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Baby names

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Original poster

Aoife in England?

86 replies

Confusedaboutnames · 08/10/2022 19:23

What do you think about using the name Aoife in England? Have you heard of it/ would you know how to pronounce it?

My partners family are Irish and we love the name, but I’m just worried it will be forever misspelt and mispronounced?

OP posts:
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Notmenottodaynotever · 08/10/2022 20:01

Totally a tangent but if anyone could tell me how to pronounce Caiomhe I'd be very grateful (I have googled!)

eltonjohnsglasses · 08/10/2022 20:09

Kee-va or Quee-va

KirstenBlest · 08/10/2022 20:10

@sandytooth , because you meet new people all the time. If it's mispronounced every time you end up correcting a lot of people, and people generally don't like being corrected.
It's not very nice having people misspell or mispronounce your name.

Not my real name obvs, but imagine me being called Kristen, Christine or Kirsty, at least they look like real names.
Reality is that people can be very rude and will say things like 'that's a silly name', 'why do you spell your name like that when it's really Eva' and they like.

KirstenBlest · 08/10/2022 20:10

the not they

eltonjohnsglasses · 08/10/2022 20:13

because you meet new people all the time. If it's mispronounced every time you end up correcting a lot of people, and people generally don't like being corrected.

Do they not?

It's not very nice having people misspell or mispronounce your name.

My name isn't English, honestly if someone spells my name wrong or is unsure of pronouncing it's really not a big deal. And sometimes I don't know how to pronounce a name but I just ask or check, not a big deal...

eltonjohnsglasses · 08/10/2022 20:15

Reality is that people can be very rude and will say things like 'that's a silly name', 'why do you spell your name like that when it's really Eva' and they like.

Where do you live? Cause it's not normal for adults to be rude about people names ime.

Scautish · 08/10/2022 20:16

Threads like this always highlight how England-centred some posters are.

it’s a fabulous name OP and anyone who struggles with it, after being told how to pronounce it, is a bit of a numpty.

Notmenottodaynotever · 08/10/2022 20:16

Thanks @eltonjohnsglasses

Got2besoon · 08/10/2022 20:18

It's pronounced Eee-Fa.
Not the same as Eva.

Gr33ngr33ngr4ss · 08/10/2022 20:22

eltonjohnsglasses · 08/10/2022 19:52

Don't make things difficult for your children in the future is all I am saying.

where do people who think like this live? Is there zero diversity, I just don't understand it. I regularly come across names for the first time whether it's colleagues, dc school friends, etc Why would a child having a traditional Irish, African, Polish, insert whatever name make their future difficult? 😆

Quite! All very Little England!

beneathhereyes · 08/10/2022 20:23

I only know it because ds had an Aoife in his class in junior school. Its fine to use, but don't roll your eyes every time you're asked to spell it, because it will be all the time often.

sandytooth · 08/10/2022 20:25

KirstenBlest · 08/10/2022 20:10

@sandytooth , because you meet new people all the time. If it's mispronounced every time you end up correcting a lot of people, and people generally don't like being corrected.
It's not very nice having people misspell or mispronounce your name.

Not my real name obvs, but imagine me being called Kristen, Christine or Kirsty, at least they look like real names.
Reality is that people can be very rude and will say things like 'that's a silly name', 'why do you spell your name like that when it's really Eva' and they like.

I don't know anyone who is rude about people's names. And just correct people if they get it wrong. Yes it will be a tad annoying to have to do that but on the plus side it might make you .ore memorable when you meet someone.

KirstenBlest · 08/10/2022 20:25

@eltonjohnsglasses , no, people don't generally like being corrected.
If I get someone's name wrong, I feel foolish when they correct me.

If I saw someone's name written down, I'd google it, but a lot of the people you meet won't be inclined to, or they might not have the time. Some names have sounds that you might not be able to say if you don't speak that language.
Even if you do look up how to say a name, it is not guaranteed that what you find won't be wrong

I live in a multicultural area. The twatty people tend to be monoglots

sandytooth · 08/10/2022 20:28

KirstenBlest · 08/10/2022 20:25

@eltonjohnsglasses , no, people don't generally like being corrected.
If I get someone's name wrong, I feel foolish when they correct me.

