Aoife ( , ) is an Irish feminine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a ...

. The name is probably derived from the

Irish Gaelic Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was th ...

''aoibh'', which means "beauty" or "radiance". It has been compared to the

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...

name ''Esvios'' (Latinized ''Esuvius'', feminine ''Esuvia''), which may be related to the tribal name ''

Esuvii The Esuvii (or Esubii; Gaulish: ''Esuuii'') were a Gallic tribe dwelling between the lower Seine and the Loire rivers, in what is now Normandy, during the Iron Age. Name Their tribal name appears to be related to the theonym ''Esus''., s.v. ''E ...

'' and the

theonym A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), " god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity. Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and ...

Esus Esus, Hesus, or Aisus was a Brittonic and Gaulish god known from two monumental statues and a line in Lucan's '' Bellum civile''. Name T. F. O'Rahilly derives the theonym ''Esus'', as well as ''Aoibheall'', ''Éibhleann'', ''Aoife'', and ...

''.

Irish mythology

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later Early Irish ...

Aífe (Old Irish), spelled () in Modern Irish, is a character from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She appears in the sagas ''Tochmarc Emire'' ("the wooing of Emer") and ''Aided Óenfhir Aífe'' ("the death of Aífe's only son"). In ''Tochmarc E ...

the daughter of Airdgeimm, sister of Scathach, is a warrior woman beloved of Cuchullain in the

Ulster Cycle The Ulster Cycle ( ga, an Rúraíocht), formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the Ulaid. It is set far in the past, in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly coun ...

. T. F. O'Rahilly supposed that the Irish heroine reflects an otherwise unknown goddess representing a feminine counterpart to Gaulish ''Esus''. Aífe or Aoife was also one of the wives of Lir in the '' Oidheadh chloinne Lir'' ("Fate of the Children of Lir"), who turned her stepchildren into swans. There is also Aoife (Áiffe ingen Dealbhaoíth), a woman transformed into a crane, whose skin after death became Manannán's "Crane-bag".

Biblical rendering

The name is unrelated to the Biblical name '' Eva'', which was rendered as ''Éabha'' in Irish, but due to the similarity in sound, ''Aoife'' has often been

anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

as ''Eva'' or ''Eve''.

Aoife MacMurrough Aoife MacMurrough (c. 1145 – 1188, ga, Aoife Ní Diarmait), also known by later historians as Eva of Leinster, was an Irish noblewoman, Princess of Leinster and Countess of Pembroke. She was the daughter of Dermot MacMurrough (c. 1110 – 117 ...

(also known as Eva of

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

) was a 12th-century Irish noblewoman. The first use of Aoife (that spelling) as a given name in 20th-century Ireland was in 1912.

Given name

People

Aoife Ahern Aoife Ahern is the first woman to be dean of engineering at University College, Dublin. Biography Ahern completed her degree in engineering in Trinity College Dublin in 1998 before going to London to the university, where she did a PhD. Aher ...

, Dean of Engineering at University College, Dublin * Aoife Cusack (born 1996), Irish professional wrestler who performs under the ring name

Aoife Valkyrie Aoife Cusack (born 23 October 1996) is an Irish professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she is performing on the NXT brand, under the ring name Lyra Valkyria. She has additionally wrestled under the ring names Valkyrie Cain ...

Aoife Dooley Aoife Dooley (born 14 April 1991), is an Irish writer, illustrator, comedian and graphic designer. Life A North Dubliner, Dooley has lived in Ballymun and Coolock for most of her life. Her father left when she was young and her mother remarried ...

(born 1991), Irish writer *

Aoife Hoey Aoife Hoey (born 6 September 1983) is an Irish bobsledder who has competed since 2004. She finished 22nd out of 23 in the two-woman event at the 2005 FIBT World Championships in Calgary. At , she was the tallest woman at the 2010 Winter Olympic ...

