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Baby names

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

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Original poster

Aoife?

95 replies

Mummy2beexx · 18/04/2022 11:50

Expecting baby 2 this June and she is a girl :)

We already have Finn our DS, our surname is Irish due to DH’s family being Irish so we like picking Irish names to go with our surname and because I love a lot of them!

My only worry is people will constantly ask our DD (if we name her this) how to spell or pronounce her name? We live in the north of UK, not Ireland

DH assured me it’s becoming more popular so everyone by the time she gets to school will know of it and not to worry but of course it’s just on my mind!

Do any of you have an Aoife? Does she get badgered with pronunciation and spelling questions?

I really love the name it’s beautiful so I don’t think I’ll let this get in the way but it’ll be reassuring if a lot of people say that it’s quite known now

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Enko · 24/04/2022 09:38

A thing. Not a think

Cuphalffullor · 24/04/2022 09:41

Work with an Aoife and very few knew how to say or spell. But anyone can learn and everyone has.

SirChenjins · 24/04/2022 11:45

I think that different though - if you come into contact with the same people on a regular basis then they’ll quickly get the hang of the pronunciation. It’s the many ad hoc interactions you have with strangers throughout your life where you have to correct their pronunciation or explain how to spell it that becomes a pita (at least, I find it a pita, others may quite like it).

It’s not the end of the world though obviously , there could be far worse things to worry about.

Lismoa · 24/04/2022 11:54

If you're in the north of the UK then I'm guessing you mean the Scottish Highlands. I teach up there and it's not common here but people wouldn't really have a problem pronouncing or learning how to spell it.

dumdumduuuummmmm · 25/04/2022 15:55

mathanxiety · 23/04/2022 22:10

Yes but globally people learn English, rarely Irish. So getting to the point of the whole post, if the OP is concerned that people would struggle to pronounce the name, then I'm saying yes, globally they will.

There seems to be a strong mental block about Irish on the part of some native speakers of English.

Knowledge of English is not a barrier to wrapping your head around learning a third language or even learning a single name in a third language. Non-Irish speakers of English as a second language can hop straight in and accept it on its own terms just as they do with words commonly used by English speakers like pizza or bolognese or lasagna or karaoke or faux pas or zeitgeist.

How do you think Irish people with Irish names manage in the hundreds of countries around the world where Irish people with names like Niamh or Diarmuid or Ciara or Eamon? Half of the generation that graduated from university in the 1980s emigrated. Many of them were bestowed with the Irish names that were fashionable in the 1960s.

You need to go back to the OP... My only worry is people will constantly ask our DD (if we name her this) how to spell or pronounce her name?
This is not done discussion about whether people with certain names will cope in life or if other people will be able to learn.

mathanxiety · 25/04/2022 16:17

Yes it is. You have paraphrased the OP there.

Will people be able to pronounce Aoife? Yes. Only people who are very dim or deliberately obtuse will have a problem with it. Same goes for spelling. It's five letters long. If you can recite the alphabet you can learn to spell Aoife.

SirChenjins · 25/04/2022 17:31

Only people who are very dim or deliberately obtuse will have a problem with it

What a silly thing to say. It’s a name that’s not pronounced as it’s spelt, so many (perfectly intelligent) people from all walks of life who haven’t come across it before will be unsure of its pronunciation. They will, of course, learn how to spell and pronounce it in time. As someone with a surname that’s very unusual I experience this all the time with people I’ve just met, but it’s not something that I feel marks them out as dim witted or obtuse.

SirChenjins · 25/04/2022 17:32

Only people who are very dim or deliberately obtuse will have a problem with it

RaininSummer · 25/04/2022 17:33

I wouldn't have known how to say this name if it wasn't explained up thread. It is certainly pretty and I would only need telling once but don't assume it's as well known as you think.

HouseofGods · 25/04/2022 17:37

Love it! DS2 would have been Aoife (with a big brother Finn) so I'd go for it. We're not in Ireland but know of a few Aoifes and no issues with pronunciation or spelling that I'm aware of from friends.

Marty13 · 25/04/2022 17:52

I'm not British and had never heard of that name before mumsnet. I expect you'd be okay in the UK but if she travels abroad she'll have to spell out her name alllll the time.

ZoyaTheDestroyer · 25/04/2022 18:59

Anyone else suspect that OP meant north of England and now enjoying the Scots making their point?

Anyway. Lovely name and I don’t think pronunciation will be an issue but be aware that across a crowded classroom / playground it will merge with all of the Evies / Evas / Avas.

dumdumduuuummmmm · 25/04/2022 19:35

mathanxiety · 25/04/2022 16:17

Yes it is. You have paraphrased the OP there.

I haven't paraphrased anything. You have. I have literally cut and paste from the OP. They don't ask if people can learn to spell and say it. That seems to be YOUR preoccupation. The OP asks (again I cut and paste) My only worry is people will constantly ask our DD (if we name her this) how to spell or pronounce her name?
And the answer is YES. They will constantly ask. No one is suggesting people can't learn

SirChenjins · 25/04/2022 20:03

ZoyaTheDestroyer · 25/04/2022 18:59

Anyone else suspect that OP meant north of England and now enjoying the Scots making their point?

Anyway. Lovely name and I don’t think pronunciation will be an issue but be aware that across a crowded classroom / playground it will merge with all of the Evies / Evas / Avas.

Nope.

mathanxiety · 26/04/2022 04:44

My only worry is people will constantly ask our DD (if we name her this) how to spell or pronounce her name?

To paraphrase:
This is not done discussion about whether people with certain names will cope in life or if other people will be able to learn.

The OP is concerned that mispronunciations and requests to spell/pronounce her name will be a cause of frustration or embarrassment to her DD.

If people constantly ask how to spell and pronounce a name then it really does suggest that they are not capable of learning how to spell or pronounce it. The name is not unheard of. It's at #172 in the ONS list for 2020, up 17 places from 2019.

0.1% of girls born in the UK in 2020 were named Aoife, sharing popularity with Skylar, Zoya, Beatrix, Faith, Penny, Esther, Skye, Piper, Madison, Callie, Alba, Zahra, Dorothy, Amira, and Hanna.

@SirChenjins there are dozens of words in the English language which are not pronounced as they are spelled. People manage.

garlictwist · 26/04/2022 05:23

Sorry I think it's very ugly.

worriedaboutmoney2022 · 26/04/2022 07:13

Lovely name
I think most adults will be fine with the spelling but when children learn to spell their names it could be tricky as it's an "E" sound "Eefa" but is spelt with an "A"

My friend Siobhan always said learning to spell her name was difficult as it sounds like there should be a "V" in there

timestheyarechanging · 26/04/2022 07:53

I think it's popular enough in England that people will be able to spell it (I couldn't though 20 years ago with ExH family!)
I wanted to call my son Tadhg but couldn't set him up for a lifetime of spelling his name.

timestheyarechanging · 26/04/2022 08:01

As it's spelt so differently to how it's pronounced!

ImInStealthMode · 26/04/2022 08:13

I have a very standard very popular in Britain in the 80s name and frequently get asked how to spell it. I don't see it makes much difference.

I met an Aoife once in my early 20s and after one telling have remembered how to say and spell it ever since, same with my friends' children Clodagh, Saoirse and Mallaidh.

Anybody who needs 'constantly reminding' is either very short of brain or wilfully ignorant.

I think it's a very pretty name, by the way, and goes beautifully with Finn.

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