irish name, pronounced ‘Klee-uh-na’, which she said amazes Australians.
She says she gets surprised looks when she introduces herself and that people in Australia usually accidentally call her ‘Clio’.
“When I say my name is Cliodhna, they honestly look at me as if I have twenty heads,” she said in an interview. video.
“It’s not a difficult name to pronounce, but in Australia every Irish name is difficult to pronounce, why the hell can’t anyone understand how to pronounce Irish names?”
Cliodhna Hughes (pictured) has a traditional Irish name, pronounced ‘Klee-uh-na’, which she said amazes Australians
Cliodhna said she was “unprepared” for Australians’ difficulty in pronouncing Irish names correctly.
“Cliodhna isn’t a difficult name at home, it’s actually a popular name and no one can pronounce it here,” she said.
“I don’t know what people were thinking when they came up with these names many moons and years ago — how on earth was the rest of the world supposed to pronounce these names, let alone spell the things?”
She said she was ‘stunned’ by the confusion and warned others with Irish names that the same could happen to them if they travel or move Down Under.
“If you come to Australia, be prepared. If you have a hard name, probably an Irish name, you will be called by a nickname because I get Clio, an abbreviation,” Cliodhna said.
Australian viewers admitted they were confused by the expat’s names and other Celtic nicknames.
“When I say my name is Cliodhna (Australians), honestly look at me like I have 20 heads,” she said
“If I had to read it, it would sound like Cleod-hana. The struggle with Irish names and spelling is real,” said one user.
‘I lived in Dublin and was mystified by the names. Oisin, Roise, Aine, Cathal,” wrote a second.
“Since they’re not spelled the way they’re pronounced, how are we supposed to figure that out?! But that’s a nice name!’ a third added.
But Cliodhna wasn’t the only one to have her name mispronounced or abbreviated by Australians.
“I got Koda, Chloe and even Clog, it’s an adventure to hear how people will pronounce my name,” wrote someone called Clodagh, Clo-Dah said.
“I hear you moved from Scotland and I’m having the same problem,” Eilidh replied, pronounced Ay-lee.
“My name is relatively easy to pronounce for an Irish name and I’m Australian, raised here with an Irish background, but the hell I went through growing up, the school list was my biggest fear every time,” said a Maeve .