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Baby names

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Original poster

Aoife - if not Irish?

139 replies

Helpneeded12345 · 18/03/2023 10:36

I love the name Aoife. It is my all time favourite girls name but neither my partner or I are Irish (my great-grandparents were Irish but this is a very long way back!)

I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you think it is ok to use Aoife if not Irish or would it be weird / cultural appropriation?

I'm particularly interested in opinions from anyone Irish - would it be offensive?

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harrietm87 · 20/03/2023 17:35

mathanxiety · 20/03/2023 17:12

It should be an eh (schwa) but you'll more likely hear an ah sound.

Irish is taught extremely poorly in Ireland.

Yes that’s the sound I meant when I wrote “uh” - it’s much gentler than “ah”.

mathanxiety · 20/03/2023 17:12

It should be an eh (schwa) but you'll more likely hear an ah sound.

Irish is taught extremely poorly in Ireland.

SilverViking · 20/03/2023 16:43

@Helpneeded12345

Remember, the Irish migrated (long before migrated became a negative term) to all corners of the globe and have friendly influences in many countries. So many people claim Irish heritage no matter how tenuous it is - because they all love the Irish.

So use away at any Irish name... we will be chuffed and not offended!!

LizzieAnt · 20/03/2023 16:27

Lostmarblesfinder · 20/03/2023 16:02

It is Eefah where I am near Dublin. Very strong ah sound at the end definitely not an uh. Ah!!! Irish dialects impossible to get a single answer.

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I have to say a strong ah at the end of Aoife (or indeed Saoirse) sounds wrong to my ear too. The word aife has the same ending and it's given here in various Irish language dialects.

www.teanglann.ie/en/fuaim/aife

ReadersD1gest · 20/03/2023 16:22

Violethayes · 20/03/2023 16:07

It’s not an attractive name in my opinion. Sounds like a clumsy fat person or a wheezy noise. However if I liked it I would use it regardless if it being Irish.

Well, that's bloody rude! Is there any need?
Op, I'm an Irish Aoife and it's definitely pronounced Eee-fa. Go for it 😄

Violethayes · 20/03/2023 16:07

It’s not an attractive name in my opinion. Sounds like a clumsy fat person or a wheezy noise. However if I liked it I would use it regardless if it being Irish.

Lostmarblesfinder · 20/03/2023 16:02

harrietm87 · 20/03/2023 13:12

Aoife = eefuh
Aoibhe = eevuh

in my NI accent anyway.

I often hear English people pronouncing Aoife as EefAH which sounds terrible to me.

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It is Eefah where I am near Dublin. Very strong ah sound at the end definitely not an uh. Ah!!! Irish dialects impossible to get a single answer.

derbylass81 · 20/03/2023 13:26

@harrietm87 thank you

harrietm87 · 20/03/2023 13:12

derbylass81 · 20/03/2023 12:49

Could you explain how each of these are pronounced please? Love Aoife but not sure I'm pronouncing it quite correctly

Show quote history

Aoife = eefuh
Aoibhe = eevuh

in my NI accent anyway.

I often hear English people pronouncing Aoife as EefAH which sounds terrible to me.

derbylass81 · 20/03/2023 12:49

Lostmarblesfinder · 18/03/2023 13:46

Oh and we do have a version of the name Eva in Ireland, if you find Aoife complicated you are going to love it, it is spelt Aoibhe.

Could you explain how each of these are pronounced please? Love Aoife but not sure I'm pronouncing it quite correctly

KirstenBlest · 20/03/2023 12:29

I'm in Ireland and I've come across lots of Priyas Lots??

I find it odd that it is seen as a question but a name like Rebecca, Olivia or Chloe' is not questioned. Yet not English/British
Rebecca is biblical, and Olivia is shakespearean, so do not compare.
Chloe has only been popular since the late 1980s. Something to do with the fashion brand perhaps?

Enko · 19/03/2023 22:06

Dh and I have no Irish connections but we still have a dd named Aoife and we love the name.

I find it odd that it is seen as a question but a name like Rebecca, Olivia or Chloe' is not questioned. Yet not English/British

A quick google told me it is now 190th in UK and 30th in Ireland so getting into " normal" (said with quotation marks - tongue in cheek) territory.

SparkyBlue · 19/03/2023 19:32

OP go for it if it's the name you want to use. I'm in Ireland and I've come across lots of Priyas recently and they don't have any connection to India

saltwater1985 · 19/03/2023 18:56

LizzieAnt · 18/03/2023 16:11

A link to pronunciation for anyone wondering forvo.com/word/aoife/

Listen to the Antarctic fellow pronounce it 😂😂

Andanotherone01 · 19/03/2023 18:54

My DDs have a Gaelic names (DH’s parents are Irish) we live in the Home Counties. DD1 has an Aoife in her class, again parents are second generation Irish. We all have southern accents though, so no one would know we had Irish ancestry unless you asked. I don’t see the issue with using Gaelic names even if not Irish.

user1469559754 · 19/03/2023 18:53

I'm an Aoife and Irish and would have no problem with you using it. I love my name! It's become very popular in Ireland now so wouldn't agree with a previous poster that it's becoming less common. My 7 yea old son knows loads of Aoifes. I also can't understand people saying it's hard to spell so don't use it - just tell people how to spell it! That is rarely said about names of other nationalities just the Irish.

Dora26 · 19/03/2023 18:51

I’m Irish and would be quite happy to see an Irish name used - with or without Irish antecedents- as pp said once spelt and pronounced properly. Enjoy!

mathanxiety · 19/03/2023 18:51

It's impossible to predict all the ways the not very bright are going to get a name wrong and work around that.

People naming babies even in the 80s couldn't possibly have anticipated all the problems with emails and whatnot.

Choose a name you like, and at the very least it will end up being a way to identify people who know you from cold callers over the phone, and you can also keep a mental spreadsheet of people who fail to get it right after one correction. This sort of list can be handy.

KirstenBlest · 19/03/2023 18:47

Oh we did. Adolf and Myra love their names

AlwaysLatte · 19/03/2023 18:46

I have no idea how to pronounce it as I've only ever seen it written down but I've always thought it looks like a pretty name.

sunglassesonthetable · 19/03/2023 18:44

A good reason not to choose your babies name on the basis of the behaviours of people in the future.

Just choose what you like.

KirstenBlest · 19/03/2023 18:42

@AnonymousArmadillo , me too, but they know better than I do and insist they're right. Confused

AnonymousArmadillo · 19/03/2023 18:40

I don't like having my first name spelt wrongly.

Neither do I but I have a name nearly as simple Jane Smith and people still spell my name wrong.

KirstenBlest · 19/03/2023 18:36

@mathanxiety , no other than emails going to the wrong person or bouncing, redirected mail not matching the redirection details etc. I wasn't particuarly bothered by it, but I don't like having my first name spelt wrongly.

sunglassesonthetable · 19/03/2023 18:32

Spelt or spelled - Hmm 🤔