Should I call my daughter Aoibhín in England?

I don't think its such a big deal, I'd rather a world with interesting names as oppose to just Oliver's and Olivia's 🤣 Variety is the spice of life and all that 🫠😉

Not a big issue as long as they can pronounce the name via the spelling presented, which is certainly the case in the examples you've given.

As I said I have a Welsh name. It’s never been a huge deal. I say it, they ask how to spell it, I spell it. 🤷🏼♀️
Catherine, Jane, Steven, Rebecca, Brian..,all have to be spelt as there are common variants. It’s just not that big of an issue.

Yes but you have to explain it once, to each of those vast majority of people.

That is one shitload of tedious explaining, but it seems you enjoy it.

If people with English names in non-English-speaking countries are experiencing such problems, then yes, altering the spelling would be a sensible move.

But given the widespread influence of English and English names via popular culture, I would think in most cases (certainly in European countries) such difficulties would be rare.

You only need to explain once. Like Catherine, Katherine or Kathryn. Or Sean, Shaun or Shawn. Most names you're fucked, so you might as well have the one you want.

Excellent point!! 👏👏👏

the vast majority of people get it as soon as you explain

Yep, but that means you have to explain it to the vast majority of people.

You may well think that's fun, but many people with such names don't.

There's nothing wrong with retaining the name but altering the spelling in line with the language of the country in which you are living, to make it easy for the vast majority of people to pronounce, without having to "explain" it. There's a long and sensible tradition of people altering the spelling of their names in this way, if they're living in a country with a different language.

uh huh. And do you spell Christopher as Kristuhfuh(r) in order that people can read it easier outside of the U.K.? That final R is a problem isn’t it? because it’s pronunciation depends on if you are rhotic or not.
How about Fillup? Or Ruhbekuh?

I agree to some extent, but more based on long names not different names. I don’t think people should spell it phonetically either, as it is no longer the traditional name. Today I saw a kid with a hyphenated first name and surname which I thoight was ridiculous. Some of the comments on here though are abhorrent, and very much racist. I was just having a quick skim and it's really quite disturbing.

Well that says more about the kind of moron you are, than the OP.

It's not racist to want to spare one's kids a lifetime of time-wasting tedium. I come from a non-English ethnic background and have to keep correcting people's mispronunciations because my name is not spelt in phonetic English.

There's nothing wrong with giving kids names from any ethnic tradition, but please, present it in a spelling that will enable people to pronounce it correctly just by reading it. This is easy to do just by spelling it phonetically in the main language of the country in which you are living, whatever that may be.

My kids and I have Welsh names, yes there have been times people struggled with them, but the vast majority of people get it as soon as you explain and then it’s fine.
3 of them went to uni in England. One uses a short form of her name there, just for ease of pronunciation (as it includes the dreaded Ll sound that seems to blow minds 😂) but again it’s fine.
Use the name, people will get used to it. The borderline xenophobia attached to non-English names on mumsnet isn’t like the real world.

Agree it's not that hard. I met an Eilidh, at first I was confused but once I was told how to pronounce it, it was fine. No one else had an issue with it either. Only a real thicko would have difficulty, or as you put it @Arran2024 a coffee shop worker, how insulting! How do you manage in the world, do you never travel or eat foreign food?

Ugh I've just read more of this thread. MN really does seem to be getting more and more racist everyday 😒

I probably wouldn't sadly. People don't even try to pronounce names that aren't English, there was a thread yesterday about it.
I think it also makes it harder as the letters aren't how you'd assume they'd sound.

Reading posts like this, one would be forgiven for coming to the conclusion that the UK is a monocultural state.

Have people really never come across names from anywhere else in the world?

Irish people, with our Irish names, travel and work all over the world. You can learn a lot about the people you encounter when you present them with your name.

English speakers unable to speak Gaelic are in the majority and no, they're not "stupid".

It is the duty of parents to accommodate their kids by giving them names that can be easily pronounced phonetically in English, if they're living in an English-speaking country.

The names themselves don't have to be "English", they just have to be spelt as they would be pronounced in English. If they're not, and they're not widely known names, the child will face a lifetime of having to correct people - for which they can only blame their own stupid parents.

Why not listen to the people here whose parents burdened them with names that are seldom pronounced correctly by English speakers?

It's not fun going through life having to constantly correct people. In fact many such thoughtlessly named children change their names when they reach adulthood.

Hilarious...

Please do not do the spelling Aiveen.

I would've considered London fairly multicultiral so I find it hard to stomach some of the rude comments here about not using it because people can't pronounce it. They will learn.

I do think as others have said its a little too similar sounding to Aoife.

There will be stupid people everywhere. It's not the duty of parents to try to accommodate them.

And even if they try, there's no guarantee that the very stupid won't get a name like Jane, Ann, Elizabeth, Mary, etc wrong.

It’s a lovely name but I suspect your DD and you will spend your lives correcting people on how to pronounce it and how to spell it if you stay in London / England. It also sounds quite similar to your existing DD name and could lead to confusion. Perhaps use it as a middle name and then when your DD is older she can choose if she wants to use it.

Awful idea. Like doing Emma and Emily, Louise and Louisa, Kara and Karen....

Spelling it Aiveen is a good idea. It's an easy name to pronounce, but not an easy name to translate from a language that uses the alphabet differently, unless you're familiar with that language.