What's in a name? When it's an Irish name, it could contain Celtic components, Saints, folklore characters and/or a trade. It's not uncommon for Irish people to operate with two names – their Irish name and its English translation. Nowadays, people in Ireland have first, middle and last names, but time was when only one name was used such as, Brian or Niall.
It worked then because of the small population. As time rocked on, more and more people were living on the Emerald Isle. It became necessary to adopt a two-name system in order to identify individuals when personal taxation was imposed by government.
Taking the easy route, sons added a prefix to their father's name. Let's presume Brian was Niall's dad; his new name would have been Niall O'Brian. And, that is why you'll see so many names beginning with prefixes such as O' and Mac even today!
Whether you're a serious genealogy sleuth or you just want your precious pet to express her Irish side, enjoy what we've discovered about Irish names.
Irish last names (surnames)
O'Brien hits every top 10 list of Irish surnames! There are a couple of derivatives of O'Brien: O'Bryan and O'Brian. Remember our friend Niall? The Gaelic translation is "descendant of Brian" or Niall is the son of Brian.
O'Brien is the Anglicized name for Brian Boramha Boru, the renowned High King of Ireland (941-1004). O'Brien's got Name Luck of the Irish!
You might find it interesting that the O'Brien coat of arms flaunts its royal-ness with the "king" lion in the crest. The motto is "The strong hand from above". Examine the coat of arms closely. At the top you will see a hand with a sword pointing skyward.
Are you an O'Brien? If so, you're entitled to Irish attitude!
Irish First Names (Given Nam...
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...es to his credits.
Cillian Murphy – Irish actor in both theatre and film genres. Among his many credits, "Red Lights" teamed Murphy with DeNiro. He is actively involved in homeless rights through "Focus Ireland".
Peter John Murphy – Rock vocalist who played with Bauhaus. Nicknamed "Godfather of Goth", Murphy released solo albums, including Ninth and Unshattered.
Pierce is an Irish male given name meaning "son of Piers".
Pierce Bronson – Charming Irish actor, who is every female's bad boy ideal famous for portraying James Bond. He also played detective Remington Steele in the TV series.
Pierce O'Leary is a former Irish football star who played for the Celtics among others. He has distinction as the sole player who replaced his brother during Wembley International game.
Doesn't these succulent Irish names just make you want to run out and get something to name?
Satran, Pamela R, and Linda Rosenkrantz. The Baby Name Bible: The Ultimate Guide by America's Baby-Naming Experts. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2007. 283. Print.
The Ulster Cycle, (an Rúraíocht), is concerned with heroic battles by great Irish warriors. The statue put up in the General Post Office in Sackville Street, Dublin, (now O’Connell Street) to remember the fallen of the 1916 Rising was inspired by these tales. It shows the hero Cuchulainn, the Hound of Ulster, who tied himself to a tree so that he would die on his feet. Even more importantly, as he died, his sword cut off the hand of his killer. The identification with the dead rebels of the Easter Rising is thereby firmly established in the modern Irish consciousness.
First, each nationality determines the name of their child in a different way. This first passage shows opens up light on this topic. It states, “The sign of respect in America and Europe, this symbol of heritage and lineage, would be ridiculed in India. Within Bengali Families, individual names are sacred, inviolable. They are not meant to be inherited or shared” (Lahiri, 28). The cultural conflict in this passage is due to the name’s significance. The American culture does not use names so often as a way to standout and be its own. You see names, which Americans possess that are the same. James, John, and Robert are all commonly used American names. You do not see the name Gogol used too often. This quote shows how Gogol’s name is meant to standout and be different. Its it not supposed to be common or sound nice like American names, but standout and be sacred to the person and their family. It is not supposed to be looked at like anyone else’s name. The name is of greater meanin...
