Thoughts on ”ine?

My mother’s side of the family is Irish and I would love to use a Gaelic name at some point. I’ve always loved the name ”ine (pronounced like @nya) and I was briefly considering it when we were expecting our first daughter, but my wife vetoed it because it’s one of those Irish names that’s prone to constant misspellings and mispronunciations. On the one hand, I know she’s right, but it’s more than a bit upsetting to not be able to honor my heritage in my children.

What do you think of the name ”ine, and do you think it stands a chance as a middle name? I don’t think we’ll use it anytime soon, but it’s on my mind.

I had been considering ”ine [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] or [name_f]Elsbeth[/name_f] ”ine/”ine [name_f]Elsbeth[/name_f] for our first daughter.

I think it’s a lovely name and I like the ties to your heritage. However, I think people will often mispronounce it due to some name being hard for native English speakers that haven’t heard it before.
I have a name that was uncommon (Greek) when I was growing up and had issues with people not being able to say it or spell it. As a child it made me upset, but as I’ve gotten older I love how unique it is and it’s slowly (and sadly) becoming more main stream with most people being able to say it.
Also with the rise in interest in Irish names, people not knowing how to pronounce it might it be an issue for very long. p10 years ago nobody knew how to say [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f], but now that’s very on trend.

I’d say that you’re definitely fine with ”ine as a middle name and should be fine as a first name as long as you both agree and don’t mind explaining how to pronounce it at first.

Best of luck in deciding on a name for your little one!

[name_m]Hi[/name_m] there.

I love love love [name_f]Aine[/name_f]. It’s soft yet stunning. I do think that it will constantly have spelling & pronunciation issues, but it’s worth it. My [name_m]SIL[/name_m] & [name_m]BIL[/name_m] are big into their Irish heritage & gave all of their kids Irish names. A few of them are difficult for some people ([name_m]Seamus[/name_m] & [name_m]Cillian[/name_m].) People are always saying ‘see-mus’ & ‘silly-in’. But eventually they get over it, and the kids don’t mind. They love having special Irish names that are unique & meaningful.

I don’t think that [name_f]Aine[/name_f] flows super well for a mn w/[name_f]Dorothea[/name_f], but [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] is lovely. I don’t like [name_f]Elsbeth[/name_f] nearly as much as [name_f]Elspeth[/name_f] for some reason. [name_f]Elspeth[/name_f] [name_f]Aine[/name_f] sounds pretty good.

[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps. :slight_smile:

[name_f]Elspeth[/name_f] [name_f]Aine[/name_f] is delightful!!

I think you would face pronunciation issues if you used it as a first, but I think it’s a unique and lovely way to honour your heritage as a middle! I pronounced it like it rhymed with ‘pain’, if that makes sense.

I really like ”ine! If I recall correctly, in Irish mythology it’s the name of a goddess and fairy queen. I am of Irish background and I’ve met a few women named ”ine so the pronunciation is not difficult for me, though I can see how people who are not familiar with Irish culture would struggle.

I wouldn’t use it as a first name because it’s going to be a struggle her whole life. [name_m]Even[/name_m] though I have a more common name, it’s almost always mispronounced and misspelt. Are there other Irish names that you could use to honour your heritage that you like?

Would you consider the phonetic [name_f]Anya[/name_f]? I know that spelling comes across as more Eastern European, but it’s such a lovely name no matter how it’s spelled - maybe give her a name people are more likely to know how to spell/pronounce and explain to her later that the inspiration is from her heritage?

FWIW, I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_f]Anya[/name_f] [name_f]Elspeth[/name_f]!

Thanks for all the responses! I still really love the name and if I have the chance I’d like to use it as a middle name. I don’t like the more phonetically spelled [name_f]Anya[/name_f] anywhere near as much unfortunately.