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Countdown is on... Aoife or Fiadh??

71 replies

mika2 · 29/07/2013 16:55

Hi, with 4 weeks to go I'm starting to panic about names. I'm Irish and DH is English so after months of heated debate we've finally agreed on an Irish name for DD1 and narrowed it down to;

-Aoife (ee-fa) - really like it and our "safe" option but worried it's very overused. Feel like I'm tripping over Aoife's in Ireland and becoming increasingly popular in the UK? Also have a (not very close) cousin with the same name and mum's best friend has an Aoife (so can see imagine lots of "your Aoife" or "my Aoife" confusion between them)

Or

  • Fia/Fiadh (fee-a) - means deer in Irish and I saw 3 deer while pregnant so thought it was a sign :) DH liked it, but now keeps saying it sounds like "fear". Does it?? DD will grow up in the UK and don't want her tormented for years in playground with "what are you afraid of" etc.


Also don't want to use one as middle name in case we have a DD2.

Thoughts please??
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makingdoo · 29/07/2013 17:13

Love Fiadh. Don't agree with your DH at all.

Not so keen on Aoife but that's because I'm Irish and know so many!

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curlew · 29/07/2013 17:14

I hate to say it, but it does sound like fear. Bother.

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squoosh · 29/07/2013 17:17

Hmmmmmmm.

I too am not a huge fan of Aoife as I know billions and trillions of them. I've never heard Fiadh used as a first name before and yes some English people will hear it as 'fear' but I like it and would pick it over Aoife any day of the week.

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JamieandtheMagicTorch · 29/07/2013 17:17

It's a shame about the "Fear" thing...
Aoife is lovely, but surely there are as beautiful names that are less commonplace?

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curlew · 29/07/2013 17:19

How about Eimear or Grainne?

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JamieandtheMagicTorch · 29/07/2013 17:20

Caoimhe is nice (Keeva)

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mika2 · 29/07/2013 17:47

I love Caoimhe (and always imagined I would have a DD with this name) but DH hates it :( To be fair I also vetoed his favourite name!

We've googled "Irish girl's baby names" to death and those 2 are the best we can come up with. I wasn't keen on Aoife myself originally, but DH really likes it and it's def grown on me although I know all the Irish relations will probably be stifling a yawn if we go with it! Hopefully it's a bit more unusual in the UK though?

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Twostep · 29/07/2013 17:53

Is Fiadh a 'real' name? I've worked with a couple of Aoifes, not too many. Must Irish women (not men for some reason) with 'unusual' names in the Uk (that I've worked with) changed their spelling (so a Nuala used to spell her name Noola).

What about Ethna? I rather like that.

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ShowOfHands · 29/07/2013 17:54

Aoife is really quite popular in the UK. I know a few. It's pretty though so can understand its popularity. It's been part of the Eva/Evie/Ava explosion so you can reasonably expect to meet lots of dc with a similar sounding name too.

Fiadh is very pretty but I didn't know it as a name before this thread. I'd definitely pick it over Aoife but if dh isn't keen, you might need to go back to the drawing board.

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squoosh · 29/07/2013 17:55

Nuala spelt Noola made me giggle. It just looks so wacky!

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MardyBra · 29/07/2013 17:57

I like Countdown. Although I miss Twice Nightly Whiteley.

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mrstowers · 29/07/2013 17:59

Although Aoife is more popular than Fiadh I wouldn't really say that it's overly popular here in the UK and I absolutely love the name. To me, the way that you pronounce Fiadh it sounds like you are trying to say Thea (Thee-a). You know like some people say free instead of three.

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squoosh · 29/07/2013 18:00

Oh yes, that's a good point re. Thea.

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Scruffey · 29/07/2013 18:03

Aoife is better, although plenty of people will still not know how to pronounce it in England.

I really don't like Fiadh. It is pronounced like "fear" as in afraid unless I am mistaken (?). Had you not written a pronounciation on this thread, I wouldn't have had a clue how to say it anyway.

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FriskyHenderson · 29/07/2013 18:03

There's an Aoife in every class in my DC school.

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TotallyEggFlipped · 29/07/2013 18:18

I like Aoife, but it is getting very popular - which means people shouldn't have a problem with it.

Also like Sadhbh, Orla and Laoise.

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mika2 · 29/07/2013 18:30

Fiadh, like mrstowers mentions, is pronunced like Thea (with a speech impediment!) which is fine - just worrying about it sounding like "fear" in some accents...

Other names mentioned have been vetoed for various reasons - when I suggested Orla, DH responded "as in Kiely" and I think Laoise/Naoise (lee-sha/nee-sha) sound more Indian than Irish.

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valiumredhead · 29/07/2013 18:35

Fea sounds to me like someone who can't pronounce Thea.

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AnythingNotEverything · 29/07/2013 18:38

What MrsTowerssaid - people may just think you're too lazy/uneducated to say "thea".

This risk has ruined "Theo" for me Hmm

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GlaikitFizzog · 29/07/2013 18:41

I don't get the fear thing. but I'm Scottish and pronounce my Rs.

Sophia is mega popular and.I don't see anyone saying it sounds like so-fear.

in fact I know a Phia.

where in the do you.live? England or Ireland?

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Trifle · 29/07/2013 18:43

The mere fact that you have had to spell it out so that people reading the thread know how to pronounce it is testament to the fact that your dd (and you, dh etc) will have to spend their whole lives doing exactly that.

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MortifiedAdams · 29/07/2013 18:45

What about Freya? Similar but no need for any explainations.

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MortifiedAdams · 29/07/2013 18:47

Or Isi...means Deer in native american

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curlew · 29/07/2013 18:49

What language is Native American?

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mika2 · 29/07/2013 18:56

We live in England (SE) and yes it's ppl not pronouncing their r's that's the problem with Fiadh.

Freya is pretty, but definitely want an Irish name for DD. Maybe Aoife is easier esp if it's getting more mainstream here, just a pity there are so many in Ireland!

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