Is Aoibhe a step too far in the UK?

[mika2]

I'm Irish, living in the UK and due DD1 in 4 mths. I really want to give the baby an irish name - DH has reluctantly agreed - and had come up with an extensive list of boys names i liked (and was convinced it was a boy!) but now i know it's a girl I'm still struggling. Not helped by the fact that a lot of them (Ciara, Tara, Niamh, Beibhinn, Saoirse, Siun) have already been taken by my very extended family. At the moment this is the best we can come up with;

Clodagh (klo-da) - but DH is insisting on nn chloe (which defeats the purpose of giving the baby an Irish name IMO)
Aoife (ee-fa) - pretty, but v v common in ireland and getting more so here?
Caoimhe (quee-va) - I love, but DH isn't so keen
Aoibhe (eva) - alternative to aoife, but a bit more "out there" than the others as even Irish ppl seem v confused on how to pronounce. And with such an obvious english alternative, can see DH/DD giving up and spelling it Eva eventually

Thoughts on the above for a baby growing up in the uk? And any other suggesions gratefully received!

squoosh no, my mother is not a fan of her name, handed down as it was from her aunt, an elderly nun. Same elderly nun not impressed when I decided not to lumber DD with the name, not even as a middle name. I have lumbered her with an apparent chav-Irish name though, according to this thread :)

vividly remember sorchagate mentallyslapsyerwan shorshamyarse

Ha ha, I remember Sorcha-gate too, Irish name threads never go well.

Look, unless your name is Anna or Jack, you might as well get used to the fact that you will have to spell your name out to people. My name is Isobel, and I always, always have to spell my name out to people. Always. Without exception. It's not that big a deal...?

And I absolutely adore the utter irony from MummyBurrows offering up Penelope as an example of a simple name. A Greek name, which absolutely does not follow English phonetic rules at all. If we can all get used to Penelope to the point where it's touted as a simple, easy name - then surely people can use Irish spellings for their own children with gay abandon, if they so wish.

(Stands in applause for Biggles)

This.

OOooh, Orla is pretty! I do like Aoife though...not too common here, I don't think. I heard the name for the first time when the singer from The Saturdays named her baby Aoife.

I don't like the name pronounced Quee-va. Maeve is also nice but Orla would be my first choice, then Aoife.

Don’t understand why it would be a step to far. Irish name spelt in Irish, what’s the problem with that? You don’t have to appease anybody. She might get asked how to pronounce it but big deal. There’s a real prejudice with some in the uk about Irish names but frankly I think dh needs to get a grip.

I would go for Aoife, absolutely love that name!

The kid would be 5 now so it's a bit late.

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My DSIL is named Brona. I love that name.

I also in the Irish side of the family are
Sheena
Paula
Philomena
Aisling
Siobhan