Aoife - if not Irish?

[Helpneeded12345]

I love the name Aoife. It is my all time favourite girls name but neither my partner or I are Irish (my great-grandparents were Irish but this is a very long way back!)

I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you think it is ok to use Aoife if not Irish or would it be weird / cultural appropriation?

I'm particularly interested in opinions from anyone Irish - would it be offensive?

[ReadersD1gest]

It's fine, it's quite popular in some parts of London! Not so much in Ireland anymore, oddly.

[Twoinapod]

I know a lot of siobhans and Niamh’s and none are Irish or have Irish connections so I think it’s fine

[ididntwanttodoit]

what's wrong with Eva? sounds much the same and not nearly so hard to spell.

[DerangedViper]

I have an Irish grandparent and wouldn't have hesitated to use a Irish name had it been the one I liked best.

Even with a great-grandparent, I think it's OK. If you ever feel the need to justify it in RL, you can simply say "my mother/father has Irish ancestry"

Hope you'll be watching the rugby later

[xJoy]

You have my permission, ha ha ! (I'm Irish)

I prefer Eva though. TBH. I like Siún, Fraoch, Clodagh...... Meadhbh much more.

[Templebreedy]

@ididntwanttodoit

what's wrong with Eva? sounds much the same and not nearly so hard to spell.

That’s your issue, OP, that kind of whiny Little Englandism.

I’m Irish and have no issue with anyone using Irish names as long as they spell and pronounce them properly.

[Stepuptowardsinfinity]

Bizarre. Like using Manuel if you are not Spanish, or Haru if you are not Japanese. Aoife is a lovely name but screams Irish heritage.

[tazzy73]

Irish here 🇮🇪
Use away, very easy to spell and pronounce. Irish people would not be offended by this. Only spell them correctly.
No one owns names.

[xJoy]

It definitely is not the same as using a Japanese name!

For one thing, Irish people speak English. Irish people can wander down the street in the UK and nobody knows they're not 100% English going back ten generations.

You have journalists/acotrs in the UK with names like Dermot O'Leary, Steeve Coogan and Kevin O'Sullivan and Siobhan Conaty and Tony Slattery and so on. Nobody knows whether both their parents were Irish or whether they have one Irish grandparent or great grandparent. People like Craig Doyle, Ed Byrne and Dara O'Briain all built careers in the UK (so many men!) oh yeh, Aislinn Bea too, phew, a woman amongst them.
Can you name any Japanese people who integrated UK life so seemlessly. To compare using an Irish name with using a Japanese name is hilarious.

I'd use a Spanish or an Italian name without a thought. Love Paloma, Love Salvador. But a Japanese name, no.

[cosmiccosmos]

It's a lovely name and anyone is free to use it - there's no restrictions.

However personally I think it's odd to chose a name that you have no cultural link to and I will add is frequently mispronounced and misspelled. Your DD will be asked to spell it all the time and will be asked about her Irish heritage. Why wouldn't you use something from your background that sounds similar?

[cosmiccosmos]

It's only easy to pronounce and spell if you know it or are Irish

[DerangedViper]

@cosmiccosmos

It's only easy to pronounce and spell if you know it or are Irish

Way more accessible than many!!

[drpet49]

@ididntwanttodoit

what's wrong with Eva? sounds much the same and not nearly so hard to spell.

This. I hate the spelling of Aofie

[Templebreedy]

@drpet49

This. I hate the spelling of Aofie

Oh, the irony.

[Templebreedy]

And Aoife is not pronounced like ‘Eva’.

[KirstenBlest]

Dermot O'Leary, Steeve Coogan and Kevin O'Sullivan and Siobhan Conaty and Tony Slattery and so on.
Many of those names are anglicised forms of gaeilge names, and the anglicization of names and place names is not about just making it easier to spell.

I wouldn't use it without a connection. I also think that it blends into all the Eva, Ava, Evie, Ivy type names.

[Lostmarblesfinder]

Yes Aoife doesn’t sound like Eva to my ear. Use it away. There are tonnes of non Irish Liams in the UK now.

[NaomhPadraigin]

I'm irish, and I'm Aoife so I give you full permission 😆

Seriously though, it's fine. If you love the name use it.
And to those saying 1) use Eva, it's pronounced the same - it's not! and 2) it's too hard to spell, no one will know it etc..... - expand your minds just a teeny, tiny little bit. You'll learn something new, and you never know you might even like it!

[Grassisbluer]

I'm Irish and would have no problem with anybody using Irish names as long as they spell and pronounce them correctly (and don't always trust the rubbish on some baby naming sites).
Aoife is lovely and is easy to say once you know how, unlike some other Irish names.

[Lostmarblesfinder]

Oh and we do have a version of the name Eva in Ireland, if you find Aoife complicated you are going to love it, it is spelt Aoibhe.

[FinallyHere]

have no issue with anyone using Irish names as long as they spell and pronounce them properly.

This. How will you pronounce it?

A friend chose a very simple name and then pronounced it as if it were a completely different name. I love her, and her DD but find the name thing tedious.

[ourflagmeansdeath]

I think it's fine. There a lot of names with Irish or any other heritage that have been blended into other cultures and countries and people use the names without thinking twice. Aoife's gorgeous, so if you love it, use it!

[polkadotclip]

@Stepuptowardsinfinity

Bizarre. Like using Manuel if you are not Spanish, or Haru if you are not Japanese. Aoife is a lovely name but screams Irish heritage.

No different than using Maria, Rachel, Sarah.

Go for it if you like the name, OP!

[Shopgirl1]

Also Irish and think it’s fine, but I would wonder if someone I met with that name had an Irish connection if I met them abroad.
It is still very common in Ireland, there are 3 in my 8 year olds class.
And it’s not pronounced the same as Eva.

[BungleandGeorge]

I really like the name. I wouldn’t personally use it without Irish heritage because it’s in a different language. Do you speak that language? If not it’s a bit odd to use the name and you’re unlikely to pronounce it correctly.