Thoughts on Efa for a girl please

[PoppingCandies]

We are Welsh and live in Wales if that swings anyone.

I'd go for Aoife. It's the right pronunciation for the aunt but a more well known spelling.

Yffa would give you the 'english' uffa.

They don't look like Welsh names.

Îffa.

E in welsh is said like the letter A such as in the word game, for example. Or it is where I'm from anyway, same as the words eraill or the e in beth (the word not the name).

Where in Wales are you from that e is prounounced ‘ay’?
It really isn’t where I’m from (North West) or any part I’ve been to. It’s pronounced as in elephant.

Beth (the Welsh word) would be beh-th
not bay-th?

Efa is eh-va and definitely nothing like Ava.

I wouldn’t call her Efa in Wales and pronounce it Aoife. I think unfortunately people would just think you didn’t know how to pronounce it and would laugh.

My sons have welsh names, we live in England and it’s so annoying nobody can pronounce their names or they misread them and come up with something ridiculous. My eldest is ‘Bryn’ to me it’s easy but he’s been called ‘Brian’ ‘brine’ and all sorts it drives us mad. I like Efa but if you live in England I’d forget it.

I agree with Arosadra

E or e in a name is always like the e in get, set, pet, etc.

It will sound slightly different if next to another vowel.

Maybe you could have a made up name Eiffa. That's not too far from Aoife.

I've just realised that Yffa would be a bit unfortunate. Yffach dân!

Thanks @MikeUniformMike I ought to take some lessons.

For once, I'm finding people in agreement with me.

I'd have thought that Bryn was easy enough - might get Brin.
Unless you have the name, you won't know what people make of it.

Aoife ..
Efa..made me think efalump...sorry !!

@ShopTattsyrup eye-loh ffs

My son has a name which is said a certain way in welsh speaking areas of wales (which is how I wanted to be said) but in the non welsh speaking area where I live now it's said a totally different, awful way and it makes me really sad that I didn't give him a different name. So I wouldn't name your child a name that so many will get wrong or it will piss you and/or DH off like it does me.

I'm not welsh but I would pronounce it

ee-fah on the basis that it is spelt with an f and not a v.

I think it's really pretty, OP. If you like it, go for it.

@Arosadra

E in welsh is said like the letter A such as in the word game, for example. Or it is where I'm from anyway, same as the words eraill or the e in beth (the word not the name).

Where in Wales are you from that e is prounounced ‘ay’?
It really isn’t where I’m from (North West) or any part I’ve been to. It’s pronounced as in elephant.

Beth (the Welsh word) would be beh-th
not bay-th?

Efa is eh-va and definitely nothing like Ava.

I wouldn’t call her Efa in Wales and pronounce it Aoife. I think unfortunately people would just think you didn’t know how to pronounce it and would laugh.

I'm from Carmarthenshire originally. I say the word eraill (for example) as a-raill, not ay-raill. Same as some would say the names Jane or Shane like Jayne or Shayne, I don't pronounce the Y part. Therefore I wouldn't say ay-raill, I'd say it like I say place, without the Y. That's probably complicating matters more now

I think it's beautiful and it's special because of the sentiment behind it.
In most people's lives you are around the same people, family, school, friends and colleagues. Once these people know how to pronounce your name they don't forget and I think most people would know how to pronounce it when written down. She may have to spell it out to new people when she is older but I don't think this is a major hassle. I'd go with it if it were me.

@toiletpaper I'm from Swansea and know exactly what you mean - like 'ay' without the y and softer. But it's impossible to describe because I don't think there's the same sound in English.

That's due to accent and is local to only south west Wales.
Camarthenshire has a strong accent, quite unique in Wales.

The sound you are trying to convey is the flat sound that I would write as ê.

You would get a somewhat similar sound to Ava if you wrote Êfa.

@Fieldofyellowflowers that’s because there is no letter v in the welsh alphabet, a single f is pronounced with a hard ‘V’ sound and a double ff has the soft f sound.

Echoing what daisy said, you could use it.

But welsh people will say it as a Welsh name.
Be prepared to say 'yes, but we say it eepha'.

People will spell it Aoife.

I have an Eva I wished I'd named efa. Strongly influenced by the fact she's in a welsh medium school and everyone calls her Ava. When I asked why, I was told they'd call her Eva if I'd spelt it efa my fault I guess for not speaking welsh.

Sorry didn't rtft- if he's saying eeee fffa . Then no. It won't cut it. You can't burden a child with a mispronounced name, in the area where everyone will know the correct pronunciation!

But it's not a mispronounced name. The spoken name is the person's name. How you write it down can only ever be an approximation.

I have an Efa and we pronounce it like Aoife. spelled the Welsh way and pronounced the Irish way. No one seems to have a problem with it. We live in south west Wales and she's almost 8.

I love it, she loves it. Go for it!

@SeanCailleach

If it's any consolation, native Irish speakers read Aoife as Ayfa, Eefa, and Ehfa. The ao spelling is said all those different ways. And what they do to it in the Scottish Isles is impossible to describe. Not much help, sorry. How would you write Eefa in Welsh - Yffa?

OT, but this is incorrect. Aoi in Irish is always "ee". Ao is a different sound. Aoife is always Ee-fa/Ee-fuh.

Hi Op I quite like the name Efa,I think its a Irish name,I had Irish family friends from a happy clappy contempary church, nearby and one of the daughters was called Efa,but speltt in a slightly different way.

I live in Wales and it's a well known beautiful name that people will know how to say. As long as you keep to the Welsh pronunciation.

Lovely choice : )