WEXFORD-L Archives

From: "Jane Lyons" <>
Subject: [WEX] Christian Names in Ireland
Date: Sun, 1 Oct 2000 18:56:08 +0100

Irish Christian names can cause confusion amongst those descendants who
search for their ancestors. In part this confusion can arise because we
spoke Irish, we had dialects (and still have), our Parish registers were
written either in English or Latin so there could be variation from one
place to the next as to how a name was spelled or a diminutive for a
particular name.

Some would say that confusion with our names is a result of Anglization,
particularly when speaking of surnames. However, few fail to realise that
names, which they may consider to be typically 'Irish', were not Irish to
begin with - that they were introduced names. The Christian name of Patrick
is probably one name, which is most commonly associated with Ireland. The
Irish abroad have long been known as 'Paddy' because of St. Patrick the
patron Saint of Ireland. However, the name Patrick is an introduced one,
brought in with the English and Welsh who came with the Normans to Ireland.
In the Ormonde papers there are many English and Welsh carrying this name
but there are few native Irish with the name.

In ancient times, Irish people had one name and this name may have come from
a distinguishing characteristic of the person. There were no surnames.
Queen Maedbh was just that - Queen Maedbh. Cúchulainn the mythological
hero, however, was known as Setanta before he changed his name to Cúchulainn
having killed the hound, which guarded the forge of Culainn, and he guarded
the forge until a replacement hound was found. People had names such as
Donn - a brown haired person; Colm was a dove like person; Diarmaid was
someone without envy.

There are thousands of names recorded in the Annals, the lives of the Saints
and the Martyrologies. Christianity brought few of these in. We had names
such as Dubhdabhoireann - the black haired person from two rough districts
or Cúganmhathair - the hound without a mother. Christianity introduced
'Mael' and Giolla' as parts of names - so: Maelíosa is servant of Jesus;
Maelmhuire is servant of Mary; while Giollaphádraig is devotee of Patrick

The Norsemen introduced names such as Olaf (Olave, Olive); Magnus (Manus);
Renald; Lochlain (Loughlainn, Loghlain) and Roderick (Rory).

The Normans introduced many of the names, which we consider to be typically
Irish to Ireland. They spread throughout the whole country, from Antrim to
Kerry and from Mayo to Wexford, north south and east west they settled in
with the Irish. English officials complained at the time that the Normans
were more Irish than the Irish themselves. The Normans gave us: Anna, Agnes,
Alice, Catherine, Cecily, Eleanor, Evelyn, Honora, Isabella, Joan, and
Margaret. From these we have other names which are the Irish form of these
names such as Úna a form of Agnes.

The Normans gave us Benedict, David, Edward, Gerald, Geoffrey, Henry, Hugo
(Hugh), James, John, Matthew, Maurice, Michael, Myles, Nicholas, Oliver,
Pierse (Peter), Philip, Raymond, Richard, Robert, Roger, Simon, Stephen,
William and
Walter.

During the middle Ages Norman and Irish Lords brought in other names from
the Western Islands and Highlands of Scotland. Names such as Alasdair
(Alexander), Coll and Randal. At this time also, the church began to insist
on the names of well-known saints being given to children so we have Angela,
Barbara, Clare, Gertrude Monica, Teresa and Ursula. Also, men's names such
as Alphonsus, Augustine, Bartholomew, Bernard, Christopher, Dominic,
Francis, Paul and Vincent.

After the Hundred Year War, the English began to have more influence in
Ireland; typical English names were introduced such as George, Jasper,
Victor, Wilfred, Valentine and Sydney, Arabella, Belinda, Charlotte,
Matilda, Pamela and Sophia. The English immigrants also used names from the
Old Testament, we also had Quakers introducing these names: Elizabeth,
Ester, Judith, Rebecca, Sarah, Susannah, Abraham, Ebenezer, Isaac, Joshua,
Moses, and Samuel.

Legal Officers and Landlords tried to reduce Irish names to some form, which

they could understand so names, changed. Those in authority were not all to
blame either. The Irish did their own thing with names also - they gave
male names to females and vice versa, they used diminutives instead of the
given name, they had their own variations on any name which would seem to be
absolutely unrelated to the original name, they spelled names differently in
different areas or pronounced them differently resulting in strange spelling
for the same name when written phonetically.

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• [WEX] Christian Names in Ireland by "Jane Lyons" <>