Irish names help!

[nothingseasy]

Hiya,
I'm calling out to all Irish speakers please.

I want to call my baby Ayveen In Irish. I've established from other threads that it's not Aoibheann or Aoibhinn or anything beginning with Aoi as this makes an ee sound. However nobody can conclusively say how it should be spelled.

I'd like to know what letters (diphthong/triphthong) make the aye/ay sound I am looking for. Do they exist in Irish?

Alternatives I've seen are

Éabhaoin
Éimhín
Aibhín

I personally favour the Aibhín but does ai in Irish make the sound ay?

Please help it's driving me mad!!

We are living in England and I want to keep a connection to my Irish heritage so I want an Irish name. We have trawled through them all and this is the only one we liked so when we found out it wasn't even said right we were devastated.

Please don't tell me not to bother with an Irish name in England or that I shouldn't give it an Irish name because they will have trouble e.t.c.

Help resolving the spelling is really all I am after.

Thank you x

Thanks, I have seen Éimhín before and wondered why the bh changes to a mh? I thought I had cracked it with this one too but I found a page which said this...

Mainistir Éimhín in Co. Kildare, which in English translates as Monasterevan. Éimhín was a monk (I'm not sure of the dates but I will post them when I get the book from downstairs but it would have been in Medieval Irish Times) who settled in Kildare and set up a monastery.

The closest English translation to the name is Evan.

Unless the English translation to Monastereven is wrong?

Although I suppose it's not the English translation I'm after just the Irish pronunciation so maybe it would work?

It would be nice if Éimhín was ay-veen because although a boys name at least it has a bit of history!

Are there any other opinions on the pronunciation of this?

Thanks @MindyStClaire, as I've said, all names are made up so I don't see why I can't find a spelling for a sound I like. The spoken tongue came first and the the written language, so it should be possible.

I am close to just dropping it altogether, this is my last attempt to get it right. I was hoping there would be a way.

@ILoveStickers

I'm not an Irish speaker, not at all - just someone with a vague interest.

Now I think of it, Éabhín is no good, because you have a one side of the bh and í the other, which doesn't work.

I was basing it on Éabha, but that's a mistake on my part.

Éibhín might work?

You're quite right -- I wasn't thinking straight as it was so early, and I woke up at four for some reason. I was thinking the same thing re Éabh etc.

In Irish there are names like Eábha =Ava so there must be a agreed way of spelling Ay-veen.

But that's what everyone has been trying to tell you, OP. There is no consensus, or, if by 'consensus' you mean 'what most people do', the consensus is the mis-spelling as Aoibheann. I'd be surprised if many native speakers used it for exactly the reasons @MindyStClaire gives, and literally everyone I have come across with a name pronounced Ayveen has written it as Aoibheann -- there are at least two at my son's school.

DS, who has an unusual Irish name, was born in London, and I absolutely get the desire to use an Irish name, but doesn't it water down your enthusiasm a bit to realise it's a bit of a mess?

rollercoaster.ie/pregnancy/baby-names/behind-the-name-aoibheann-gorgeous-unusual-but-how-to-pronounce-it/

This lists three (apparently) famous women all of whom spell it differently (Aoibheann, Aoibhinn and Aoibhin -- no fadas seem to be used in the article as a whole) but pronounce it Ayveen.

Thanks @Neap
By consensus I mean an agreement on an Irish correct equivalent. I'm not looking for a consensus on the pronunciation of the Irish name Aoibheann. I know this is not ay-veen. I don't want any variation of this spelling no matter how many people use it for ay-veen.

I suppose I was hoping a good Irish speaker would just be able to say these 2/3 letters together will sound like ay. In much the way I keep getting told Aoi=ee. Eá perhaps?

I appreciate it is a mess which is why I'm reaching out for help.

Irish speaker here. Éabhaoin is perfect spelling for what you want and adheres to all rules. Éadaoin is a name with the same sounds for example.

Éabhín is an issue due to the a one side of bh and í on the other, but it's not completely butchering the language like Aoibheann pronounced ee-veen does. Aibhín would be pronounced as Ah-veen around here.

I don't see that the name will be a big issue as it's not actually difficult to pronounce at all. I'm sure the British are not so thick as to not be able to repeat a simple sound when told.

