Be the hokey (Irish names)
In honour of the day that's in it, or almost in it, I thought I would provide some oft-needed information. Here's a quick run-down on some popular Irish names, and "Irish" names, that you might encounter.
Irish names that people in Ireland actually give their children
Girls
Aisling
Pronounced "Ashling". Means a dream, but not just any old dream. Specifically, the dream of Ireland personified as a beautiful woman.
Aoibheann
Pronounced "Eve-Ann". Means beautiful.
Aoife
Pronounced "Ee-fah".
Caoimhe
Pronounced "Kweeva" or sometimes "Keeva".
Ciara
Pronounced "Keera". If you want to pronounce it "Kee-ara", then spell it Chiara and call it Italian. If you want to pronounce it "Sierra", you're probably some sort of pop princess.
Emer
(Or Eimear.) Pronounced Ee-mer, not eh-mer like United Arab Emirates.
Gráinne
Pronounced "Graw-nya". Irish form of Grace.
Maedhbh
(Or even Maedb, for the purists.) Pronounced Maeve. Could also be spelled Maebh or simple Maeve.
Niamh
Pronounced "Neev" or, more correctly, "Nee-uv" with two syllables.
Saibh
(Or Sadhbh.) Pronounced "Sive" to rhyme with five.
Saoirse
Pronounced "Seersha". Means freedom.
Siobhán
Pronounced "Shiv-awn".
Boys
Daragh
Pronounced "Dara" with a flat a as in the first of animal, or possibly "Darra" with a less flat a as in star. Some people will claim that Dara is a girl's name and Daragh (or Darragh) is the boy's version, but then you'll walk out of the room and meet one who works it the other way around.
Eoghan
Irish spelling of Owen. (A variant of John, and of course Seán.)
Naoise
Pronounced "Neesha". Can work for a boy or a girl.
Oisín
Pronounced "Usheen". Like Usher, but with an -een instead. No relation to hoisin sauce.
Pádraig
Pronounced "Paw-drig" or maybe "Paw-rig". The Irish form of Patrick. Because Patrick isn't Irish enough, you know.
"Irish" names that people in other countries like to give their children
Girls
Caitlin
I have to tread carefully here, as I have a good friend with this name. But many people are unaware that it's simply a back-formation of Kathleen. The name Kathleen in Irish is spelled Cáitlín, but pronounced Cawt-leen, which sounds a lot more like Kathleen than the pronounciation Americans have given to the spelling. Have you considered Kate-Lynn?
Colleen
This is the phonetic spelling of the Irish word "cailín", which means "girl". It's no worse than calling your child Nina, I suppose, but really, it's just a noun. Maybe if you were surprised that she wasn't a boy.
Erin
Erin is the Irish word for Ireland. It's like calling your daughter America. Again, many people do. I even know native-born Erins in Ireland. But it's also a brand of tinned foods and ready-made gravy, so you might want to take that into account.
Shannon
The Shannon is the longest river in Ireland. If you'd quite like to call your daughter Amazon or Mississippi or Danube, but you want an Irish air, then go for it.
Boys
Kelly
It's a last name. And a shade of green. It's not a first name in Ireland, for a boy or a girl.
Shawn
Don't spell it this way. Spell it Seán or just call him John. Please.
A few real Irish names that travel well
Boys
Aidan
Conor
Cormac
Fergus
Killian (or Cillian, but then you have to tell people it's not pronounced Sillian)
Liam
Patrick
Girls
Fiona
Maeve
Orla
Tara
Do you have any more to add to my lists? Any mystery names whose pronounciation I can clarify for you? Have I mortally offended any Erins out there?
If you'd like to read more about St Patrick's day at home and abroad, may I suggest:
Cultural exchange of information
Labels: ex-pat, Ireland, names, St. Patrick's Day
posted by Maud @ 2:54 PM
8 Comments
8 Comments:
Actually, yes, I have a coworker named Etain and I was pleasantly shocked that it is pronounced as spelled. I have only ever heard it once before in a movie about Roman Britain. Do you know this name or what it means? Her children are Ryla and Cuan, for what it's worth.
Etain was a great beauty in Irish myth. It's a name I'm familiar with, but don't hear very often. I don't think Ryla is an Irish name (certainly not with that spelling, as there's no y in the Irish alphabet), but Cuan means "hound". It's not a common name either, I would say. Thanks for asking!
Heh. I was named after Ned Kelly, so I'm fine with being a surname!
I LOVE the name Kieran. Pity I don't like Welsh names so much.
I would say that I don't think anyone should name their poor child Fergus. And that you left out the most popular boy's name in County Cork: Barry!
I nearly mentioned Kieran, but the spelling isn't quite unpronounceable to fit in the first list or plain enough to fit in the last. It is nice, though.
Fergus wouldn't be in my top ten, or anything, but it's nice and simple, definitely Irish, and can even be shortened to the very trendy "Gus".
People are still calling their babies Barry? Or did you just meet a lot of adult Barry's when you were there? I think I only know one in Dublin. Clearly a Corkism.
There were more young adult Barrys than baby Barrys, but certainly there were a fair number of baby Barrys as well. All shortened from Finbarr, of course, which I think is preferable. Why can't they all be called Fin?
Declan, Fergal, Ronan, Nessan, Enda, Brendan, Niall, Tiernan, Rory, Lorcan, Donal, Calum, Dermot, Eamon [Takes a deep breath] and for girls (some with a change in spelling) Maura, Etna, Sheila, Una/Oona, Darina, Dervla, Aileen, Aideen, Brigid, Noleen, Noreen, Nuala, Nora, Clare, Cliona, Brona, Cloda (maybe not!)Alva, Finola, Caitriona, Riona, Maureen, Breda ...
Give me a bit more time I might come up with a few more.
Hope you St. Patrick's day was grand by the way.
Yes, indeed. Mine is by no means an exhaustive list.
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