The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1908-08-15
4 Bit OF HISTORY
How Irish Personal and Family
Names Took Their Rise.
Some Personal Popularity Had
Much Bearing.

y ticle, 1t is necessary to show, IN gen.
eral way, now Irish personal and fam
lily names took their rise. When we
i examine them in their most ancient
photography We can easily perceive
that all are significant, as. in very
4 early ages. individuals usually receiv-
ed their names from some personal
popularity, such as color of hair. COM
plexion, size, figure. certain accidents
OF deformity, mental qualities. such as
bravery. fierceness. etc: and we have
Only to look at the old forms of the
names to remove any doubt we may
entertain of the truth of this asser-
tion.
1t appears from our historians that
hereditary family names became gen.
eral in Ireland about the period when
Brian Boru reigned. viz, in the end
of the tenth and beginning of the elev-
enth century; and some authorities
assert that this custom was adopted
In obedience TO an ordinance issued
bv, that monarch. The manner in
which these names were formed was
very simple: The members of a fam
ily-each in addition to his own prop
er name---took as Il common designa-
ticn the name of their father. of their
grandfather or of some more remote
ancestor; in the first place pref1xing
he ,,.bi
and. in the two other cases. Ua Or O..
which signifies grandson Thus the
following were the names of seven
successive kings of the Hy O'Neill
race. from a. d. 1913 to 956, and each
was the son as we'll as the successor
of the next preceding:
Mai F'rassach (of the showers).
Hugh Oirne, Mall Cailne. Hugh Finn
Hath fair gray>. Mall Giundubh
(black knee). Murkertagh. of the lea
Their cIoaks, and DomnalI ONeill.
The last king was the first that
adopted the surname Of Ia Neill
(Neills grandsonO. which he took
from his grandfather. Neil G;lundubh;
and from that time forward every
man If his race bore the surname of
O'Neill.
We need not hesitate to pronounce
that tho man who first received the
name Of Dubban UDuane) was SO
called from his dark hair and COM
plexion. for ii is a diminutive of
"Dubh' Dub), black; and Dubhan
signifies as it stands black or dark
complexioned man. 1t is still in use
as family name. disguised under the
forms of Duane, Dwain, Downs, etc.
Dubnan forms part of several other
personal and family names. but I will
mention only one other. viz. Card
1nubhan (keernwaun). which was
formed by prefixing Ciar to Dubhan.
Ciar itself meaning black or very dark
This is the original form of the fam
well known and widely spread in the
County Galway.
One of the best known names deriv-
&c from the root Dubh is Dubhda.
and signifies black complexioned.
What lover of oysters has not heard
OF Poldoody? 1t is a large pool at
the shore near the Red Bank of Bur-
rem, in the north of Glare. and it pro-
duces oysters of excellent quality and
III great abundance.
The name. however. has nothing to
do with oysters, for it is merely Poll
Dubhda, Doodas Pool We know
nothing of this Dubhda. but he may,
III all likelihood. get the credit of be-
ing an epicure in oysters
chieftain of this name, who -four
ished in the seventh century, and was
ninth in descent from the monarch,
Dath. was the ancestor Of the family
vi Dubhda. or ODowd. Dubhagan is
the diminutive Of Dubh, and signifies
literally a little dark man.
1t is we'll known in the family name
in the phonetic form, Dugan or oDu.
gan.
Personal names derived from colors
are very numerous in Irish. and it
8 may be instructive to enumerate a
few of the most important and usual.
Odhor (Oar, is pale, pale brown,
pale-faced one of the cheftains of
the O'Carrolls. who was slain in 1881
by the o'Connors Faly. was styled
William Odhar, or William the pale
faced. The term in it's simple form
was formerly used as personal name.
and from chiefthn of this name who
was seventh in descent from Cola da
Chrich, and who lived in the sixth
8 century. the Maguires take their name
For Udhr, the genitive of Odhar.
: is pronounced Fer. or Ire: and Mac
guire is a tolerably correct represen-
tative. as far as sound is concerned