On the made up name point that someone made above, are all names not made up? Some just more recent than others. This one is well established, though often with nonsensical spelling.

Well done OP for honouring your heritage and for making sure the spelling makes sense! It's a beautiful name.

I think that poster is just using Evan (which is a form of John) as an equivalent.

I know a female Ailbhe (also a male saint) and a female Naoise, so I think a female Éimhín is fine.

But you might find, OP, that this is all a bit too much - there are loads of gorgeous Irish names, so I'm sure there's another one out there for you if this one just isn't quite right.

To me it's a bit like saying "I like the sound of floor-vull as a name, how would you spell it in Irish?" and ending up with Flurbhall. You can of course have anything you like as a name, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a good idea. And that's without the confusion of umpteen people going around with a name they pronounce in that way but with a different spelling.

I hadn't come across Éimhín before, given it's a real name it'd be the leading contender for me.

@Crazybirdlady that's so lovely! This is a new way, Éabhaoin. I like it!

If you would read it as Ay-veen being an Irish speaker then hopefully it will make sense.

Thank you for your input, I really appreciate it x

Surely it's Éibhín ?

@MindyStClaire
Not really because ay-veen is a name. It's quite common in Ireland. I didn't make it up. People are just spelling it wrong.

Sorry to jump on this thread but I wonder if you could help me? There seem to be lots of people here who would know.
I have a new child called Eithne joining my brownies group (online at the moment)
How do I pronounce it? I want to make sure that I am saying it right so that she feels welcome and Google is giving different answers.
tIA

@ILoveStickers

Yeah I'm not bothered about the male female thing tbh, as long as it's spelled like it sounds.

It is getting a bit much but like I said we really have been through every Irish name going! My partner has a lisp so can't say many of them😆 and also English people can't pronounce a lot of names. They can say ay-veen right but it's the Irish spelling that's the issue.

Fiadh was the only other one we had on the list but when English people say it, it sounds like Thea or fear 🙄

@Baublebox

This one is also variable some say Enya some say Eithne 🤷‍♀️

@nothingseasy interesting.... I'm pulling up all the references I can find for the name and the full answer is going to be long and complex. It's a very old word and a lovely name, and way back they had a hard time agreeing how to spell the root word.
You can look it up at dil.ie/33585
I have to work now but will come back later.

@SeanChailleach

Thanks, I'll be honest I'm not sure what I am looking at through that link dil.ie/33585. I look forward to hearing from you later. You sound like you know your stuff!

How to say Aoibheann

I know it's against everything said here, and I'm sure I'll get lambasted- but I've known lots of "Ay-veens" both friends and family. Three different spellings but all start Aoi... none of them pronounce it ee-veen.
Aoibhín
Aoibheann
Aoibhinn

thanks @AfterSchoolWorry

This does seem right Éibhín. I was just looking at the word for little birds which seems to have an agreed pronunciation Éiníní (Ay-neenee) so Éi does look like its right for ay sounds.

Are you an Irish speaker?

[quote nothingseasy]@Baublebox

This one is also variable some say Enya some say Eithne 🤷‍♀️[/quote]
I would say 'Ethna' for Eithne for this name (I'm from Munster).

I know @RonSwansonsChair but there just aren't any examples in the Irish language of this being correct. Sorry.
There is an argument that language is dynamic and if everyone agrees then it should be so but it just doesn't sit right with me if hardened Irish speakers say it's wrong and with the aoi in all other names being ee sound, it seems very blatantly incorrect. If it was just a dialect thing, I could get over it but its like saying the sound fort the letter p is the sound of the letter z in English. Unfortunatly.

Thank you @nothingseasy and @IsFuzzyBeagMise. It looks like I may have to ask. I just always like to try to get it right first time. I feel like it's important.

Éabhaoin or Éibhín look right to me. Or Éimhín.
These for 'Aiveen'.

Aoibhinn/Aoibheann/Aoibhín are all 'Eevin' or Eeveen' to me.

I'm not a fluent Irish speaker. School Irish only. Hopefully you will hear back from people who have better Irish than I have.

It's a lovely name. I like the look of Éibhín, personally.

Good luck!

@Baublebox

Thank you *@nothingseasy and @IsFuzzyBeagMise*. It looks like I may have to ask. I just always like to try to get it right first time. I feel like it's important.

Yes, Baublebox, definitely ask.