Aideen, Éadaoin, Étaín

[Snowbell99]

Hello everyone,

I fell in love with the name Aideen. Well, actually with Éadaoin and Aideen is growing on me.

Aideen is AY-deen
Éadaoin is EH-deen (longer EH like French é) but I heard people say AY-deen too
Étaín would be AY-teen

Aideen is supposed to be the anglicisation. It confuses me a tiny bit because the pronunciation is not exactly the same as that of the originals. But I do like it. Étaín is the older Irish form (she was a character in Irish mythology), Éadaoin is the modern Irish form. Étaín is out of the question even though it's nice because I'm not keen on the "teen" part.

Now I have some questions:

1. What do you think of Aideen? What about Éadaoin or Étaín? Too complicated or still fine?

1. I am interested in finding out whether Irish speakers would approve of the anglicisation Aideen. It has been used in Ireland (more than Étaín or Éadaoin before the 2010s, in recent years Éadaoin has become more popular). Aideen managed to come close to making the top 100 in the 80s and 90s.

But I feel like the acceptance of anglicisations has gone back. In the early 2010s or so there seems to have been a change (maybe because of the widespread use of the internet) and more and more people seem to prefer the originals, when you look at the statistics. So while Aideen seems to have been acceptable I am wondering if people nowadays would think that it seems silly or dumbed down.

1. How would Aideen, Éadaoin and Étaín be perceived in Ireland these days? Dated? Old fashioned? Classic? Just wondering.

1. Which one would you pick, Aideen or Éadaoin (EH-deen, long EH sound)?

1. Is it too close to the word "eighteen"? To be honest I don't hear it and it doesn't bother me much but it has come up.

Thank you!

How about Aedín spelling? Love this name and any Aedíns or Eadaoins I know have been lovely!

It's a very pretty name. I like the spelling suggested above but can't get my i to do the little thing.

The Aideen spelling makes me (an English person) think of the boys name Aiden so I think that you should use the original way of spelling her name.

Aedín is a pretty awesome looking name, if that's an option.

Étaín is also cool, but I (as an English person) do hear it as "eighteen" unfortunately.

Aedín looks nice, thanks! Is it from the same source (related to Aideen, Éadaoin etc.)? I wasn't able to find much information on this name.

Yep, and pronounced the same as Aideen or Éadaoin, just another variation of the spelling. I think Aedín spelling is more Munster Irish dialect.

Étaín is lovely but think it gets easily mixed up with Ethan

Étain(only one fada) would be pronounced Eh Donn, or Eh Thonn, as would Éadaoin. The T in Irish has a much softer sound than in English, but people unused to our pronunciation say a word the way they are used to seeing it so the very beautiful Étain becomes the very hard sounding Ayteen.

I've always loved the older spelling, and the historical connection, but I'm afraid if you're not living in Ireland, your little girl will face a lifetime of them explaining why T is actually a soft TH or DH sound!

@Dubbadubbadumdum

Étain(only one fada) would be pronounced Eh Donn, or Eh Thonn, as would Éadaoin. The T in Irish has a much softer sound than in English, but people unused to our pronunciation say a word the way they are used to seeing it so the very beautiful Étain becomes the very hard sounding Ayteen.

I've always loved the older spelling, and the historical connection, but I'm afraid if you're not living in Ireland, your little girl will face a lifetime of them explaining why T is actually a soft TH or DH sound!

But it is spelt Étaín, isn't it? (AY-teen)

At least that's how I found it on all the sites that mention Étaín from mythology:

www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095758974?rskey=gR92hp&result=18
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89ta%C3%ADn

The only Etain I know is pronounced Ee-tain.

@Journeylikenomother

How about Aedín spelling? Love this name and any Aedíns or Eadaoins I know have been lovely!

No idea how authentic it is but love this spelling

I know an Eadaoin and it is a real bugger to spell

Aideen is dreary, reminds me of Maureen and Nora and makes me think of 50s bedsits

Love the spelling Aedín.
This name is a funny one. The boys name Aodh, from Old Irish Aod, or Áed, means "fire". For some reason someone said the girls name is from "éad", meaning jealousy, and that explanation appears a lot. I don't know why. It feels much more likely that the girls name is also based on "Áed".

