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Baby names

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

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Original poster

Does Aoife 'go' with Esther and Henry?

32 replies

howdy1 · 21/08/2017 15:33

Name changed for this as I'm revealing my children's names.

I have an Esther and a Henry, both traditional. We love the name Aoife but we're not Irish and not sure it 'goes' with the other two names?

Advice would be appreciated!

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lavendermint · 21/08/2017 15:34

I don't think it does to be honest.

TheLegendOfBeans · 21/08/2017 15:36

Yes it does.

BUT expect questions such as "so which one of you has the Irish connection"?

MilkTwoSugarsThanks · 21/08/2017 15:36

I don't think it "goes", no. Is it important that it does though?

MineKraftCheese · 21/08/2017 15:39

I thought no at first but saying them out loud is quite pleasing to the ear.

I suppose the only thing is she might feel hard done by with her siblings' easy to pronounce and spell names. Or they might think "why is she so special as to get a fancy name".

But I dunno. It's a lovely name.

Original poster

howdy1 · 21/08/2017 15:40

I think the fact that it is an Irish name is what is holding us back the most, I don't want it to be 'odd' that we've used it despite no Irish connections.

Alice is the other name we're considering!

OP posts:

MineKraftCheese · 21/08/2017 15:45

Love Alice too. Would probably go for that over Aoife in your position, especially if the Irish comments would bother you.

Sophronia · 21/08/2017 15:51

I think Alice goes better. Love Esther by the way.

Original poster

howdy1 · 21/08/2017 15:55

Thanks for the thoughts! Very useful.

DD often gets Essie, more so as she gets older!

OP posts:

RTKangaMummy · 21/08/2017 15:56

If no Irish connections or friends expect her to have to explain how to pronounce and spell all the time

Very pretty name but perhaps use as 2nd name so she still has name but no endless questions

Jooni · 21/08/2017 16:12

Alice "goes" better but Aoife is a much prettier, more interesting name IMO. Love Esther and Henry by the way!

PaganGoddessBrigid · 21/08/2017 16:14

It wouldn't ''not go'' in Ireland. I know families with a mixture of classic and Irish names but in the uk it might sound odd.

Could you just go with Eva?

PaganGoddessBrigid · 21/08/2017 16:15

I love Esther as well! I like Miriam and Esther together!

BoneyBackJefferson · 21/08/2017 16:18

Its not hard to pronounce (Ee fa)

Adarajames · 21/08/2017 16:26

I think unless you speak Irish / have Irish roots, it's mean to give a child a difficult to spell and pronounce name, especially when siblings are very traditional names

Dina1234 · 21/08/2017 16:29

How would you pronounce that?

HelenaJustina · 21/08/2017 16:35

I don't think it goes as such, gorgeous name but think you could find a better fit if having a 'set' matters to you. It's also not that far apart from Esther (which I also love)

DramaAlpaca · 21/08/2017 16:36

I honestly think Alice would 'go' better, even though Aoife is lovely & does sound nice with Esther & Henry.

I probably would assume there was an Irish connection of some sort if I heard of an Aoife in the UK. Not that there needs to be, of course, but a lot of people will think that.

As someone else said above, you could go with Eva which would have the advantage of everyone being able to pronounce & spell, though I appreciate it doesn't sound like Aoife.

Original poster

howdy1 · 21/08/2017 16:39

I think we are leaning towards Alice - it's good to hear people's opinions!

I myself would assume an Irish connection, which is why I was a little concerned, but we just love the name.

Dina1234 it's pronounced ee-fa.

OP posts:

ilivebythesea · 21/08/2017 16:50

Can you have Alice as first name, Aoife as the middle one? Otherwise, I would say go for Eva, as it sounds almost the same as Aoife, but you won't get the questions!

Original poster

howdy1 · 21/08/2017 17:07

We're having a family name as the middle name - otherwise would have been a good idea!

It's strange but I'm not fond of Eva - I know that's ridiculous given how similar they sound!

OP posts:

MammieBear · 21/08/2017 17:22

I don't think you need an Irish connection to use the name they have been brought over to England for hundreds of years so long as you use correct spelling that is!
Niamh for example is used and it doesn't hold people back. I'd say it goes well a little different but that doesn't matter as they all have individual personalities anyway. if you both love the name I'd say use it.

TwitterQueen1 · 21/08/2017 17:27

No because it's too similar to Esther and I would anticipate confusion between the two....

harrietm87 · 21/08/2017 17:37

I don't think it does go - Esther and Henry are such classic English names and Aoife is obviously Irish and also becoming quite trendy now. It doesn't really matter as it's not like she'll be referred to along with siblings for the rest of her life, but might make her feel different from them. She will have to spell it constantly (which I don't think is really a problem) and explain that she has no Irish roots (which could be annoying for her).

I'd go with Alice. Lovely name and does go well with siblings.

squoosh · 21/08/2017 17:40

Esther doesn't sound classically English to me. It's a name I'd associate with a Jewish family. Nothing wrong with that of course.

They don't really need to 'go' OP, it's not as though they'll spend their days as a trio. Although the Bee Gees...

grasspigeons · 21/08/2017 17:45

I don't think names need to go so it being irish is fine, and I like Aoife as a name but I do feel it sounds a bit similar to Esther.

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