If I saw someone's name written down, I'd google it, but a lot of the people you meet won't be inclined to, or they might not have the time. Some names have sounds that you might not be able to say if you don't speak that language.
Even if you do look up how to say a name, it is not guaranteed that what you find won't be wrong

I live in a multicultural area. The twatty people tend to be monoglots

Why do you feel embarrassed though? Just try to get it right next time. Apologise to them if you get it wrong.

KirstenBlest · 08/10/2022 20:28

As for it being 'very Little England', they are not necessarily English.

Scautish · 08/10/2022 20:31

KirstenBlest · 08/10/2022 20:25

@eltonjohnsglasses , no, people don't generally like being corrected.
If I get someone's name wrong, I feel foolish when they correct me.

If I saw someone's name written down, I'd google it, but a lot of the people you meet won't be inclined to, or they might not have the time. Some names have sounds that you might not be able to say if you don't speak that language.
Even if you do look up how to say a name, it is not guaranteed that what you find won't be wrong

I live in a multicultural area. The twatty people tend to be monoglots

So we should be more concerned about soaring your blushes?

should we just stick to names like Pam and Liz to ensure you always feel quiet contentment at pronouncing names correctly?

Gr33ngr33ngr4ss · 08/10/2022 20:35

KirstenBlest · 08/10/2022 20:28

As for it being 'very Little England', they are not necessarily English.

The people who prefer us to stick to English names aren't English? Eh??

KirstenBlest · 08/10/2022 20:37

@Scautish and @sandytooth , this isn't relevant to the OP.

My point was that it will get misspelled and some people won't know how to say it.
At no point have I suggested that OP names her DD something easy for English people to spell.

caitlinrose · 08/10/2022 20:38

It's pretty and I think it will work.

But I would avoid it at the moment, to be honest.

Eva, Eve, Evie, Evelyn, Ava, Ada are all very common right now and an Aoife will not stand out at all and always be confused with Eva.

It was very common in Ireland. I have a couple of friends from Ireland and among the women three are called Aoife, all born in the 90s, so my guess is that it's more of a 20-something name in Ireland but not sure.

It's lovely, but I really wouldn't right now unless it's your absolut favourite.

Mumoftwoinprimary · 08/10/2022 20:40

I am not Irish and have no Irish heritage. I know how to pronounce (and spell!) Aoife. I’d say that it is third - behind Niamh and Siobhan - for “well known Irish girls names.

It is very pretty.

Gr33ngr33ngr4ss · 08/10/2022 20:40

Notmenottodaynotever · 08/10/2022 20:01

Totally a tangent but if anyone could tell me how to pronounce Caiomhe I'd be very grateful (I have googled!)

Marian Keyes pronounces it Keeva when she reads Grown Ups on Audible.

Snugglemonkey · 08/10/2022 20:41

eltonjohnsglasses · 08/10/2022 20:15

Reality is that people can be very rude and will say things like 'that's a silly name', 'why do you spell your name like that when it's really Eva' and they like.

Where do you live? Cause it's not normal for adults to be rude about people names ime.

Indeed, anyone saying anything like that, is clearly a twat and a very ignorant one.

JulesCobb · 08/10/2022 20:42

I first came across Aoife about 14 years ago in northern england. I had it spelt phonetically on my register so i got it right. Now it is a very standard name. I even have a relative who named their daughter Aoife and my Irish grandma had never heard of it.

Septemberintherain · 08/10/2022 20:43

It was my first choice for dd (now 14). I showed the spelling to all my friends and family and asked them to pronounce it. Sadly, all except my Irish friend got correct (obviously). It concerned my dd would have endless issues with that name so, sadly I had to shelve the idea and went for Ruby instead.
I do love the name Ruby but it’s so damn common that I so wished I’d stuck to Aoife, it’s such a beautiful name.

KirstenBlest · 08/10/2022 20:43

Tralalalalalalalalalala · 08/10/2022 19:31

Is is eeeeefie or efffffie? My cousin has a daughter called Shiobhon. She lives in Singapore and no one knows how to pronounce it. "Shib-onn"

Don't make things difficult for your children in the future is all I am saying.

If her daughter is called Shiobhon, I'm not surprised people struggle with it.
Did you mean Siobhán?