Survey finds significant number of Irish adults would change their first name

National Name Yourself Day, a day to celebrate reinvention by trying out a new name for size, is taking place today, Tuesday, April 9, 2024.

To mark this unique day, My Nametags.ie, undertook a quirky survey to discover more about Irish names and nicknames! The survey uncovered some interesting results….

What’s your name…. can you spell that?

The survey revealed that almost half of Irish adults surveyed (48%) have a first name that is often mispronounced or misspelt by others.

Some of the names that were most often mispronounced or misspelt included Irish favourites such as Aoife, Deirdre, Deirbhile, Aisling, Seamus and Muireann.

Name change….

When asked, a surprisingly large number of respondents, 44%, revealed that they sometimes (or a lot of the time) would like to change their own first name.

However, those that were parents seem mostly happy with the choice of name they made for their child with just 12% stating they would change their child’s name if they could.

Nicknames….an Irish thing?

It would appear that us Irish love a good nickname with 57% of those surveyed stating that they have (or had when younger) a nickname. These nicknames were mostly created by family members (35%), followed by our close friends (18%).

Many also couldn’t remember where their nickname originated from as it has been around for so long!

Name Yourself…. just for fun

As part of the survey, respondents were also asked to pick an alternative name that they would try out for National Name Yourself Day with a wide variety of names submitted with everything from traditional to trendy names featured including Grace, Molly, Harper and Poppy for women and James, Billy, Jack and Michael quoted for men.

Commenting ahead of National Name Yourself Day, Lars B. Andersen, Founder and Managing Director of My Nametags.ie, commented,

“At My Nametags we are extremely passionate about all names, from the traditional to the trendy.

“The survey revealed the Irish love for nicknames and with most originating from family members it seems that nicknames start from a very young age with some people carrying them with them all their lives.”

Visit the My Nametags website, www.mynametags.ie, to find out more about My Nametags personalised name labels as well as some of the other exciting products available to celebrate your own name!