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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Original poster

Aodhla or Éala

37 replies

namingnumbertwo · 04/09/2021 07:40

Hello, we’re trying to decide on a name for baby number two, who is a girl (but not born yet). I increasingly like the sound of Aodhla or Éala (pronounced Ay-la). I know it’s becoming more popular in Ireland, but I can’t find much details about it besides being used more frequently in the last few years. I also wondered if either option is a more accurate spelling?

Other options include Niamh, which feels much like a name people will be familiar with. I really like Niamh but not sure it goes as well with the surname.

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Original poster

namingnumbertwo · 13/12/2022 21:28

@Aismixx hi! We didn’t go for it in the end. Went for another Irish name that felt more her! But still think it’s a great name. Also people are weird about names!

OP posts:

Aismixx · 13/12/2022 16:12

Hey OP!

Apologies old thread! What name did you end up going for?

Aodhla and Éala are on my top of my list for baby names.. wondering has their been any confusion with these?

Some posters comments on this thread are horrid! I am Irish and have heard all these names. Particularly Éala as it seems to be getting popular.

Abcdefu · 14/03/2022 06:10

Love it. Would go first spelling. Colleague named her wee girl Isla,which is pronounced similar

hattie43 · 14/03/2022 06:05

Both unpronounceable

mathanxiety · 14/03/2022 04:09

Éala is too much like Éalú (Exit) imo.

Éila flouts Irish spelling convention - broad/broad and slender/slender vowels. It has a slender vowel before the consonant and a broad one after, which is a no-no.

And you will have to battle people insisting on calling your DD Ellie, Ella, Eela, etc.

Aodh is a boy's name (Aodh - Hugh). I personally don't like feminising it with a random -la tacked on at the end. It's not something authentically Irish. The normal feminisation has been mentioned by LizzieAnt.

Aela is nice, doesn't pretend to be anything other than a nice-sounding modern name.

Would you consider Eily? Like Eileen without the N..

LizzieAnt · 13/03/2022 16:49

I've seen the sister's name written both ways.
Also see Brí Éile.

Snowbell99 · 13/03/2022 16:06

Only found Éile with the fada as a place: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89ile

Snowbell99 · 13/03/2022 16:05

Ahh, found it: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eochu_Feidlech

But here it says the sister was Eile, no fada. Would be different right?

Snowbell99 · 13/03/2022 16:03

Was Éile really Medb's sister in mythology?

I can only find Eithne, she was Medb's sister.

Apparently she had more but when I google "Éile Medb", Éile Maeve" with mythology nothing comes up except for baby name boards where people claim this.

Just curious. Wouldn't there have to be something on the internet about this?

I only found Éile as an old place name. And with Éala I sort of wonder if people saw "swan" (eala) and thought "nice meaning but I want a nicer pronunciation" and put a fada on it for that.

LizzieAnt · 13/03/2022 15:36

I know an Áilís (Ayleesh) which has has similar first syllable sound.

Just noticed a typo here! Should have said Ailís

Concestor · 30/10/2021 17:22

I would pronounce that first one as odd-la as I have no idea how it should be said.

Leavisite · 30/10/2021 16:59

@AosSi

Would the English pronounce Éala correctly though, if they're not handling Orla right? I don't love it to tell you the truth OP. Feels a bit nothing-y. And it also feels like just a spin on the blandness of Ella/Ellie.

Btw, JI in Dublin classrooms is wall to wall Fiadhs already

The problem with Orla for English people with non-rhotic accents is that they tend to say 'OH-la', which sounds horrible. It meant I never considered it as a potential name when having a baby in England (who turned out to be a boy called Naoise, anyway, though we considered Aodh -- and I love Aodhamair, though I've never known one...)

I'd go with Éile, though a pp is probably right that people might say 'Elle' or 'Ellie' in England. I'd also associate Éala distractingly with éalú and eala.

AosSi · 30/10/2021 16:49

Btw, JI in Dublin classrooms is wall to wall Fiadhs already

ShellsH28 · 29/10/2021 07:46

Hi, our daughter is Éalla, pronounced Ayla. She was born in September 2019. We had never heard or seen the Irish version before apart from on one website where or suggested or could be used as a version of Ellen. That was good enough for me. I wanted to name her after my granny. We used the extra L as we thought everyone would think she was "swan" Éala. Since she was born we've heard it used a few times. My brother is a gaelscoil teacher in Dublin and he's also seen it since so it's definitely becoming more popular. People do still call her Ella though so she will probably be correcting the pronunciation for her whole life. We have a Caoimhe too so my family in England had to get voice notes to give them the pronunciation.

LizzieAnt · 04/09/2021 17:24

It looks like Queen Medb’s sister was Éile, so maybe it is from that.

