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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
HandScreen · 06/12/2021 22:45

@StrychnineInTheSandwiches

Awww - as if it's 1950 and you've just spotted the parish priest arrive in the parish dance hall to ruin everyone's fun

Nyagghhhhh - as if you're elbow deep in a cow's birth canal in the middle of a bitterly cold winter's night

That sums up an Áine

Grin
PieMistee · 06/12/2021 22:42

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.

HandScreen · 06/12/2021 22:42

@FrazzledCareerWoman

How is awn-ya a different sound than on-ya? Slightly longer vowel maybe.
Awn rhymes with yawn. On doesn't.
TheDuchessOfMN · 06/12/2021 22:42

Maybe it’s just my accent so. Caoimhe (Qwee-va) Saoirse (Seer-sha) Róise (Ro-sha) all end in “a” inside my head Grin

HandScreen · 06/12/2021 22:41

@FallonCarringtonWannabe

Im watching This Way Up tonight and they definitely say onya. I know a child who it is pronounced as I would say it as awn ya
That's the joke. That English people pronounce it wrong. It's an in-joke for Irish people.
MaryAndGerryLivingInDerry · 06/12/2021 22:41

Oh and Dawn and Don are the same too.

HandScreen · 06/12/2021 22:40

It's not pronounced Onta, it's pronounced Awn-ya. HTH.

MaryAndGerryLivingInDerry · 06/12/2021 22:40

I’m in NI and awnya and Onya are the same pronunciation. (As is Grainne)

HeckinMiffed · 06/12/2021 22:40

my friends daughter is Aine...Awnya its pronounced. Its a beautiful name I think, I dont know anyone else with this name.
With an Irish surname it'd be lovely!

StrychnineInTheSandwiches · 06/12/2021 22:39

[quote TheDuchessOfMN]@irishfeminist a name ending in ‘e’ sounds like ‘a’, eg Aoife (E-fa), Aoibhe (E-va) Ailbhe (Al-va) etc[/quote]
When I hear people say Aoife it sounds more like Ee-fuh rather than a pronounced fah sound.

irishfeminist · 06/12/2021 22:39

@StrychnineInTheSandwiches 😆😆😆

irishfeminist · 06/12/2021 22:38

@TheDuchessOfMN I'm an Irish speaker and I would pronounce all of those names as ending in "eh" but 🤷‍♀️

chickenpie1984 · 06/12/2021 22:37

I know several and pronounce is Ann-ya.

shinydiamonds · 06/12/2021 22:37

@CamVegOut it is absolutely not Aah Nagh. It is Awn ya.

Heruka · 06/12/2021 22:36

I’m Scottish and still can’t hear any difference between awn and on, even with the Dawn example! Anyone else?! I think it’s a nice name op, not like top ten, but nice enough.

Goldentimes · 06/12/2021 22:35

@irishfeminist

Goldentimes are you in Ulster? I've noticed Aine is pronounced with a flatter shorter A sound there.
Yes but there's a mixture of people saying it like Awn ya or Anne Ya
StrychnineInTheSandwiches · 06/12/2021 22:32

Awww - as if it's 1950 and you've just spotted the parish priest arrive in the parish dance hall to ruin everyone's fun

Nyagghhhhh - as if you're elbow deep in a cow's birth canal in the middle of a bitterly cold winter's night

That sums up an Áine

irishfeminist · 06/12/2021 22:31

Goldentimes are you in Ulster? I've noticed Aine is pronounced with a flatter shorter A sound there.

TheDuchessOfMN · 06/12/2021 22:30

@irishfeminist a name ending in ‘e’ sounds like ‘a’, eg Aoife (E-fa), Aoibhe (E-va) Ailbhe (Al-va) etc

Goldentimes · 06/12/2021 22:29

Kinda of like Ann yeh. Yea that's how we say it here only faster annyeh

TheDuchessOfMN · 06/12/2021 22:27

@NotKnowingArseFromElbow but at least we can agree that there is a difference between ahhh and aww.

Áine is pronounced Aww.

irishfeminist · 06/12/2021 22:27

It's not ya it's yeh!

Aaawwwn - yeh.

Goldentimes · 06/12/2021 22:24

We prounnounce it like this An ya

NotKnowingArseFromElbow · 06/12/2021 22:24

First of all you say ahhhhh when the doc looks in your throat.....not awwwwww. So that's has nothing to do with the name.

Secondly the dawn V don thing - deffo depends on your accent. Both are they same in my accent.

Anyway, OP, it's beautiful name.

CamVegOut · 06/12/2021 22:23

Are you thinking of Úna or Oonagh pronunciation which is ooh nah. Áine is pron. Aah nagh.

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