Aoife?

tesskerr · May 2013

Pronounced Ee-fah, nn would be most likely Effie, does the pronunciation put you off a lot? I wouldn't spell it a different way, eg. Efa, just skip it....

Lue94 · May 2013

I don't like it. What about Eva?

thegoodpotato · May 2013

This child [not sure if it's a boy or girl name] would go through life being called Oif. Not a fan.

tesskerr · May 2013

I don't mind Eva, but would love to avoid top 20 names (in my country, Eva is definitely very popular!)

I had a client once called Aoife, and I did have to ask her how to pronounce it, but I have never forgotten it! All of our families are of Irish/Welsh/Scottish decent, so an Irish name would be cool, but not a requirement.

What about Effie? I heard it on a UK show (skins) and have also loved it since I heard it, and assume it is a nn, but would it be ok for a first name? Or is it now a little too Hunger Games-ish?

sonshine0609 · May 2013

I second all of the PP's. It would be a very difficult name to live with and very easy to make fun of especially in high school. It's a nice name with a nice history that current language ruins. Like using the the nick name *** for Richard. It just doesn't work well any more.

ETA: See what I mean! They edited it out & that is legitimately what my grandfather went by until about 1995!

tesskerr · May 2013

Blah, sorry not my style, they all sound like grandmas! I think my style is a little more cutesy, - Alice, Violet, Clara, Daisy, Dahlia, Lulu, Amelia, Xanthe, Hazel, Matilda, Imogen are some faves!

tesskerr · May 2013

Oh, and my name is Tess (obviously) and I am constantly getting told "Oh, I have a dog called Tess" so I don't mind if it reminds someone of a dog, I have had it my whole life!! I think of a dogs name more as fluffy or fido haha, not so much human names.

divinemsbee · May 2013

I fell in luuurve with the name Effie after Skins. I do think it works better as a nn, though. I think on the show she wasxElizabeth nn Effie. I also like it for Ephegenia and for Persephone.

blu-eyedwife · May 2013

I adore this name. Love it. I actually like that it's NOT Eva, because it has a softer feel to me with the "fah" sound. It would definitely be on our list if we didn't have a family member Eva (Aoife is just too close).

The pronunciation doesn't bother me. I think, like a lot of Irish names, you only need to be told once how to pronounce it, and you always remember (like Siobhan, Seamus, Niamh, etc.)

folkfemme · May 2013

My name is Evah. My husbands family is straight from Ireland and they spell/pronounce it Aoife. I don't really care, but I'm glad it's not my real name.

Why not Evah? I love having the H on the end of my name. No one ever calles me Ev-a or Ava, but always Ee-vah

MnM7608 · May 2013

I like it (enough to use it for our daughter)! People will ask you how to pronounce it, you tell them, and then it's fine. Our Aoife doesn't really have a nn, but that's totally up to you

tesskerr · May 2013

I'm excited to hear some positive comments about this name! Like I said, I didn't hesitate to ask how it was said when I meet an Aoife, and have never forgotten it. It would be tricky for kids I guess, but my sister is Anastasia, and has always LOVED having a name like that, has never bothered her to spell it out etc.

Antipodean · May 2013

Love this name!!

strawberrytree · May 2013

I like it, but would only use if you were very, very Irish. Like born there or lived there, not great grandparents were from there. I think it would also sound very odd if your ln wasn't Irish/British Isles in origin.

CeCe8579 · May 2013

mj.reilly:
Love it, but I wouldn't use it unless you were Irish or even Scottish/Welsh/English.

I agree. It a nice very Irish name and would have problems being pronounced and spelled in the US.

gimmietimmies · May 2013

blu-eyedwife:
I adore this name. Love it. I actually like that it's NOT Eva, because it has a softer feel to me with the "fah" sound. It would definitely be on our list if we didn't have a family member Eva (Aoife is just too close).
The pronunciation doesn't bother me. I think, like a lot of Irish names, you only need to be told once how to pronounce it, and you always remember (like Siobhan, Seamus, Niamh, etc.)

This. And I actually like Niamh more.

lady dixneuf · May 2013

I absolutely love this name. It's beautiful.

sunnyday016 · May 2013

I think it sounds pretty, but I don't like how it looks written out. If you're not Irish, I'd go with Eva instead (which I love!)

catahoulatte · May 2013

Iloveshanej:
mj.reilly:
Love it, but I wouldn't use it unless you were Irish or even Scottish/Welsh/English.
I agree. It a nice very Irish name and would have problems being pronounced and spelled in the US.

I agree with all of this.

Dr.Loretta · May 2013

I love it, but I love Gaelic/Irish names. I think the NN is a little odd, but she may end up with a different one anyway

kje120 · May 2013

I think that name is dooming the child to a lifetime of pronouncing and spelling the name for every single person that they meet - ever.

snuggle+monkey · May 2013

As a fn in the U.S., I don't think it works. As a mn, sure. I would NEVER know how to pronounce that, and honestly, not knowing that it's Irish, I would think it was made up.