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Baby names

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

Original poster

Aoife or Orla

90 replies

Baby2Sep22 · 23/09/2022 14:41

not long to go and we need to decide between

Aoife Lily
or
Orla ... (please suggest middle names)

Lily is a family name but I don’t think it goes with Orla and their are no other family names we would want to use.

Oh should add - living in the UK!

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AriettyHomily · 23/09/2022 15:18

Aoife is a popular name now, not difficult to comprehend.

if you would go with Aoife why not Orlaith?

neilyoungismyhero · 23/09/2022 15:17

Ehneh · 23/09/2022 14:52

If you're in the UK, I would go with Orla. People here can neither pronounce no spell the name Aoife the majority of the time.
I wouldn't put my child through that tbh (or myself because I'd get frustrated having to correct people over and over, spell it out constantly and explain that it's an Irish name and that's why it's spelled and pronounced differently)

exactly this, I saw the name some months ago on a doggie page on FB I and several people messaged asking how to pronounce it. Bit of a nightmare for a child to carry it IMO.

Berlinlover · 23/09/2022 15:15

Aoife is a beautiful name but only pronounced correctly in Ireland. I’d go for Orla.

washingbasketqueen · 23/09/2022 15:07

Agree with points about orla in an English accent. Makes my teeth itch. I have a more difficult Irish name than Aoife and lived in England. No real issues after you told people how to pronounce.

FartOutLoudDay · 23/09/2022 15:01

DD with an Irish name (complete with fadas) living in UK and gets on fine, people get a bit thrown by it written down but once they hear it spoken they get it, unless they’re particularly rude/ignorant and can’t be bothered to pronounce it properly.

I’d choose Aoife because Orla is super popular!

Onestepforwards2back · 23/09/2022 14:59

ErinAoife · 23/09/2022 14:48

I will go with Orla as some people in the UK won't be able to pronounce Aoife correctly

This.

JenniferBarkley · 23/09/2022 14:58

Agree that Orla won't be pronounced correctly in England.

But, I think Aoife blends in too much with all of the Eva/Evie/Ava/Ella/Ellie type names so I wouldn't like that either.

Sorry!

Ehneh · 23/09/2022 14:56

I have two siblings with Irish names and both have considered changing their names because they're tired of having to explain why they are pronounced and spelled differently from English names. My siblings are in their 20s and 30s and this has been going on since primary school.

CultClassic · 23/09/2022 14:56

Agree with @Ifyouknowyouknowyouknow . Orla is a lovely name but I don’t like the ‘Awla’ sound in the English accent (maybe depends what part of UK you are in). I often hear English people referring to Aoife as the most crazily spelled Irish name, but it makes me think that actually quite a lot of people have heard of it, and the different accent doesn’t change the sound of the name. I had the same concerns with ‘Dara’ which I like in Irish accent but not in English accent.

Orla is however lovely, maybe a more consonant-y middle name, e.g, Rose or Maeve.

KirstenBlest · 23/09/2022 14:54

Orla will sound like 'All a', and is meh. It is very popular on here, but I can't unsee Oral

Aoife will be misspelt and mispronounced but is ok, but sort of disappears into all the Eva/Ava type names

LadyDanburysHat · 23/09/2022 14:53

Aoife, it's a much prettier name. And I'm sure people will get the hang of it quickly enough.

Ifyouknowyouknowyouknow · 23/09/2022 14:52

ErinAoife · 23/09/2022 14:48

I will go with Orla as some people in the UK won't be able to pronounce Aoife correctly

I’d say the opposite! English people might initially struggle to get their heads round the spelling (though I think it’s becoming better known), but Eefa sounds basically the same in English and Irish accents.

Orla vs “Awla” though is very different. I hate Orla without the “r” which is how nearly all English people will say it. If you live somewhere with a rhotic accent would be different.

Ehneh · 23/09/2022 14:52

nor spell*

Ehneh · 23/09/2022 14:52

If you're in the UK, I would go with Orla. People here can neither pronounce no spell the name Aoife the majority of the time.
I wouldn't put my child through that tbh (or myself because I'd get frustrated having to correct people over and over, spell it out constantly and explain that it's an Irish name and that's why it's spelled and pronounced differently)

ErinAoife · 23/09/2022 14:48

I will go with Orla as some people in the UK won't be able to pronounce Aoife correctly