Should I call my daughter Aoibhín in England?

Me too. It’s pretty.

I have a name that nobody can pronounce or spell and it's so irritating that I shorten it to something phonetic and easy for people. I wish my parents had thought about this, as it is super frustrating. When I had my own children I deliberately gave them plain simple names so they wouldn't have to put up with constantly correcting people all day long at work. I also love the fact that I can buy things for my children with their name printed on it instead of having to get it engraved. As a child I could. Never find anything in a gift shop with my name.

I don't understand why people think that non Irish people should understand how to pronounce Irish names. They are indecipherable to many, many people. Teachers may say they quickly learn everyone's names, but that's a highly educated group. My daughters have some special needs and wouldn't have a clue. Imo giving names like this to a child born in England and going to live here is setting her up for a life time of misspellings, mispronunciation, frustration. Important people in her life will get it wrong, never mind coffee shop employees, and it will be hurtful. And it offers so many opportunities to also hurt people like my daughters who will never in a million years master it.

@Whoknowswherethewindsblow , Kieran is the English spelling of Ciarán.
It's dated and a bit downmarket but Ciarán isn't.

As you have Irish heritage and live in London I’d say it would be ok.

It’s a common mistake. A mistake is not the same thing as an alternative pronunciation or a regional dialect.

This! If you love the name & are Irish, then go for it!

I’ve lived in a couple of counties in Leinster and only ever heard it with the A sound not E.

Go for it. Some lf the replies on thos thread suggest it's acceptable to mispronounce Irish names in England but not names from other origins. It's a beautiful name & people will have to learn. You wouldn't worry about a Welsh name or panic if you were moving here with a child with a Spanish name etc. And please use the Irish version. We used an English version of an Irish name & wish it was the genuine one.

It’s Niamh though. Naoimh is not the correct spelling.

I was born in England, that means I’m English. Are there any heritages that wouldn’t be ‘wonderful’ ffs? It could be the best place on earth for all I care, and I say this respectfully, I’ve no connection to the place other than my parents were born there, I’ve no intention of embracing Scottish culture or heritage, I’ll leave that to the Scots.

Sometimes there are differences in pronunciations between regions (eg Caoimhe can be Kweeva or Keeva) but not in this case.

Aoi is always “ee”, wherever you are from in Ireland. OP is unfortunately just pronouncing it incorrectly.

Ok. I have to say, it’s not boding well for English speakers to pronounce a name that the Irish themselves can’t agree on, regional pronunciations or otherwise.

Ciarán looks like Kiar-ran to me. Is it the Irish spelling of Kieran? Or is Kieran the English spelling of Ciarán?

I would assume ee-vin as well though I know firsthand there is variation within Ireland on pronunciations.. We know an Aoibhinn locally, she’s always been known by a nickname instead.

My kids have Irish names though and people cope fine.

Just regional pronunciations apply 😊

Having to constantly spell / correct your name is tedious, frankly I’m fed up of having to do it myself so I wouldn’t go for something where this is an obvious issue.

Lovely name though, and maybe Irish spellings will become more commonplace over time, but just be aware that it less straightforward than other choices and creates unnecessary issues if you live outside Ireland.

I have a dd with one of the often debated Irish names on here - funnily enough in the 13 years since she was born, it's gone from people saying it would be cruel to now I see some on this thread recommending it as an alternative to the name you want to name your dd.

You already have an Aoife, yes Aoibhin is a level up in terms of Irish names and people's familiarity but I'd go for it. My dd loves her name.

Ok. So in other words, they disagree about the pronunciation in Ireland too?

Beautiful name. Doesn’t really matter how you spell it, most people just say it! And if they have to write it down for whatever reason, then they know her enough to know how it’s spelt!

It's normal for many Irish names to be pronounced differently in different regions in Ireland, so it sounds like they are disagreeing, but actually they're all right for whatever region they are from.

It may be an Irish name, but it will be spoken in England by people who don’t speak Irish and where the most commonly spoken language is English. That’s the relevant point.

Even Irish speakers on this thread are disagreeing over the pronunciation. If they can’t agree, what chance do others have?

OP, it’s a beautiful name but I’d think long and hard before using it. You could spell it how it sounds in English, although it looks as though there’s bit of uncertainty about how it sounds from the discussions above.

As someone with an Irish name who moved to England at age 2, I have spent my whole life spelling it out, explaining how it’s pronounced and it always being the opener in conversations. Needless to say there’s a reason why my children have classic, easily spelt English names.

You were born to Scottish parents, that means you are of Scottish heritage.

It's a wonderful heritage, and I mean this respectfully, why don't you learn about it and embrace it? I spend a lot of time in Scotland, have a lot of family there and honestly, it's a wonderful culture and heritage to be proud of.

My children, both born in England are Irish, they love and embrace their Irishness, culture and heritage.

Yes. Don’t do it, and if you need to ask you know the truth.