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Baby names

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Original poster

Irish name - Anglicised spelling - help & opinion please!

60 replies

rachysetty · 14/09/2014 18:58

I really love the name Aine, and my Irish mum says it's pronounced Awnyah. Mum in law has been banging on about names spelling and pronunciation difficulties (even though she has suggested a couple of Irish names she likes). Part of me wants to say bugger off, the other part wants to listen as she is a retired teacher. Also my youngest sister's name is Irish and although my mum did partially anglicise it, to an accepted alternative but her name has never quite been pronounced correctly by anyone. The alternative English spelling I have seen is Anya, but that doesn't pronounce as the name I like!!!!! I was thinking of suggesting the spelling either Onya or Awnya. What do people think? ta xx

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LouiseBourgeois · 16/09/2014 12:54

Correct spelling, with fada, if you're going to use it - Anya, while pretty, us a completely different name, and phonetic efforts like Awnya or Onya are just horrible and clunky. It's a lovely name, by the way, and not much used any more.

And tell MIL to butt out.

looki · 16/09/2014 12:25

Choose another name rather than change the correct spelling of a name.

I don't like the name anyway so perhaps it's easy for me to say that but when I like a name, I always prefer the more used traditional spelling.

TaytoCrisp · 16/09/2014 07:16

Aine is lovely. I would definitely stick with the Gaelic spelling.

mathanxiety · 16/09/2014 02:53

Spell it right and use the fada.

Awnya looks like Yawn..
Onya gives a mispronunciation.
Anya has a different initial vowel sound and is in fact a Russian diminutive, so a long way from what you are aiming for, ethnically speaking.

Tomfunsnumber1trolley · 15/09/2014 21:54

Use the original spelling! I say that as someone who is both a teacher and the mother of a child with an Irish name. Most people get it right once they've been told!

AWombWithoutAFoof · 15/09/2014 15:19

Where I am Onya sounds like Áine, but I'd never spell it that way!

DramaAlpaca · 15/09/2014 15:06

If you are going to use this beautiful Irish name, please spell it correctly.

Onya and Anya don't sound a bit like Aine, and Awnya just looks ridiculous.

Agree that lots of Aines don't bother with the fada over the A, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

squoosh · 15/09/2014 11:59

Spell it correctly, Awnya looks so unattractive. I don't think you need to worry about the accent over the A, lots of Irish Aines don't bother with it.

PenguinsIsSleepDeprived · 15/09/2014 10:39

Use the proper spelling. Some names have anglicised spellings popular in Ireland - like Orla. Other than that, I think you stick with the authentic spelling. It's like spelling it Neve.

Also, the pronunciation isn't particularly tricky to someone English. So they probably just need to be told once. Some Irish names are hard to say in an English accent, and I think those are the ones that get said wrong again and again, and again.

MsMittens · 15/09/2014 09:41

Authentic spelling please - your daughter will be grateful for such a lovely name when she is older

squeak2392 · 15/09/2014 03:59

As far as I'm aware, it's usually anglicised as Anya. If that's actually a different sound though (ignorant non-Irish here) then I'd stick with Aine. People may well mispronounce it outside of Ireland, but that didn't stop Niamh from getting popular in its un-anglicised form.

RabbitSaysWoof · 14/09/2014 21:02

Its lovely as it is. Don't listen to MIL.

KenDoddsDadsDog · 14/09/2014 20:57

Spell it correctly. If people handle names like Nevaeh no idea why Aine would be an issue.

Purplehonesty · 14/09/2014 20:57

Anya is a gorgeous name. That's what I would go with but it's not my decision!

BunnyLebowski · 14/09/2014 20:54

My name is Aine.

Please for the love of GOD don't bastardise my lovely name in such a spectacularly idiotic fashion.

If you love it, use it.

If you don't love it enough to spell it properly use something else.

Fwiw I've lived in the U.K. for 13 years and my name rarely presents an issue. If and when anyone gets it wrong I correct them and they get it right next time. It's really not that much hassle.

Borttagen · 14/09/2014 20:52

I actually have am anglicised version of an Irish name and people struggle with it anyway as it's a weird sounding name they're not used to

Borttagen · 14/09/2014 20:50

As pointed out above it is Áine not Aine - please don't anglicise it!

Inkspellme · 14/09/2014 20:45

It's a beautiful name. Put in the fada as thats what gives it the particular sound in the name. Maybe when people see the fada they might assume it's not pronounced as obviously as Aine is?

GiniCooper · 14/09/2014 20:35

Áine is a beautiful name.
Don't mess with it.

AWombWithoutAFoof · 14/09/2014 20:20

NOOOOOOO, don't change the spelling!

It's two syllables, on-ya. It's not difficult.

We never seem to get these threads about Asian names, or African names. It annoys me, in this multicultural age people need to - as is common parlance in NI - wise up.

anotherdayanothersquabble · 14/09/2014 20:15

Onya is a brand name play on words Only a.

I would like to say, if people can learn to pronounce Gaultier and Tchaikovsky, they can learn to pronounce Aine. However, I have lived (and continue to) with misspelling and mispronounciation of my Irish name for the half of my life that I have lived in the UK.

Aine is a lovely name.

lotsofcheese · 14/09/2014 20:14

Would you think about Orla?

GummiberryJuice · 14/09/2014 20:12

Agree with wriggles rock Anya is not pronounced the same as Áine, stick with the proper spelling its lovely

WineWineWine · 14/09/2014 20:10

It will constantly be spelt and pronounced incorrectly - for her entire life, unless she lives in Ireland. Unavoidable.

DessieLou · 14/09/2014 20:05

Stick with Aine, it's lovely. Once people are told they'll soon remember.