Should I call my daughter Aoibhín in England?

I'm already familiar with this name but I have an Irish husband. I think it's a beautiful name. Would you consider a phonetic spelling?

Surely it’s much too close to her sister’s name?

how do you say it? to me it looks/sounds like - I, owe, bin

so no.

A lifetime of misspelling and mispronunciation! Poor kid!

Go right ahead. It will give her a clear link to her Irish heritage. Yes people will say and spell it wrong, but that’s really not a big deal. If you love the name then that’s the only reason you need.

School have to use her birth certificate name for official purposes, so an alternative spelling will give her yet another layer of explaining to do. For those saying it's easier in London, what if she moves outside London? Why not just keep it as a middle name?

Calling Aoife and Aoibhinn might be too similar? Call her Leonie??

My daughter has a pretty standard Scottish name which is pronounced exactly as it looks but people in England get it wrong all the time, which drives her mad (she is on the autistic spectrum). She scours Christmas and birthday cards to see if anyone has made a mistake!

My sister in law has been spelling my very popular name wrong for 40 years now. I think she's being passive aggressive, anyway, people make mistakes with names all the time. With an Irish name I think you need to be realistic and accept that it will often be spelled wrongly.

No-one can pronounce? There's no wierd sounds though - once you've been told how to pronounce them, then you just keep doing it no?

And you just learn to spell it if you need to - like Siobhan, or Saibh, or any other non-english name - it's only a few letters.

It’s a beautiful name!

Name your child whatever you want - don’t worry about what other people might think.

Irish names are lovely.

I have a DD called Aoibhlin living in London and she goes by Evie because it's easier. Obviously no one can pronounce it spell her name. In her class there's a girl called Caoimhe. Another name no one can pronounce or spell in London.

I wish I'd gone for an anglicised spelling to be honest.

On the plus side you will never be nagged to buy a mug or door plate with her name on it at a theme park!

Am curious if you and your husband are called Alex and Kate or similar …

Use the name. Life is too short to restrict yourself because other people might mis-pronounce or be unable to spell a name. (I would have guessed eevin, but obviously happy to have been corrected!)

I have a very well known/common name, and it's still mis-spelled probably 50% of the time at least if I don't spell it, and a foreign surname that is continuously miss-pronounced/spelled.

I don't mind it, and have no desire to change either of my names.

It seems on odd decision to call your girls such similar names.

Otherwise go for it , provided you and she are happy to patient about having to spell it every time she or you give her name, and for every person who reads to be unable to pronounce it.

Where we live DD’s primary school was very multicultural, lots of names from all different cultures all over the EU and globally, and the kids and teachers just got on with learning how to pronounce them. If you’re in an area which is only full of Avas and Isabellas then maybe you’d have some cause to worry about it being too unusual, but lots of the country has a wide variety of names at school now, and the kids are perfectly used to it.

Yes, this. And it's usually spelled Aoibhínn. Without the fada, it's pronounced EE-ven.

The AY-veen pronunciation is, I think, more common in the north of Ireland.

In any case, Aoife and Aoibhin (however spelled or pronounced) are too similar for sisters.

I like it. I guessed completely wrong, but that’s on me rather than on someone else to not use a name from their culture just because I’m ignorant.

@lovebeingmuma I have had 70 years of having to spell out my first name and it is not a rare name. just 10 letters in it and everyone will know someone with my name but no one seems to know how to spell it!!!

It's lovely. As someone with a fairly unusual and always misspelt and mispronounced named it will be annoying, but it's always an ice breaker when you meet someone new so not all bad. My main reason for not using it would be it looks and sounds too similar to Aoife.

I would guess it is pronounced ay as in hay veen as in been - is that right?

If she has Irish heritage then of course it’s fine!. I have met plenty of Irish ladies over the years and have learnt to pronounce their names without issue. My Dd also has a non English name and she has got used to telling people the pronunciation and it doesn’t seem to bother her. If your DD didn’t have Irish heritage then it would be a bit odd!

I am dyslexic and names like this fill me with panic. I really struggle to remember how to say them, let alone spell them.

I have a ridiculously bog standard name (think susy type of thing) which is also on my email address, yet still English cunts insist on spelling it wrong. I also have a slightly weird surname which I have to pronounce very carefully and then spell out loud, that’s actually less problematic as people don’t assume they know and I always know to help them.
Shit happens and the English seem to feel entitled not to be challenged in this area. As an English cunt myself I’m happy to learn and can tell you that some people are rubbish in this respect.
Yes it will be irritating for her sometimes but honestly how often do we have to have someone read our name before hearing it? At school, in court…she may choose an anglicised version. Defo work out if you have the pronunciation right though, getting it wrong would be cringe. I know people who did this with their baby and a Welsh name and yeah, it wasn’t great 😂

People will get used to it and then when they know, they know! Use it. It’s a beautiful name.