(born 1983), Irish bobsledding olympian *

Aoife Mannion Aoife Mannion (born 24 September 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Manchester United in the FA Women's Super League. She has been capped for England at youth level and received her first senior call-up in ...

(born 1995), Irish association footballer *

Aoife McLysaght Aoife ( , ) is an Irish feminine given name. The name is probably derived from the Irish Gaelic ''aoibh'', which means "beauty" or "radiance". It has been compared to the Gaulish name ''Esvios'' (Latinized ''Esuvius'', feminine ''Esuvia''), which ...

, Irish scientist * Aoife Melia, Irish medical doctor *

Aoife Moore Aoife-Grace Moore is an Irish journalist and political correspondent, from Derry. Based in the Republic of Ireland, she is best known for breaking the Oireachtas Golf Society scandal, "Golfgate", story with Paul Hosford for the ''Irish Examiner' ...

, (fl. 2020's), sometimes Aoife-Grace Moore, Northern Irish journalist *

Aoife Mulholland Aoife Mulholland ( , ; born 29 May 1978) is an Irish actress and musical theatre performer from Salthill, Galway. Aoife is a successful leading lady in London's West End. She has starred as Roxie Hart (twice) in '' Chicago'', at the Cambridge ...

(born 1978), Irish actress *

Aoife Ní Fhearraigh Aoife Ní Fhearraigh (), or simply Aoife, is an Irish singer. A well-known interpreter of Irish Gaelic songs, she released her first recording in 1991 and worked with Moya Brennan to produce her much acclaimed 1996 album ''Aoife''. She reached int ...

, Irish singer *

Aoife O'Donovan Aoife O'Donovan ( , ; born November 18, 1982) is an American singer and Grammy award-winning songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer for the string band Crooked Still and she also co-founded the Grammy Award-winning female folk trio I'm ...

(born 1982), American singer * Aoife O'Rourke (born 1997), Irish boxer *

Aoife Walsh Aoife Walsh (born 2 August 1989) is a fashion model and former Miss Ireland from Tipperary, Ireland. Career Walsh has a Bachelor of Arts in economics and geography, a master's degree in business management and a master's degree in education. ...

(born 1989), Irish fashion model

Characters in modern fiction

* Aoife, sister of Scathach in Michael Scott's series ''

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel ''The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel'' is a series of six fantasy novels written by Irish author Michael Scott, completed in 2012. The first book in the series, ''The Alchemyst'', was released in 2007, and the sequels were released ...

'' * Main character in ''The Iron Thorn'' by

Caitlin Kittredge Caitlin Kittredge (born September 1984) is an American author and comic-book writer of dark fantasy and urban fantasy noir. She is known for her ''Nocturne City'' series of adult novels, and for ''The Iron Codex'', a series of young adult books. ...

* Aife, a succubus in ''

Lost Girl ''Lost Girl'' is a Canadian supernatural drama television series that premiered on Showcase on September 12, 2010, and ran for five seasons. It follows the life of a bisexual succubus named Bo, played by Anna Silk, as she learns to control ...

'' * Aoife Brubeck, daughter of Holly Sykes, the protagonist of ''

The Bone Clocks ''The Bone Clocks'' is a novel by British writer David Mitchell. It was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize 2014, and called one of the best novels of 2014 by Stephen King. The novel won the 2015 World Fantasy Award. The novel is divided into ...

'' by David Mitchell * Aoife Rabbitte, wife of Jimmy Rabbitte, in '' The Guts'' by

Roddy Doyle Roddy Doyle (born 8 May 1958) is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been ma ...

* Aoife Riordan, member of the Riordan family, in ''Instructions For A Heatwave'' by Maggie O'Farrell

Other

* ''Aoife'' (album) (1996), the second album by the Irish singer Aoife * The LÉ Aoife (P22) is a Republic of Ireland naval vessel

References

External links

Medievalscotland.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aoife Irish-language feminine given names