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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Irish names

55 replies

Grizzer · 22/12/2015 18:43

Dh is Irish & wants our baby to have an Irish name. Trouble is we live in London so the poor child will always have to spell it or help people pronounce it. DD is Ciara (Keira) which is fairly simple but she still has to spell it for people & gets called Ci ar a (as in tiara) all the time.
We don't know if we're having a boy or a girl but dh likes Aiofe!! (eefa). I like the name but no one will ever be able to spell it or pronounce it.
Do you think it's too Irish for a child living in England?

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Creatureofthenight · 22/12/2015 18:50

There's quite a few girls called Aoife nowadays so a lot of people do know how it is pronounced, same with Niamh, Roisin, Siobhan.

Floggingmolly · 22/12/2015 18:54

I had trouble with it initially (living in London 15 years now), but it's become fairly popular recently, for some reason. Don't get quite so many what??'s these days Smile

Original poster
Grizzer · 22/12/2015 19:08

Thank you. I might let him have it then! You should have seen my mum's face when I said it to her Grin. I like Maeve. Might try getting that in to his subconscious while he's asleep...
Could be a boy though!

OP posts:
RiverTam · 22/12/2015 19:28

But people will learn. I was at school with a Siobhan and after hearing and seeing the name a couple of times it just stuck.

VocationalGoat · 22/12/2015 19:32

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Irishkez · 22/12/2015 19:44

Love Aoife!

I'm Irish but living in Scotland, I work in paediatric ward and we now get so many more Irish names and my colleagues never seem to have any problems now with the more popular ones such as Niamh, Aoife, una etc. I love Maeve too mind you!

wigglesrock · 22/12/2015 20:34

Aoife is nice - very popular where I live (NI), I think you'd be fine with it. I think I prefer Meave or what about Emer?

IHaveBrilloHair · 22/12/2015 20:38

I have a 14yr old Niamh and live in Scotland, most people get it now as it's become more well known

Mince314 · 22/12/2015 20:42

I'm Irish and I can suggest a few lovely names that aren't difficult for anybody with half a brain. However Wine , having read comments on mumsnet, it seems that even names that pre-date brian boru are considered chav in some circles. That was a surprise to me, I had thought that that xenophobia would be recognised for what it is but no. ie, Conor, Ireland's High king "chav" apparently according to some English people. Confused

Aoife is very simple in my view. It has the same vibe as Anna or Emma or Ella to me. Just a simple name. But it will be perceived very differently in the UK.

I considered Clodagh Maeve. I liked Diarmuid for a boy.

Emer is ok but it's a bit of a middle aged name. I like Siún ( shoon )and Fraoch FRAYoch too. They're my favourite Irish girls names. I think it's better that they're not so easily pigeon holed by the UK ear.

Mince314 · 22/12/2015 20:51

ps, what will the child's sur name be?

I think if the child has an Irish sur name, then an Irish first name as well could be an over representation of your child's heritage - given that it will be half English and raised in the UK! But that's just one way of looking at things.

Original poster
Grizzer · 22/12/2015 20:53

Thank you all, nice to hear the positives. Nieces are Orla & Emer so those names are out.
I think we'll shortlist Aoife & Maeve for a girl, Aiden & Fergal for a boy. 3 weeks to go & all will be revealed!
I'm a teacher Mince so it's very hard not to judge names on people but Conor is definitely not chav compared to some of the classics I've heard!!

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GrayJane · 22/12/2015 21:14

I work in an international environment. There are a few girls with gorgeous Irish names, and unfortunately, its not so easy for them. They tend not to get mentioned publicly or introduced, simply for fear of people getting their names wrong. And when they do get mentioned, people cannot relate the name to the spelling, thus adding more confusion. Some of them have added phonetic pronunciation to their signature lines.

LynetteScavo · 22/12/2015 21:23

Hmmm...shouldn't they have some of your heritage in their name?

My DC have an Irish surname, so we decided against Irish first names.

VocationalGoat · 22/12/2015 21:24

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LynetteScavo · 22/12/2015 21:25

Love the name Fergal!

AngelsWithFilthySouls · 22/12/2015 21:32

Love Aoife and most people I know would know how to spell and pronounce (live in Scotland). I'd have loved it for a girl but too similar to a cousin's name. Orlaith would have been our girl's name.

Love Aiden too! Was on our list along with Ciaran (you obviously can't use that Grin) and Finn.

ashesandfire · 22/12/2015 21:42

Aoife is lovely, I think it's becoming more popular and well known? Im in the south east. I love Irish names, I think Niamh, Siobhan and Orlaith are quite well known. I love Caoimhe, Saoirse and Siofra.

Sophronia · 22/12/2015 21:45

I'd spell Aidan this way (as opposed to Aiden)

Aoife is nice, but I prefer Maeve

Havalina1 · 22/12/2015 22:04

I'm Irish and living in England. I gave my son an Irish name and yes it's causing problems but my take is people can manage to learn one new word surely.

Maeve is a stunning name. It's a classic and not over-used. Like Aoife too, but Maeve a bit more Smile

Original poster
Grizzer · 22/12/2015 22:34

Ha ha Sophronia, I'd better learn to spell the names myself before I register the birth! I think it is 'an' rather than 'en' at the end. I spelt Aoife wrong too...
Surname isn't very Irish sounding Lynette. I think dh wants the Irish names as we live in England so I get my heritage for everything else.
I do like Eliza though. Might wait until he's watched me in labour for 30 hours before throwing that in to the mix. By then it will be what I say goes & don't even think about arguing with me!

OP posts:
GreenRug · 23/12/2015 06:09

It's your choice Op obviously (!) but I adore the name Aoife.

MNetter15 · 23/12/2015 11:16

Just be careful with spelling. Perhaps your OP was a typo, but the correct spelling is Aoife. Aoi = E sound. Aoibhe (Eva) similar too and also beautiful.

I had to laugh when Una from the Saturdays named her dd Aoife and I was reading the DailyMail comments 😳 and people were complaining about these crazy celebrity names, obviously not realising that in Ireland, Aoife would be like calling a baby Emily or Sarah in the UK!

myotherusernameisbetter · 23/12/2015 14:21

I have a Ciar and some people get it straight away and some struggle the first time. I really like Caoimhe and Eithne (not having any more) but like all those mentioned so far too.

Lizziedripping1 · 23/12/2015 20:44

Lots of Aoife here in rural England. Became very fashionable. I would go for Maeve

bantamgirl · 23/12/2015 21:01

I'm sure I read that Aidan is the Irish spelling and Aiden is Scottish but I might be wrong. goregeous name and I love it (but am biased having one myself)

Thinking of Irish names...

My cousin has a Chaolfinn (keelan, I think) and a Lochlann.

Another is an Ooonagh.

Bridie (might be a bit old fashioned but I love the sound of it)

Quinn.

Richard shortened to Ritchie is a name passed down in our family which suits the old granddads and young babies.

A friend has an Aiobheann (A-veen) - I have never heard of this or heard of any others.