Page 4 | Irish baby girl names

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Original poster

YourKindMoose · 17/10/2025 21:40

Some lovely suggestions @AOIFEmissingUalways - how would you pronounce Aoibheann? (Ay-veen or Ee-veen or ?)

I agree @allmycats that last two might be trickiest outside of Ireland.

Should have added I am living in Ireland so should be no major issues with spelling/pronunciation for any of them although obviously can get different pronunciations for some Irish names, even in Ireland. I think I am leaning towards Aoife or Etain - one very common (Aoife) which is putting me off slightly as don’t want something too safe/common and one is very uncommon even in Ireland (Etain)…although wondering if there is a reason for that that I am missing!!

Any thoughts between these two?

OP posts:

Strokethefurrywall · 17/10/2025 21:29

Saoirse was my #1 girls name - j’adore!

Emanwenym · 17/10/2025 21:22

@Ws2210 Me too, especially if they say or spell them differently. (e.g. Katelyn, Killian)

Ws2210 · 17/10/2025 21:20

I think it's tacky when English people use Irish names. Sorry

Emanwenym · 17/10/2025 21:14

See my other post. @Psychologymam .
If you are a Fiadh, you can tell them that it's not Fee-ad, but they'll say Fee-uh.
If you are an Orla, it will sound different when they say it, they'll say Aw-luh.
If you are a Niamh, you'll get Neev.
Saoirse will be See-uh-shuh.

I wouldn't say don't use them, but if you aren't in Ireland you'll have to put up with the anglicised versions.
I never got used to the anglicisations of my name, but worse is that people get my name wrong or call me something really dated that just happens to start with the same letter. (e.g. calling me Beryl, Brenda or Bevan instead of Béibhinn)

OSTMusTisNT · 17/10/2025 20:54

Perfect if you live in Ireland but setting them up for a life of explaining if UK mainland or rest of world.

teacupzs · 17/10/2025 20:47

Aoife (ee-fa) - Will be misspelt and mispronounced.

My cousin had this name in the 90s London, the vast majority know how to say it.

indoorplantqueen · 17/10/2025 20:46

I love Fiadh (Fee-a) but in an English accent sounds like fear.
I also love Aoibheann (Eev-even). Easy to say but difficult to spell, but people will get used to it.
Also Niamh. More well known in England.

when I was pregnant I considered Fionn (for a boy) my SIL said it like thin.

Didntask · 17/10/2025 20:26

I love Fionnuala.

Psychologymam · 17/10/2025 20:23

Emanwenym · 17/10/2025 17:44

It depends where you live. My comments are based on where I live (SE England).

Saoirse (seer-sha) - Will be misspelt and mispronounced (and as see-uh-shuh when you've said seer-sha).
Aoife (ee-fa) - Will be misspelt and mispronounced.
Etain (eh-tane) - Probably will be misspelt as Etaine.
Sadhbh (sive) - Will be misspelt and mispronounced.
Béibhinn (bay-vin) - Will be misspelt and mispronounced.

Otherwise, they're all nice.
Consecutive vowels or consonants get transposed often.

Most people only need you to tell them once and then it’s fine to pronounce, from my experience in England! Spelling is a bit trickier!

RuthW · 17/10/2025 20:21

I know how to say Saoirse, but my head just says sore arse

Unicorn34 · 17/10/2025 19:35

I love the name Orla.

Emanwenym · 17/10/2025 19:08

@BeautifulSongsofLove , my name is not 'english' and nobody here gets it right. No amount of correcting works. It gets misspelt on legal or financial documents, prescriptions etc.

BeautifulSongsofLove · 17/10/2025 17:52

My nieces and nephews have Irish names and live in England. People may need to be reminded about spelling and pronunciation now and then, it's worth it ☘️

Useful to people to know:
To add a fada, you can use a keyboard shortcut depending on your device:
on Windows, use Alt Gr + vowel, or Ctrl + apostrophe followed by the vowel.
On a Mac, use Option + e, then the vowel.
On a mobile device, long-press the vowel key to select the accented option from the menu that appears.

indoorplantqueen · 17/10/2025 17:49

I’ve a very Irish name and lived in England for 20 years. No issues with people being able to say my name (once I’d told them what it was), and everyone learnt how to spell it.

Emanwenym · 17/10/2025 17:44

It depends where you live. My comments are based on where I live (SE England).

Saoirse (seer-sha) - Will be misspelt and mispronounced (and as see-uh-shuh when you've said seer-sha).
Aoife (ee-fa) - Will be misspelt and mispronounced.
Etain (eh-tane) - Probably will be misspelt as Etaine.
Sadhbh (sive) - Will be misspelt and mispronounced.
Béibhinn (bay-vin) - Will be misspelt and mispronounced.

Otherwise, they're all nice.
Consecutive vowels or consonants get transposed often.

DramaAlpaca · 17/10/2025 16:19

I love them all, but I live in Ireland and know how to spell and pronounce them.

AOIFEmissingUalways · 17/10/2025 16:17

YourKindMoose · 17/10/2025 14:48

What do you think of these Irish girl names?

Saoirse (seer-sha)
Aoife (ee-fa)
Etain (eh-tane)
Sadhbh (sive)
Béibhinn (bay-vin)

I love them all ❤️

Also to add...
Fiadh
Catríona
Cara
Laoise
Aoibheann

My favourites are Aoife, Etain, and Aoibheann - unfortunately I only had boys.

allmycats · 17/10/2025 16:14

I like the first 3 but think the last 2 are difficult if you are not living in Ireland. I used to live in Ireland so I know the pronunciation but most of UK might struggle.