Aodhán or Aidan

[ImStayingInside]

I have posted before about Irish baby names, but we have whittled down the boys name to Aodhán or Aidan … (we didn’t find out the sex, so could be completely irrelevant if baby is a girl!)
For content, DH is Irish and wants baby to have an Irish name, we live in England and I’m not 100% sure on which spelling to use.
Are we just subjecting the child to a lifetime of spelling his name out?
I am quite settled on the name, it’s just the spelling that is causing me trouble now … any opinions welcome!

@EvilShmeevil

I think ay-dawn is pretty close to how I hear it pronounced in my part of West of Ireland. Definitely has a' d' sound.

Same. Also in the west.

I'm Irish and I have two cousins one in 20s and one in his 40s both called Aidan.

Go with Aidan

I'm in mid Ulster and know a LOT of Aodháns and we pronounce the name Ay-Don. Actually with our dialect it is more like Ead-In.😂

It's a beautiful name but I don't much like the Aiden spelling. There was a burst of popularity for it back in the nineties where it just felt like every other young boy had that name.

The d makes a dh sound rather than a soft d like Homer Simpson's D'oh

In Modern Irish spelling dh is d without the tongue touching the teeth/palate.
Sometimes dh is used to mean a palatal d as in Hiberno-English instead of a dental d as used in English-English dialects.

@StrychnineInTheSandwiches

I'm Irish and thye are pronounced the same one is the Irish spelling.

How can they be pronounced the same if one has a fada?

Áed used to be the most common name in Ireland. The Old Irish ending -acan was used as a diminutive. Over time -acan became -achan, -aghan, and then -án. There are several names that begin Áed, including Áedach Áedgal Áedgen Áedlug Áeducan With all those, you are going to hear every imaginable variation and some we have forgotten about.

@AuntDympna

In Modern Irish spelling dh is d without the tongue touching the teeth/palate. Sometimes dh is used to mean a palatal d as in Hiberno-English instead of a dental d as used in English-English dialects.

Homer vs Non-Homer

Looking at your subject line I don’t know how to pronounce the former and when I learnt how to I suspect I would still struggle with spelling it. You have a good reason to spell it the Irish way, it depends on how important it is to you for people to get pronunciation and spelling right first time. Your DS will either tire of explaining or learn to live with it if you choose the former, or choose the latter and he’ll have an easy life in terms of names! Either name is a good choice, congratulations OP.

I love Aodhán. I’m in Ulster and it gets pronounced the same as Aidan here. But it always slightly rankles because I know it should be Ay-awn or EE-awn. Or a very soft “d” sound. The fada elongates the vowel giving the “awn” rather than “in” sound at the end.

I have also seen it spelled Áodhan which I’m not sure is correct?

@EvilShmeevil

I think ay-dawn is pretty close to how I hear it pronounced in my part of West of Ireland. Definitely has a' d' sound.

Yes, same in my part of the West too, but I also know an Aodhán from Dublin who pronounces it this way. I also know one who doesn't use the fada and pronounces it the same as Aidan.

I have to admit, when we had our children we were living in the UK and my Irish husband and I went for anglicised Irish names to make easier for the English side of the family.

Aidan. Nice name.
The Irish spelling is a giant pointless pain for a boy growing up in the Uk. Why do that to him..

@MaryAndGerryLivingInDerry

I have also seen it spelled Áodhan which I’m not sure is correct?

No that's not correct. That would be pronounced aw-awn or something like that. Is that person from NI? I have found that some NI people tend to favour extraneous fadas and sometimes go for more 'authentic looking' spellings, that are anything but. I've met an Órlaithí and an Éoin.

It must be to do with not learning Irish in school but very much wanting to strongly identity as being Irish so making it up a bit as they go along. This isn't dig at people from NI, just an observation.

In england he could get aiden or aidan so go with the Gaelic.

I'd go for Aidan, but I'm biased! Though my Aidan is a native Gaelic speaker he's happy with his spelling. It's a lovely name!

Is that person from NI? I have found that some NI people tend to favour extraneous fadas and sometimes go for more 'authentic looking' spellings, that are anything but. I've met an Órlaithí and an Éoin.

It must be to do with not learning Irish in school but very much wanting to strongly identity as being Irish so making it up a bit as they go along. This isn't dig at people from NI, just an observation.

Yes, very much this. I see all sorts of nonsense “Irish” names here in my part of NI. Facebook names are another level.

Aidan

Aedán is another version from Old Irish that might cause less debate and confusion.

The pronunciation of d/dh can vary across the country. Pádraig is a another example - the d is completely missing in some dialects and distinct in others.

In general Irish pronunciations are softer and rounder than the English equivalent and the emphasis can land differently. To an Irish ear pronouncing a name spelled “Aodhán or Aedán” as “Aidan” will sound very flat.

@Luredbyapomegranate

Aidan. Nice name. The Irish spelling is a giant pointless pain for a boy growing up in the Uk. Why do that to him..

Except it's also a giant pain when people keep spelling it Aiden 🤷🏻‍♀️ Even DS's NI number inexplicably came through with the wrong bloody spelling on it!

An easier life for who? Shall we just stop using Irish, Welsh, Gaelic, Cornish names so that the English don't have to bother asking/learning how to say them????

@idiotmagnet, they don't learn to say them though, and they usually just anglicise them.

I say that as someone with a name that gets 'anglicised' and feel that my lovely name sounds awful when it happens.

@KirstenBlest

An easier life for who? Shall we just stop using Irish, Welsh, Gaelic, Cornish names so that the English don't have to bother asking/learning how to say them????

@idiotmagnet, they don't learn to say them though, and they usually just anglicise them.

I say that as someone with a name that gets 'anglicised' and feel that my lovely name sounds awful when it happens.

Yes, it's a shame isn't it. I'm in Wales where beautiful names get vandalised all the time by those unwilling to just ask how they're pronounced.

I think it's sad when the anglicised version becomes mainstream

I get told I'm saying my name wrong, or that my name is somerhing else, because they can't be arsed to listen

SoupDragon, the misspelling thing happens even with an Irish name in Ireland. The tax office 'corrected' my surname on their system, I don't know whether intentionally or accidentally. I'm just leaving it because I suspect I would tumble into some sort of bureaucratic black hole if I tried to fix it.

I think it is like the difference in pronunciation between Kieran and Ciarán, to me Aidan and Aodhán are similar but different.

I have found that some NI people tend to favour extraneous fadas and sometimes go for more 'authentic looking' spellings, that are anything but. I've met an Órlaithí and an Éoin.

I know a Déarbhíle and a Shánnón