Though much is lost to history, we do still know a considerable amount about Irish Celtic cultures and practices. The records that we do have come from a variety of secondary sources including Roman records of the Celts, Catholic documents, Secular prose and poetry, and even a few primary ancient Irish texts (2, 6). The script of pre-christian Ireland is known as Ogam, the earliest examples of which date back as far as the fourth century (2). However, because early Irish mythology was a mostly oral tradition, more widespread literacy in Ireland did not begin until Christianity came to the island in the early 400s (2). Pope Palladius sent the first Catholic missionaries to Ireland in 431 C.E. (2). Their goal of spreading the Catholic gospel created the need for literacy among the newly establi...
Well my Messas name was Nole William, and we were named for him. But when we was freed, we were told to take freed names.
One’s power and position in a society can give them the “right” or ability to name or un-name a person. Someone can gain this right by his or her status socially, financially, and even racially. If it’s their own child, of course, they have every right in the world to name him or her. But in some cultures, as is evident in “No Name Woman”, they have the right to take away someone’s name if they have disgraced their family and/or community. A name is very significant because it gives a person a sense of who they are, an identity. In “No Name Woman”, Kingston’s aunt had no identity except for the story her mother told her and in “Mary” Marguerite’s new boss, Mrs. Cullinan changed her name to Mary which then, in a way, removed Marguerite’s original identity and gave her a new one, one she didn’t want.
The surname, which is also spelled Craigh, Creagh and Creag, means a steep rock or cliff, and was in widespread use across Scotland. A family of Craig associated with Clan Gordon, was installed at Craigfintray in Aberdeenshire, and several of the name rendered homage to Edward I in 1296. However, by the 15th century there were three families styling themselves Craig of that Ilk.
Such was the environment in which droves of Irish immigrants sought to better their lives and those of their children by fleeing their homeland with its disastrous potato famines, and economic, political and religious repression. There are today descendants of the Goodwin families living in the Pawtucket area. There is certainly every likelihood that living today in Tyrone are many distant cousins.
“Legend says St. Patrick was actually born Maewyn Succat, but that he changed his name to Patricuis (or Patrick), which derives from the Latin term for “father figure,” after he became a priest” (Ross).
“Choosing My Name” by Puanani Burgress is a poem that reflects Burgess idea of her identity and how it is related with her different names. Despite having three different names Chirstabella , Yoshie and Puanani, she particularly likes identifying herself as Puanani although it is not her “official name”. Strange as it sounds, I aslo have three different names: Basanta, Kancho, Xxxxxx. My third name Xxxxxx is my cultural name that I cannot disclose thus I have decided to write it Xxxxxx as it is made up of six letters. Xxxxxx is my favorite and preferred name because it connects me to my family, my culture and my land.
But then again, maybe the names have nothing at all to do with the story. Perhaps, O'Connor simply picked the names randomly out of a hat. It's not an impossible idea. But the chance of the names fitting so superbly to each character of the story, just by happenstance, is one in a million. In conclusion, readers should start to focus more on the names of the characters, because the names might give more insight that what is seen on the surface. Besides, Hulga Hopewell doesn't sound like that bad of a name.
Names are very important to every individual because it’s nothing like having your own identity to separate you from everyone else and it gives a way to directly remember a person. The story is called “No Name Woman” (221 Kingston) for the reason that the author’s aunt identity was taken from her for committing adultery. Women in the world that Kingston lived in had to be civilized and were not able to have their own opinion about things. These women in my opinion didn’t have much freedom they were always expected to do certain things and to be a certain way. Since things were so uniform when women did do things out of the ordinary it was a very big deal to their population and surrounding.
To prove my point that the Irish people share the same language I will explain the unique qualities that the Irish culture possesses. Many of these qualities are unique to the people of this region. The first is the Irish language. It is often referred to as Gaelic, but I have found that it is just called the Irish language now. This language is one of the oldest in Europe and it boasts one of the earliest written literatures in the entire world. A study was conducted b...
McCann et al. Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1994, 95-109).
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinbutgh, Scotland May 22, 1853. He is the oldest kid of Charles Doyle and Mary Doyle, both his parents are Irish Roman Catholics. His father, Charles Altamont Doyle, was not a good example unlike his mother, Mary Foley, who was a bright educated woman. Since his pa...