Ah right. Sorry, didn't make that connection - I've previously only seen Queen Medb's sister written as Eile without a fada.
The name of the town Thurlas is from Dúrlas Éile, I never thought about it before but a quick google shows that Éile was a territory in the Offaly region. Croghan Hill in Offaly is Brí Éile and is associated with an 'otherworldly woman or goddess', Éile (of whom I had never heard I'm sorry to say). The place has an interesting history.

I do love the sound of the name, just not so sure about the spelling. I'd probably go for the original Éile and would wonder if it would be misread as Elle or Ellie especially in the UK. Also, I'd pronounce the second syllable a bit differently, more Ay-leh than Ayla, if it comes from Éile.

Classica · 04/09/2021 17:07

I've never heard of this name before but I'd know how to pronounce it. Aodhla looks more correct, I'd just assume a female version of Aodh that I hadn't come across before.

There seem to be a lot of new-fangled Irish names on the scene. I wonder if the parents of all the new Fiadhs knew it was quite so popular. I'm picturing Junior Infants in all the primary school in a couple of years time being wall to wall Fiadhs!

Niamh is fine but it's a bit dull. It must have been a Top 10 name in Ireland for the past 45 years! And even though it's more commonly known in the UK I bet not as much as you might guess. A little Niamh in England is likely to be called Nymph or Nimee or lots of other things too on a regular basis! Basically, what I'm saying is don't pick Niamh because you think it might be 'easier'.

Duetorain · 04/09/2021 16:44

OP I don’t know. I think English speakers just need to get used to Amy name.

romdowa · 04/09/2021 13:49

Sounds like a beautiful name. There has been a real explosion of irish names recently , my neighbours here in Ireland called their son luan and I know another couple who used dabhi (davy) . Even among irish in the UK irish names are becoming very popular again.

Original poster

namingnumbertwo · 04/09/2021 13:44

@Roonilwazlib1 and thanks for this! I agree- I work in the UK with people from all over the world and they often have very different names than what you’d traditionally hear in the UK, but no one seems to have a problem pronouncing their name once they’ve been told it

OP posts:

Original poster

namingnumbertwo · 04/09/2021 13:40

Thanks everyone. Yes, I had checked the CSO and Éala seems the most commonly used spelling (with Aodhla, Aela and Éila etc much less used). It looks like Queen Medb’s sister was Éile, so maybe it is from that.

@ElspethFlashman I constantly have to spell and explain my name outside of Ireland. But it’s never been an issue for me. In fact I feel like my name has been an advantage to me, because it memorable which is very useful in the industry I work in. I’ve also never had any issues with people not being able to pronounce it once I’ve told them. In contrast, my husband has a name that’s very normal in England (think a British king’s type name). But it has been mispronounced all over the world, from Brazil to Spain to Sweden. I lean towards names being easy to say across various cultures over easy to spell for one language.

Orla is a lovely name but I have yet to meet an English person who can say it correctly (although fine in Scotland, thanks to that rhotic accent)!

OP posts:

LizzieAnt · 04/09/2021 11:28

Sorry, hadn't noticed Wapawapa had already given a link to that information.

LizzieAnt · 04/09/2021 11:24

*éalú

LizzieAnt · 04/09/2021 11:17

I'm in Ireland and have never met an Aodhla or Éala, but I checked the CSO and you're right OP - people have used these names the past 3-4 years at least. Quite rare and the Éala version is the more popular here with between 10 to 28 baby girls given the name in the 2017 -2020 records. (For reference 28 was in 180th position on babyname lists.) Fewer than 3 in 2016 or earlier (they don't give exact numbers between 0 - 2, just say less than 3). Aodhla was given to between 3 and 8 babies over the past 4 years.

As regards accurate spellings, I don't know. I think these are new names, so have no traditional spelling. Aodh is a very old male name but the traditional feminine forms (which aren't really used today) are Aodhnait and Aodhamair. Éala reminds me of eala and ealú as pp have said, but the pronunciation of the name is obvious from either spelling if you speak Irish. It would be more complicated in the UK I would think.

I know an Áilís (Ayleesh) which has has similar first syllable sound. It's a form of Elizabeth but, again, I think you'd have issues with spelling/pronunciation. I like Niamh too.

Seanchailleach · 04/09/2021 10:28

Éala is similar to éalú "escape".
Eala means "swan".

The spelling Aela that @Wapawapa says she will use is my favourite. It gets the pronunciation you want in Irish and might get some correct guesses in English.

Roonilwazlib1 · 04/09/2021 09:56

I think Eila is lovely!

I think pronunciation/spelling will be fine once you've told someone once, and I say that as an English person living in England

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