Aoife? When not in the slightest Irish?

[Kazriina]

Aoife is starting to really grow on me.
Up until now were sticking to the whole ' we will decide when she makes an appearance' line, mainly because DP doesn't like my name list! So go on, what do the important people think? :o

Why not simply Eva, out of interest? The problem I can foresee is the Shevaun effect- that people outside Ireland will simply not know how to spell or pronounce it.

I also think Eva unless you're Irish.

I know non Irish Aoifes but one is pronounces ee-fee which I know isnt the way it is supposed to be pronounced.

I would consider it if I had another but dh would need serious persuasion as he cant spell.

Why not? it is a lovely name

I'm not a fan of Eva but love the spelling Aoife, just worried it would get lost in translation and people would call her Eva of Evie ( which we already have in our family)
My grandad still can't spell my name and it is literally spell as you say!

what about Eithne for a change?

I'm in London and I know a few of Aoife's (3/4 in the DC's school). I've always assumed that their parents/grandparents are Irish, but the kids have all been born/brought up here and have London accents etc so tbh there's no way of knowing really. If you like it, use it.

I know a few Aoifes too, Irish and English. It's quite mainstream now in that the majority know how to pronounce it.

Why would u want Eva when it's not pronounced eefa? Plus spellings make a difference to the feel of a name I think. I love Niamh and would never spell it neve or neeve, Irish or not! Go for it. It's a lovely name x

It's a lovely name and there's no reason why you can't use it. However you (and your DD) would have to get used to people asking "So where's the Irish connection then...?"

Go for it.

Aoife is easy to pronounce in English.

People will get used to the spelling (if they aren't familiar with it already).

We are in Scotland and not Irish, I'd consider Aoife (or indeed Eithne as has been suggested) if we ever had a DD2. Our DD1 is Orla. We do have an irish surname though- i think it would sound strange with an 'exotic' surname but fine with something quite ordinary IYKWIM.

I'm all for non-Irish people using Irish names as long as they pronounce and spell them properly. I'm Irish and living in north London, and I agree that Aoife is now pretty mainstream here. I met an English mother with no Irish connection the other day who not only knew how to spell and pronounce it, but also joked about the way it had tended to be mispronounced in the past (Ay-O-Wife).

if you can pronounce it use it

As an Irishwoman with a french name, I say go for it. I plan on using something French or even Greek for my baby.

Also, I know a three year old Aoife who is the most gorgeous, wonderful little girl so it always makes me think of her.

I think it's crossed the ethnic divide at this stage. Although I do think that it's turning into the new Siobhán in the UK.

Thanks guys, am I running the risk of it being an overly popular name in the next few years?

Go for it, it is a fabulous name!
Although I am French, Aoife was on my list. You just have to teach people how to pronounce it but I believe it is less and less true since the name is becoming bit popular.

E-for Excellent!

its nothing like Eva

I think Aoifa and Siobham etc are now common enough outside of ireland to not be annoying in terms of people getting it wrong so yeah why not?

anyway you cannot assume Jason is pronounced Jason anymore, it could be Jay-zon, J'sun, any number of things
I do some work with primary school kids and nowadays you have to ask them all how to spell their names even if it's John or Mary because people make so many variations up themselves now

How is Aoife not similar to Eva??

One is pronounce Ee-fa, the other is pronounced Ee-va. They're hardly worlds apart phonetically!

Aoifa is a soft sound, Eva is very crisp

Depends on your accent perhaps but when I say them there isn't a huge difference. Accents aside they are still very similar, no?

Plus Aoife, not Aoifa.

No no no no no. Unless you are Irish, do not use an Irish spelling. No ethnic names with spellings that do not make sense in English. First of all, lifetime of misery for your little one. Secondly, it's pretentious!