Go raibh maith agaibh!
CaoimhínSF wrote:
According to Woulfe’s Irish Names for Children, the nominative form is Aoibheann (from Old Irish Aibfinn/Aebfind, meaning "fair form"). Wouldn't Aoibhinn be a genitive form?
Thanks Caoimhín - I think both
Aoibhinn and
Aoibheann are both just derivatives of the same Old Irish name, not really a case of genitive I think, although who knows what mutations have occurred over the years. In modern Irish
aoibhinn means 'delightful' etc.. Aoibhín is a little different, being, as Bríd notes, a diminutive of
aoibh which can mean 'pleasant expression'.
Anyway, I'm not really confused about the origins, more interested in people's preferences. It's for a friend who is trying to decide which spelling to use for her almost newborn.
Aoibhinn (Bríd's choice) is more traditional but I think I might prefer
Aoibhín because it is a diminutive, and for the difference in pronunciation. I'm having a hard time deciding though. Mur mbarúil?