Irish baby girl names

@MindyStClaire, @abiirthdaycake and @HarrietM87 are right — it’s not tomayto/tomato, it’s mispronouncing Guy as Goo-ey or Yvonne as Wy-Vonny. Wouldn’t you rather know before you do that?

Yes, Doire is ‘DIRR-uh’ — second syllable is a schwa. Doireann is DIRR-un.

I think Aisling is beautiful, goes very well with your surname, and it's not overly common but I think widely-enough known not to present too many pronunciation issues. Also lovely meaning - vision/dream.

Yep I’m from NI and would say “Durra” for Derry. Doireann id say Dirren/Durren (which sound almost identical in my accent).

I pronounce Doireann as Dir (to rhyme with fir) - in

Doireann is more like Dir-an, with dir rhyming with fir. Doire isn't Door-a, but more like Dir-a.

I think it's pronounced "Dearin".

Am Irish but not that familiar with that name. Probably regional too.

How does one pronounce Doireann? Doire (as in Irish for Derry) is 'door-a' isn't it so is it 'door-ann'?

I've recently been acquainted with an Eithne, which I'm told is Irish.

It took us a week to name DS, so I don't think it happens automatically, sorry!!

I think this thread proves why it’s important to have the discussion @Howcanwedoitall - you’ve got people saying that they’re “born and bred Irish” yet giving the OP completely incorrect information. For English speakers the pronunciation of Irish names isn’t intuitive and there is so much crap on google (again proved by this thread), so good to have the correct info somewhere in case the OP or someone else reading the thread is considering the name.

Depends what you class as Irish. I have a lot of extended family who are Irish - Biblical names and names of saints are very common - Mary, Anne, Beatrice, Catherine, etc. There are also a few place names or surnames like Kelly, Clare, etc. None of them have Gaelic names.

I have a Caragh and love the name.

I dont know @Howcanwedoitall. Personally I'd want all the information I could get about a name before I chose it for my child. That would include the various pronunciations used.

Because it's not tomato/tomato, it's calling someone John but pronouncing it Ben. I'd feel pretty stupid if I named my daughter Aoibheann, pronounced it Ayveen, and then realised a few years later that it's not possible to make those sounds with those letters in Irish - so I always flag it on a baby names thread to avoid any posters or lurking making that mistake unwittingly.

Why are people going on and on with name pronunciations. Op asked for name inspiration. Instead you have people banging on just to prove a point.
If people want to pronounce it ayveen that's fine. Eveen that's fine too.

Tomato - tomato.

Aoibheann seems to be pronounced Ayveen most of the time in NI. Makes me flinch every time. Imagine giving your child a name full of vowels and only pronouncing the consonants correctly!

Yes, I agree with @abiirthdaycake.
Often, I think people just don't realise that these are common mispronunciations that have become commonly used over time. Where I am in Munster Niall is always pronounced Nye-al. Most people don't really realise that it's pronounced Nee-ul (Neil) as Gaeilge. The same has happened with Aoibheann. I know the pronouciation of names can change and develop over time, but there's a difference between the natural changes that occur among people who speak a language, and the type of mistakes that develop among people who don't speak it, or only speak it a little.
Sorry, a bit off the point there, OP.
My favourites are Róisín and Sadhbh.

How do you pronounce Niall if not 'nile'?

I also like Seoda (pronounced 'sho-da' I think, possibly more like 'shaw-da'? I guess part of it depends on what your accent is in the first place?) It means 'jewel'.

The ay-veen thing is just another example of sore-sha, Kate-lin and nile - incorrect pronunciations "catching on" and in some areas becoming more common than the correct one. There's no other way to pronounce the letters Aoibheann in that order except for ee-van - regional variation doesn't account for the difference in vowel sounds required for ay-veen

I have an Ailbhe. My family is Irish. I pronounce it Alva.

When she was born, at least three different Irish people contacted us - including my own dad! - to explain we didn’t know how to pronounce it and the name is actually Ayyyyyyl-va.

We ignored them. She’s had “Albert” and “Alby” and most frequently, people not hearing the soft V and calling her AlBa. We love it though and so does she, she gets lots of compliments.

Also love Orla, Maeve or Nuala with your surname.

Suggestions:
Alvy (for Ailbhe) - I know several. There was a weird little bubble of popularity for Alvy in south Dublin in the late 60s.
Finola (Anglicised form of Fionnuala)
Bébhinn
Soireann
Aifric
Damhnait
Onóra
Muireann
Nóra
Orna

While Doireann is used as an Irish form of Dorothy, the only thing it has in common with Dorothy is that both start with D. It's a 'French class' or 'Irish College' handy equivalence.

Aoibheann........ Aveen
I know I'm late to the party here, but no, this isn't right.

aoi = ee.
ean(n) = an

It's possibly from the tendency in some English accents in Ireland to pronounce EE as a long A. For example 'pale 'em and ate 'em'. So you get Caoilfhionn pronounced Kaylan. Tea pronounced Tay. But hardly ever Taoiseach pronounced Tayshuck..

The question of when something that is clearly incorrect becomes acceptable and maybe even edges out the correct spelling is an interesting one. Hopefully people will start paying attention to the spelling they use. Irish is very poorly taught, though.

My cousin has a una and a aoife, I think they are pretty names.

Not sure if they are the correct Irish spellings,
She pronounces them as Eeffa and Oona, also like Caoimhe, kee-va.
Niamh and orla lovely too x

I know an Ailbhe. I think it’s becoming more popular in recent years.

Elves!

That's one of those nonsense name etymologies put about by demented baby name websites, @aimeeautumn. Elva is an anglicised version of the unisex Ailbhe, which means bright/light-coloured. God knows where someone got the elves from...

I like Ailbhe, actually.

This one is a super vintage Irish baby name but it is my ultimate top name and that is Elva meaning the leader of the elves. I just love it