'My friend named her daughter a rare Irish name - but it has a terrible meaning'

Irish names are a hugely popular pick for parents-to-be when deciding what moniker to bestow on their child. Famous faces like Saoirse Ronan and Cillian Murphy have helped to once again put Irish names on the map.

Irish names have beautiful meanings and many are rooted in legend . Some are also very rare and can be hard to pronounce, especially for those in the US who are not totally familiar with the spelling of Irish names .

One woman is having some difficulty, though, after her friend named her daughter a very unique Irish name - which has a "terrible meaning".

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Taking to Reddit, the woman wrote: "My friend's daughter named her daughter.... Cessair. Pronounced (kess-er). I can't. I just can't.

"It's come to my attention that this is an actual Irish name ... I think it's a terrible name for a human, and it stands for sorrow and affliction ."

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The controversial admission caused a stir among online users , many of whom didn't seem to argue with the poster's assertion that Cessair isn't an ideal name for a girl.

"Look, I’m Irish," one woman wrote. " I love Irish names. However I have to say that I have never met a single person with this name .

"I just checked the census statistics and it seems no one (or next to no one) in Ireland has been given this name in the past 60 years. While I love digging up old mythological names , this one is certainly a choice."

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Another chimed in with their thoughts and even compared it to salad , writing: I read it like a weird 'Caesar'... with her brothers Krewton, icybrg and cHeese."

A third gave some context: "It’s Irish. Cessair or Cesair ( spelled Ceasair in modern Irish, meaning 'sorrow, affliction' ) is a character from a medieval Irish origin myth , best known from the 11th-century chronicle text Lebor Gabála Érenn."

A fourth didn't mince their words, commenting: "How do these people even come up with such weird a** names?" A fifth gave their experience: "I have a family member with this name ( my family lives across Ireland and the UK ).

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"Even in my brain I still say it at “sess-ah” when I see it written down. Honestly it must be such a pain to live with ." Another poster concluded: "Cess pit. Guaranteed jibe at school."

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