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Does anyone have information on this name?
I can not find my name Aifric in any baby names books I have looked in even though I have met a few people with it. It is an old Irish name maybe meaning Africa and i've been told it also means pleasant.
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I have heard that Aifric is also an Irish goddess however I cannot confirm that, I've posted a question regarding her origins @ Mythography and hopefully someone will have more information than I can find
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You can find the name Aifric at this website belonging to "Nora the Namenerd" (That's what she calls herself). Nora is extremely reliable when it comes to Irish/Scottish names and their meanings.http://www.namenerds.com/scottish/scota.htmlThe "Africa" mentioned there, and the Africa which is the name of the continent, are names derived from two different sources, despite the similarity they bear to each other.-- Nanaea
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Hi there !!
There is quite a lot of mythology and history behind the name. My parents discovered the name by accident. There were two Abbesses who ran an Abbey in Co. Kildare. They were both called Aifric. They were known locally to educate and tend to young girls who were abandoned, orphaned etc. They were raised to somewhat mythical status after it was reported that they had some connection to St Patrick. I cant remember where i got this information from - i've just known it always. I think my Gran told me - but shes passed on now.
Also, Queen Maeve apparently had a sister called Aifric. I dont have much information on that story though.
The name does mean pleasant, and is the direct translation for Africa - presented as An Aifric !!
Hope this helps a bit.
Aifric
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