From: tew@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (tricia.edge.wood)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Irish names (was Re: names)
Summary: Irish first names, male and female; LONG
Keywords: Irish, names
Date: 7 Apr 92 16:59:44 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories


There have been various posts listing some girl and boy Irish Gaelic
names.  I highly recommend any parent-to-be interested in Irish names
to purchase the book _Book of Irish Names: First, Family, and Place
Names_ by Ronan Coghlan.  In listing first names, Coghlan doesn't 
restrict his list to only Irish Gaelic names; he includes names of
other origins that are/were commonly used in Ireland.  However, most
of the names are Irish Gaelic (or the anglicized version).  When he
gives the anglicized version, he puts the Irish Gaelic translation in
parentheses.  For example, the Irish translation of Kathleen is Caitlin
(a very popular name here in the U.S.!).  In Irish, Caitlin sounds much
like Kathleen.  (Coghlan includes a short pronunciation guide on the
Irish language in the back of the book; it's very helpful, to say the
least! :-)  Anyway, here's some of my favorites:

GIRLS:

        Aislinn:  Spelled Aisling in Irish and pronounced aws-leen in
 		  Irish but in the U.S. it's more commonly pronounced
                  ace-lin.  This is one of my favorites; it means
		  "dream" or "vision."

	Briana:	  The feminine form of Brian.  Pronounced bree-an-uh,
		  accent on the second syllable.  Means "hill."

	Caitlin:  Irish for Kathleen; in the U.S., it's pronounced
		  Kate-lin, but in Irish it's pronounced cot-leen and
		  spelled with an accent over the second 'i'.  It means
		  "pure."

	Eileen:	  Aileen is a variant.  Spelled Eibhlin in Irish!
		  Pronounced eye-leen, accent on last syllable.  It's
		  probably an elaboration of Evelyn.  Meaning is unknown.

	Erin(a):  Irish for Ireland. It isn't used in Ireland (it would
		  be like naming a child here "United States of America"),
		  but very popular in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

	Etain:    According to Irish legend, Etain was the lover of the
		  fairy man Midir.  Aideen is a variant.  I don't know
		  the "correct" Irish pronunciation.

	Finola:	  Spelled Fionnuala in Irish; pronounced like it looks.
		  Meaning unknown.  Lots of variants: Fionulla, Fenella,
		  Finella.  (Fenella is Scottish Gaelic.)

	Fiona:	  Spelled with an accent over the 'o' in Irish.  Pro-
		  nounced fee-o-nuh, accent on the first syllable.
		  Means "fair." 

        Moira:	  Pronounced maw-ruh.  Might mean "great," but it's
		  not definite.

	Riona:	  Spelled Rioghnach in Irish.  Probably means "queenly."

	Shannon:  The name of the longest river in Ireland. Popular
	          here, but not in Ireland.

	Siobhan:  Irish for Joan; pronounced shi-von, accent on last
     		  syllable (and spelled with an accent over the 'a').
		  It means "God is gracious."

	Sinead:   Irish for Jane; pronounced shi-nade, accent on last
                  syllable (and sometimes spelled with an accent over
		  the 'a').  It means "God is gracious."

	Tara:     Spelled Teamhair in Irish!  It's the name of a hill
		  in central Ireland that was the seat of kingship in
		  early times.  Correctly pronounced taw-ruh, but in
		  the U.S. it's more often heard as tare-uh.

BOYS:

	Aidan:	  Spelled Aodhan in Irish; it means "little fire."
		  I don't know the Irish pronunciation; here it's
		  ade-ann, accent on first syllable.

	Brandan:  Means "raven."

	Brendan:  Means "prince."  Very popular in Ireland and in
		  the U.S.

	Colin:	  Spelled Coilean in Irish, with an accent over the 'a'.
		  Means "pup" or "cub."

	Con(n)or: Means "hound lover."  :-)  Honest, that's what the
		  book says.  It was an Irish first name before it
		  became the very common Irish surname O'Con(n)or.

	Garrett:  Spelled Gearoid in Irish with an accent over the 'o'.
                  Meaning unknown.

	Ian:      Irish for John.  Spelled Ion in Irish.

	Liam:	  Irish form of William.

   	Niall:	  Means "cloud."  In Irish, it rhymes with 'real';
	          in English it rhymes with 'file'.

	Patrick:  Not Irish Gaelic, but Latin in origin.  Still, it's
		  popular in Ireland and associated with the Irish 
		  because of Saint Patrick.

	Ryan:	  Means "little king."  It's actually an Irish surname,
		  but it's a very popular first name in the U.S.


Okay, that's enough for now!  If anyone wants more, buy the book!
And by the way, don't believe the many U.S. published baby name books
when they say a name is Irish Gaelic in origin; they are OFTEN incorrect.

-Tricia

 --------------------------------------   "I disapprove of what you say,
 Tricia Edge Wood                          but I will defend to the death
 AT&T Bell Laboratories			   your right to say it."
 Holmdel, New Jersey       			- attributed to, though
  -------------------------------------         not actually written by,
 tew@ironman.att.com  (att!ironman!tew)         Voltaire
 --------------------------------------