Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Baby names

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

Original poster

Áine (Irish - pronounced onya)

133 replies

FrazzledCareerWoman · 06/12/2021 21:21

Yes or no... obviously no one will read it correctly..: but I love it Grin

not for my hypothetical last chance baby number3 that I might not even have

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
legalseagull · 07/12/2021 19:58

@EekGoesTheBaby

I think it's beautiful. Just make sure the surname isn't slang for male genitalia (Johnson, Peters, etc)
Grin
Original poster
FrazzledCareerWoman · 07/12/2021 19:57

So sad

OP posts:
Original poster
FrazzledCareerWoman · 07/12/2021 19:56

@Ceramide

Too similar to aine which is French for groin.
Omg

This is a deal breaker

French MIL

OP posts:
WhoppingBigBackside · 07/12/2021 19:39

I know an Áine and I had seen her name written without the fada before I met her. I thought it sounded like Ain. Had I seen the fada, I would have known it was irish.

PleasantBirthday · 07/12/2021 18:00

@Nellesbelles

I like it. Personally I prefer the name Enya as I think Ainé isn't too well known in England and would get lots of mispronunciation but it is a pretty name.
Enya is just one woman's nickname though. I think her name is Eithne.
Nellesbelles · 07/12/2021 14:10

I like it. Personally I prefer the name Enya as I think Ainé isn't too well known in England and would get lots of mispronunciation but it is a pretty name.

irishfarmer · 07/12/2021 11:41

I like the name. I only know a few and none are babies. I would say Awn-ya.

HesterLee · 07/12/2021 10:51

My best friend is called Áine. I like it.
Shamefully we all say Onya, as she does herself, but when we all met at the age of 12 I suspect it was easier.
Her mum always says Awn-ya but her brother and sister say Onya.
She is totally not bothered how it's pronounced and mainly it gets shortened to Ons.

emmathedilemma · 07/12/2021 09:55

I rather like it and I'd say even between Irish people there's regional differences in how strong they pronounce the sounds in names like this. We have a Grainne in our team and they all say it slightly differently!
That said, I'm very confused how people think Dawn and Don are the same!

SeanChailleach · 07/12/2021 09:33

Weeping at people disliking Gráinne. Grá (Early Modern Irish "grádh") means love. The ending -inne usually means "-ness". So I always think of it as meaning loveliness.
It does also mean granite, grain, and ugliness. But it was a popular name and I don't think mothers call their babies horrible names. The original might have been "Gráidhne".

Ceramide · 07/12/2021 09:10

Too similar to aine which is French for groin.

OrangeAndYellowAndBlue · 07/12/2021 07:39

Dawn and Don are definitely identical in some accents (many American accents, for example). It's known as the "caught-cot merger".

Anyway, I love Áine, it's a lovely sound and a great mythological link. I teach a student called Áine at the moment actually.

Original poster
FrazzledCareerWoman · 07/12/2021 06:49

My accent is "bbc" English lol
So.. Dawn & Don are slightly different but only just .

Not a fan of the name Anya. It seems completely different to me.

OP posts:
mathanxiety · 07/12/2021 06:13

How is awn-ya a different sound than on-ya? Slightly longer vowel maybe.

Do you have an Ulster accent?
If yes, then the difference is very slight.

If not, then there's a big difference. One is a long vowel (AW) and one is a short one (short O).

How do you say the word 'lawn'?

AnFiadhRua · 07/12/2021 00:52

Ha ha yeh, congratulate yrself for not saying it out loud only to then realise you're hmming it!

StrychnineInTheSandwiches · 07/12/2021 00:43

If I met someone called Enya I'd be thinking 'SAIL AWAY, SAIL AWAY, SAIL AWAY...' Hopefully I'd just think it.

AnFiadhRua · 07/12/2021 00:40

Áine - Awnya quite like it but I prefer the v similar but easier Anya. Or Enya

luinagreine · 07/12/2021 00:35

@PieMistee

I find it very moany sounding like, Grainne. It also sounds crap in a Manc accent. We have a lot of traditional Irish names (and many nationality names) here though and people wouldn't blink at it. So may depend where you live.
I feel the same about Grainne, its my least favourite Irish name and Áine has the same sound. I always think of the Áine asal, lusaí luch agus Pól Peist books from primary when I hear Áine as well, so in my head when someone says Áine I finish it with asal.
DDMAC · 06/12/2021 23:59

😂 I have a family member called Áine roughly that age

480Widdio · 06/12/2021 23:01

@DDMAC,showing my age,I am thinking of 30years ago!

TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams · 06/12/2021 22:56

Definitely Awwn-ya. I love it but most British people struggle with pretty much any Irish name

Have you come across Aileen? Ai as in Mae

Ay-leen

Aisling - Ashling is the anglicised version. Is you spell it Ais in the U.K. everyone calls you Ay-sling Confused

Gensola · 06/12/2021 22:55

I am from Belfast and have heard Anya for Aine also Awnya and Onya sound identical in an NI accent (see also Dawn and Don, totally identical!)

DDMAC · 06/12/2021 22:51

@480Widdio

Lovely name,but it is very common in Ireland these days.
Really I haven’t heard of any new babies being called that.
toastofthetown · 06/12/2021 22:49

I like Áine but as other people have said, I'd pronounce it with an awn rather than on sound. I don't think pronunciation will be a problem in England; it's a pretty simple sound that most should only need to be told once.

HandScreen · 06/12/2021 22:46

@chickenpie1984

I know several and pronounce is Ann-ya.
No, you're just pronouncing it wrong, and they're being polite.
Swipe left for the next trending thread