I gave birth to my first, a beautiful baby girl this past [name_f]October[/name_f] and we named her [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] [name_f]Aoife[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f]. (After tremendous help from the berry network!)
We were always sure about [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] and [name_f]Rose[/name_f], but [name_f]Aoife[/name_f] was a last minute pick by my husband. We had a Babymoon in [name_f]Ireland[/name_f] and came across the name. It’s meaning “beautiful, radiant” and it’s deep Irish roots for two Americans with Irish backgrounds (not to mention the references of an Irish warrior princess named [name_f]Aoife[/name_f]) seemed perfect at the time.
I always had my hesitations because of the difficulty of the spelling. Four months after her birth, I’m still hearing comments often about how difficult the name is to pronounce, how “strange” the name is. (For those who don’t know, it’s pronounced ee-[name_f]FA[/name_f]) We’ve had a customs agent call her “A-o-[name_u]Fee[/name_u]” My family even jokes around calling her the robot from [name_m]Wall[/name_m]-E!
My husband and I are in the midst of a move back to the states from the Uk, and I’m considering changing [name_f]Aoife[/name_f] to a more “American friendly” family name that is more recognizable.
Berries, what are your honest thoughts/responses to the name [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] [name_f]Aoife[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f]? Would you change [name_f]Aoife[/name_f] if people were having a hard time pronouncing it? [name_f]Do[/name_f] you perhaps predict a rise in the popularity of this name? Which would make it more recognizable.
I [name_f]Aoife[/name_f] her first name? If it is then I might consider changing it since it would bother me having to go around correcting people all the time. If it’s not, well how often is there that u say the whole name? That rarely ever happens to me. Most people I know don’t have a clue about my middle names unless they see my passport.
[name_f]Elowen[/name_f] [name_f]Aoife[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] is beautiful. If you don’t need to say her full name a lot, I don’t think you need to rename her.
[name_f]Elowen[/name_f] [name_f]Aoife[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] is a gorgeous name, and as [name_f]Aoife[/name_f] is a middle, not a first, I don’t see how it would come to have too many issues with pronunciation and spelling and what not due to middle names being rarely used. I think you should keep it as it is - it really is a lovely combo.
I think her name is gorgeous and I wouldn’t change. If you do feel the need to change it, I would go with another Irish name so the incredible story of why her middle name was chosen is not lost.
I would leave it. It has meaning to you and your husband and you both love it - nevermind anyone else. Aiofe is on the rise and the Irish names are more fashionable, people will start to hear it more. Plus, as pp’s have said - it’s in the middle - almost anything goes in the middle spot. Aiofe is not that unusual.
If you’re moving to the UK, you’ll most likely find people named [name_f]Aoife[/name_f] and far more people who know how to say it.
I think the link to your baby moon and the meaning would override the pronunciation issues for a middle name for me.
If you want to hear a funny story about an Irish name, my pop couldn’t pronounce my name ([name_f]Siobhan[/name_f] - Sho-vorn depending on who says it). He called me Soyabean as a nickname for years which helped me bond with him more and a running joke in the family. Everyone’s used to it these days though and thinks it’s a nice name.
People will figure it out. I met a lovely teen girl named [name_f]Aoife[/name_f], and after only like five minutes I could say her name right (or right enough so she didn’t cringe). Your family should 1) try harder and 2) get it right eventually.
I really love [name_f]Aoife[/name_f] and since it’s just a middle and not her name I don’t think it’ll really affect her that much. Personally I’d stick with it.
Really love the combo. It’s really lovely! Since its her middle, it shouldn’t be that big a problem! However, if people mispronounce [name_f]Aoife[/name_f], just correct them! It’s always good to learn something new
What a lovely story about how your daughter got her name - and what a beautiful name it is!
I say stick to your guns and the gorgeous name you gave her!
I must say your family is being very rude. Maybe its an idea to tell them politely but clearly ‘Thats quite a rude comment, I would be far too polite to mock someone else’s name and hopefully you will have learnt some manners by the time our child is old enough to understand so you don’t hurt her feelings’ Or simply - ‘if you can’t say something nice, the polite thing is to say nothing at all’
Sometimes family forget that with all the ‘sharing’ and ‘involvement’ they have in your life that gives them a free ride into rude and tackless behaviour. If you let them know its not such a nice experience they will probably start to realise they have drifted from giving advice to saying hurtful things. Especially if you were quite open with your naming journey - they may feel they were part of the process! Its a good time to remind them that the process part has ended, your child is born and named and really their opinions, should stay their own at this point.
In summary; you did an amazing job naming your baby, just remind yourself of that and focus on raising her
It’s a beautiful name! Honestly, if you love it I think you should stick with it. Most people don’t even know the middle names of others because they aren’t widely used. It may go on forms for her school and bring up questions, but if you’ll never actually use it as her day to day name I don’t think it’s a problem. So unless you point it out specifically, I wouldn’t worry about it.
Her name is beautiful; there is no need to change it.
In the states middle names are personal and somewhat private. Upon school registration most school will only use/require her first and last ( maybe middle initial).
There are really three monumental times her full name will be used, (unless you insist otherwise and use it as her everyday name). In honesty, aside from a report about herself she might do, birth announcements, high school graduation and her wedding will be the only times it’s used publicly. And the later two will be rehearsed.
You are on the heals of one of these monumental uses of her name-the birth announcement. So I’m sure it feels pivotal to you, but in reality the majority of her life it will be you and your family using her full name.
Her close friends might know it, your family does of course… But really that is it.
Like everyone else said, middles are rarely used. As long as you’re happy with it, and there are no issues with her first name, keep it. It’s beautiful
I think her name is gorgeous, none of the alternate combos sound as nice [name_f]IMO[/name_f]. It’s not the end of the world to correct some people, especially only for a middle name which I’m assuming she won’t go by? The story for her name is gorgeous as well, I would stick with it! I also live in the US, people can adjust and learn to spell/pronounce a name