I would pronounce Aideen and Éadaoin exactly the same, apart from a slightly softer d sound in Éadaoin (probably not even noticeable to someone from outside Ireland). Definitely not Eh-deen to me due to the data on the E which would make it an AY sound rather than EH.

I don't like Étaín because it doesn't follow the leathan le leathan agus caol le caol rule - can't have E and A either side of a consonant. Any I've known have been Etain and pronounced Eh-tane. I'm not sure of the original Irish name - perhaps that is the old name and it predates the spelling rules, but it looks all wrong to me.

You can go for Édaín (pronounced ayDEEN). I have a friend with this version. I can be sure it is an authentic spelling as one of her parents is a gaeilgeoir.

@SeanChailleach

Love the spelling Aedín. This name is a funny one. The boys name Aodh, from Old Irish Aod, or Áed, means "fire". For some reason someone said the girls name is from "éad", meaning jealousy, and that explanation appears a lot. I don't know why. It feels much more likely that the girls name is also based on "Áed".

Étaín comes from ét meaning "jealousy, passion". It makes sense when you read her story in Irish mythology. So I am pretty sure it is unrelated to the "fire" meanings.

@JenniferBarkley

I would pronounce Aideen and Éadaoin exactly the same, apart from a slightly softer d sound in Éadaoin (probably not even noticeable to someone from outside Ireland). Definitely not Eh-deen to me due to the data on the E which would make it an AY sound rather than EH.

I don't like Étaín because it doesn't follow the leathan le leathan agus caol le caol rule - can't have E and A either side of a consonant. Any I've known have been Etain and pronounced Eh-tane. I'm not sure of the original Irish name - perhaps that is the old name and it predates the spelling rules, but it looks all wrong to me.

Yes, it's Étaín, straight from Irish mythology. It is a very old name.

I can't imagine that Etain (EH-tane) is correct. I mean I could be wrong but it is like someone forgot the fadas or didn't kknow the mythological Étaín was spelled with fadas.

When I read it (having not heard of them) I thought boys name and was surprised to see they were girls (thought a version of Aiden and Etienne) not that it matters
I like the sound of Aideen but love the look of Etain (with the fada)

Not that it is relevant really but Saoirse is my favourite name to look at, I just think it looks beautiful.

Oh yeah, I didn't think Etain pronounced Eh-tane was the traditional Irish name, sorry wasn't clear - just that it was the anglicised name I've come across but I've never seen Étaín. I've zero interest in Irish mythology though so that explains it.

@JenniferBarkley

Oh yeah, I didn't think Etain pronounced Eh-tane was the traditional Irish name, sorry wasn't clear - just that it was the anglicised name I've come across but I've never seen Étaín. I've zero interest in Irish mythology though so that explains it.

Sorry, I misunderstood. I personally have never seen it at all (not with the fadas and not without) in real life.

I have seen Éadaoin once on a real person (but if you google it some more come up) and Aideen a couple of times.

Yeah I've seen both Éadaoin and Aideen, probably roughly equal numbers. I prefer Éadaoin but Aideen would be easier to travel with. Brings us back to the other thread on anglicisations!

Etain
Cite this: eDIL s.v. Etain or dil.ie/20642
See 2013 Version

Forms: Etain

npr. nom. Etain (: aircetail), Auraic. 1972 . Cf. Etan.

Étaín
Cite this: eDIL s.v. Étaín or dil.ie/20643
See 2013 Version

Forms: Etaoin, Étaein, Ettain, Etaine, Etáiniu, Etáini, Étaíne, Edaine

Would you go for Éadaoin or Aideen between these two?

I had a friend Eadaoin at school. Great name and I’d choose that spelling.

I know an Etain, pronounced Eh-tain. I don't know if she includes the fadas when spelling it.