Irish names

[Grizzer]

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?

[CastaDiva]

I'm Irish, with an Irish first name and surname, have lived and worked all over the world in English and other-language environments, and have never come across the situation Grayjane describes. An 'international' work environment is used to dealing with names from different cultures - hers just sounds plain unprofessional. I cannot imagine a situation where professionals competently doing their job are allowed to go on sidelining colleagues because they are too incompetent to be able to pronounce their names???

OP, I have lived in England for years, and in London for most of that time, and never had an issue. My son has an unusual Irish first name and my surname, and likewise no issues with peers, school, GP, other than spelling/pronouncing it initially for people. People always shriek on here about GP receptionists mispronouncing things, but ours was dealing with names from about thirty cultures on a daily basis without any fuss.

Aoife is really common - she won't have any problems, if you like the name. Don't not choose an Irish name you like because of other people's scaremongering!

[Grizzer]

Thank you all for your advice & thoughts. I really like the name but was just concerned about other people getting it wrong all the time. I still have friends spelling Ciara wrong & she's 5! I guess it's a bit of laziness on their part - they've been told enough times.
I have a cousin whose children are Reuben, Aubrey & Ottilie. I still double check spellings when writing cards!
I'm booked in for induction on the 11th Jan so I will let you know what we decide.
Now for the middle name...

[Mince314withIcecream]

You can't win. My children have English names but nearly every name has two different spellings. eg, Juliette or juliet, Susie or Suzy

[TheMightyMing]

I have a friend with a Luiseach (Lucy) and I know of a family with a Biddy. Thier other little one has a very unusual Irish name it starts with Bl but I can't remember it at the moment.

[TheMightyMing]

I remembered it ! Blaithin ( you say it Blawheen). I like it.

[CastaDiva]

I know English-based friends with an Aifric, Iarlaith (which was something we considered for DS), Tiarneach, Muireann and Liadan. Not all the same family. Aifric has a sister called Nancy. Muireann has a brother called Simone's.

[CastaDiva]

Simone. Duh.

[Sophronia]

Aodhán is the original Irish spelling but the most common anglicisation is Aidan (ranks #51 in Ireland, while Aiden doesn't make the top 100)

[Raines100]

I'm English and familiar with Aoife. I wouldn't worry. I think most people will be able to handle it. Lovely choice.

[diddl]

Aoife is lovely.

Fergal-absolutely fantastic!

[Mince314withIcecream]

I've a colleague called Fergal. He's no looker God love him but he's so hilarious.

[harrietm87]

I'm irish and definitely going to give my children Irish names - I don't think there's any point worrying about spellings etc as people will learn. My parents gave me and my siblings names that are supposedly easy to spell, but it hasn't worked out at all - eg my brother John gets Jon all the time so always has to spell it. So I think name your baby whatever you like!

Also Aoife is a lovely name.

[villainousbroodmare]

Aoife is lovely. I know a magnificent Feargal too; Fergal is the anglicised version.

[edengarden123]

Totally agree people will learn. Im in ireland and often have had trouble pn obscure irish names esp as between regions the pn differs slightly... my cousin called her new arrival cionaodh... we were all baffled as to how to pronounce it and had she had to text the phonetic version but 'sin é'

[CastaDiva]

Is that an actual name, Eden? It may just be that I've not come across it, but it sounds slightly make-uppy and a convoluted a way of essentially calling your child a version of that old chestnut Sinead?

I'm not a native speaker, but spent twelve years living in a Gaeltacht, and I think a lot of people would be baffled by Cionaodh... Wouldn't 'cion' usually be pronounced with a hard 'c' and to rhyme with Fionn?

[Grizzer]

Hi all, a quick update. I had a boy this morning - 2 weeks early. We have called him Declan so total turnaround! No spelling issues & fits well in Ireland & England. The Irish side will definitely not shorten it and I hope the English side won't either. I hope you all approve! He is gorgeous. Thank you again for all your advice

[TheGirlOnTheLanding]

Congratulations! Lovely that wee Declan couldn't wait any longer to meet you.

[LonestarStateOfMind]

Aw congratulations, Declan is lovely

[mathanxiety]

Declan is lovely -- congratulations.

[mathanxiety]

[ICanSeeForMiles]

Aww lovely, congratulations

I was just about to write that I know a little Maeve but she's got a traditional irish spelling of medeabh (sp?) now that's one that will be getting spelt out for ever more.

[edengarden123]

Yes it is unusual- cionaodh is the irish for the surname Kenny and they pn it "kyun-a" - yes the hard c.

Declan is a good name congrats

[mathanxiety]

Medb (Old Irish) or Maedhbh (slightly less Old) and Maebh (Modern Irish) can all be used.