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Original poster

Calling all FRENCH and IRISH MNers, yes I know odd, but really need some help!

46 replies

Laurarj84 · 30/03/2011 21:51

Hi all,
My daughter is nine months old now and her name is Aoife. We both love this name and we chose to pronounce it Ifa, with the I pronounced as in lIke. However, the Irish pronunciation is EEfa, as it is the Irish version of Eve or Eva. I'm having a bit of a panic about it still now because even though some Irish friends of ours told us it could be pronounced Ifa, certain people we know insist on calling DD EEfa. I'm starting to wonder if we've been really silly choosing a name that we love but are pronouncing wrongly. So, we googled and googled and I found a few threads saying that Aoife can be pronounced Ifa and some said that this is the French pronunciation, which suits me fine as I love all things French. So, what I was wondering is whether there are any Irish and French MNers out there who could put my mind at rest about the pronunciation of Aoife's name.
Thanks all so much.

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DamsonJam · 30/03/2011 21:57

An Irish Mumsnetter here - I'm afraid I've never heard of pronouncing Aoife as Ifa so if I just saw it written down I would automatically say EEfa. But if you corrected me I'd happily go with your version - after all you've named her and it seems to be a legitimate version of the name. Where is she likely to be brought up? If it's outside Ireland then you're likely to have to tell people how to pronounce it anyway, in which case you (or DD) just give them your version when you tell it to them first and no problem.

SnapFrakkleAndPop · 30/03/2011 22:03

Brit in France. I'd say Eefa but I can see how the French would plump for Ifa.

It's an imported name though so I'd probably be a bit Hmm about an anglophone deliberately choosing an altered pronunciation. It would be a bit like having an Elizabeth and insisting on everyone pronouncing it E-LEE-sa-bet for me...

Your choice though, especially if Ifa is a legit pronunciation in Ireland which it may well be!

figcake · 30/03/2011 22:05

I don't know any french ones I have to say. The trad pronunciation is ee-f-a but you can insist on them pronouncing it in your own way for your DD

Original poster
Laurarj84 · 30/03/2011 22:08

Thanks for all comments so far, we are in London, so there are so many people with made up odd names anyway! We tell everyone her name and they say, what? so we say it again and then spell it, and then tell people it's Irish and then they ask if we're Irish and then we say no and they say oh, that's nice anyway...

OP posts:
hilltop666 · 30/03/2011 22:08

Irish mn-er here, the Irish pron would def bt EE-fa, but its totally up to u how u pron it, as Damson said if your outside Ireland you will prob need to tell people how to pron it anyway so just go with ur version!

Original poster
Laurarj84 · 30/03/2011 22:11

SnapFrakkleAndPop, the reason I'm so worried about it now is because when I first heard the name Aoife it was pronounced Ifa and that was what stuck with me. So I never bothered to research pronunciation when we were deciding what to name her. After I gave birth and we were texting people her name, some people were getting back to me saying they'd looked online for how to pronounce it and was it EEfa? We didn't deliberately choose to alter the pronunciation.

OP posts:
BestNameEver · 30/03/2011 22:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CointreauVersial · 30/03/2011 22:14

Irish DH says it's EE-fa, and he's never heard of any other pronounciation.

Original poster
Laurarj84 · 30/03/2011 22:15

I think outside of Ireland people who saw her written name Aoife and heard it pronounced EEfa would say it's two different names too though BestNameEver.

OP posts:
kerrymumbles · 30/03/2011 22:24

This reply has been deleted

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Amber76 · 30/03/2011 22:58

I'm Irish and it is always pronounced "ee-fa." I've never heard any other variation on this. Sorry.....

carciofi · 31/03/2011 21:36

Also Irish and have only ever heard it pronounced ee-fa. Your choice though!

chipmonkey · 31/03/2011 22:27

Also Irish and I would say it's universally pronounced Ee-fa here and from what I've read, it seems to be catching on the UK so you may have problems! In the Irish language "aoi" is pronounced "ee" almost without exception.

Superfly · 01/04/2011 21:09

Ee-fa. If I heard that would know it was spelled 'AOIFE'. If I heard the name pronounced I-FA would assume it was spelled as IFA. Sorry not much help, but have never heard of that pronounciation - but you must do what suits!

Cantstopshouting · 01/04/2011 21:35

Can you change the spelling to suit the pronunciation?

anonacfr · 01/04/2011 22:30

I'm French and I have no idea how you would pronounce it in French.

The average French person would probably pause for a few minutes and then say .... ah-oh-eeh-fuh or ah-wah-fuh? It would be pronounced Ifa if you spelt it Ai(with the 2 little dots on the i)fa.

It just doesn't exist in French.

Mollyfloss · 01/04/2011 22:47

I'm Irish, live in London but used to live in France for years and I have a DD called Aoife! My in-laws are American. I never heard the pronunciation 'Ifa' before in any country. In Ireland Aoife is only pronounced as EEfa and it is a fairly common name. In the UK I often have to explain how it is pronounced although it seems to be catching on as quite a few people here have told me they know another Aoife (usually a young girl). In France nobody has a clue how to pronounce it, not a remote clue. Sorry if this isn't helping you.

The only other way I have heard people pronouncing it are A-fa or A-o-fa but that is when they are trying to get their tongue around it after reading it.

Mollyfloss · 01/04/2011 22:48

Oh hi chipmonkey, I remember you from Antenatal April 08! PG with nulber 3 here!

ValiumSoltera · 01/04/2011 23:19

I've never heard it pronounced ifa! only eefa.
although, if a spanish person or a french person read ifa, wouldn't they say eefa?

MillsAndDoom · 01/04/2011 23:23

Another MNer of Irish descent - always Ee-fa.

The name does seem to be growing in popularity as people seem to know how to pronounce DDs friends name wihtout needing to ask

chipmonkey · 02/04/2011 00:14

Hey Mollyfloss! Congratulations! When are you due?

I'm pregnant too with No 5! Due November 11.

SnapFrakkleAndPop · 02/04/2011 08:12

Valium, If I read Ifa I would say Eefa in French.

There are fewer than 100 Aoife's registered as born in France. Having shown it to a French friend (from my baby name book, we were discussing DC1) she tried something which sounded a bit like 'awaff' at first and then had a lightbulb momemt where she told me in English 'i' is always said 'eye' so it must be 'ey-why-fe'...which is sort of a bit like Ifa if you squint a bit.

She couldn't get her head round the correct pronunciation at all. She can say it but I don't think she understands why. Remind me never to explain the pronunciation for Dún Laoraighe to her.

Buda · 02/04/2011 08:16

EE-fa. Def. Sorry.

ValiumSoltera · 02/04/2011 09:47

laoghaire actually ! Grin I couldn't spell it 'til I was about 14 btw, I aint smug.

I seriously think that Aoife is too problematic in France. There is a lot of movement between Britain and Ireland. But less between France and Ireland. I think it would be like giving your daughter a name which is to French people a bizarre random unpronounceable string of letters.

ValiumSoltera · 02/04/2011 09:49

chipmonkey, number five!? no way. Good for you. I'd be a quivering wreck. I was at out with a girl from school recently who has five under 8 and she has to get two babysitters to mind them or she can't go out! One can't cope. She seemed calm though..

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