Should I call my daughter Aoibhín in England?

[lovebeingmuma]

Will my daughter hate me for calling her a name no one can pronounce?

I'd pronounce it ee-veen, but not a terribly long ee, if you know what I mean. It just sounds like the letter e

Aoi is pronounced the same in Aoife and aoibhín where I come from. I've never heard it pronounced Aiveen.

I'd say go for it. It's a beautiful name. Very common in Ireland now.

Be proud of your heritage.

Don't give her some random name just to fit in.

There are so many Irish names in London, i really wouldn't worry about it. My worry would actually be that it's too similar to Aoife in its initial sound. But don't avoid it due to spelling.

Not even sure how to pronounce Aivenn. Is it A-veen (as in ABC) or aye-veen (as in Scottish aye]. I have heard Aileen pronounced both ways.

As you’re Irish then go for it, it’s a beautiful name.

But… please don’t get snooty when no-one knows how to say or spell it. It’s really hard to learn spellings for words that are in no way phonetic so I’d expect for it to be spelled incorrectly most of the time.

OP, I really wouldn’t. I’m not even sure that you’re pronouncing it correctly yourself

Aoi definitely makes an E sound, not A.

It is spelt phonetically. You presumably just don't speak the language in which it is spelt phonetically.

I like it, but I love Irish names especially Orla

As a person who has a slightly awkwardly spelt name (Welsh but living in England) I’d say no.

On the basis that those familiar with Irish names think you are pronouncing it wrong, I'd say steer clear.

I have a name that isn't spelled as pronounced (although a lot easier than Aoibhin) and after 50 years it does get tedious.

I think it’s fine. I was at school with a Siobhan and people know names like Naimh and Caoimhe more and more these days.

I say go for it OP. People are suggesting that you dilute your heritage but I don’t agree. People pronounce my name wrong (not Irish) but fuck me, I’m proud of it. Call her what you want to. And raise her to be confident enough to politely correct anyone who mispronounces it. That’s just my thought’s though..

They live in London - it isn’t spelled phonetically here.

If you love the name you should definitely use it. Don't pander to the ignorant, see it as an opportunity to educate them on the loveliness of Irish names!

It’s a difficult one.
If you’re Irish, I think it’s lovely to give her a name that reflects her heritage….but at the same time I think she will spend a lot of time telling people how her name is pronounced, and have to spell it a lot.
I have Scottish & Irish heritage via my paternal grandmother, and my DS has a name that’s been popular in Ireland and Scotland for hundreds of years, and I considered using the traditional Scottish spelling, but ended up using the Anglicised spelling just to save him having to spell it out and tell people how it’s pronounced all the time.

It's my favourite name 😍 and absolutely would have used it, but only had boys.
I don't get this whole bullshit about only picking names people can pronounce automatically... it's how we end up with endless Lily/Evie etc.
Once people are told how to pronounce it they'll know.

The problem is a practical one though. Your daughter will be spending her years ‘educating’ people on her name.

Ava would go so well with Aoife though Aoibhin is beautiful too

I wouldn't. Not because I don't think it's a lovely name, I do. I would never have known how to pronounce it without your explanation, and I think that that will be a regular occurrence for your child throughout her life.

Perhaps you could spell it Aiveen to make it a bit less complicated if you really want to use it?

I have to admit that although I do love a lot of Irish names, Irish spelling and pronunciation are something of a mystery to me. I can't be alone there.

Irish is phonetic; it’s a different language so combos of letters make different sounds to English. It is actually “orthographically shallow”, which means there are very few exceptions in terms of pronunciation, unlike English which has loads. Once you learn the rules you can pretty much always work out how something is pronounced.

OP, for this reason please don’t call your kid Aoibhín if you want the name to be pronounced as Ay-veen. It is totally wrong, even though unfortunately it is a mistake that is becoming more common. You’ll be in a situation where British people AND Irish people with any understanding of the language will all say the name wrong.

Mine has a much simpler name, Naoimh, and nobody can get it. She's frequently called Naomi. Also people that know she's "neve" rarely spell her name right much to her annoyance (and she's only 8) Had I known that at the time I wouldn't have done it.

We're in south east England. This is a throwaway username as it's probably very outing!

Just name her Aiveen ... unusual and quite lovely

My son goes to school with an Aoibhin (in the middle of England) and it’s fine. I was corrected once when I first got it wrong, and then I knew. It’s a beautiful name.

i thought it was Eeveen

Are you planning to send her to Catholic school? She'll be fine in a Catholic school and after that she'll be an adult and be able to deal with it.