Irish Baby Names from Literature
Names with Gaelic origins and lots of character
Melinda Carstensen and Kim Thao Nguyen
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Irish Baby Names from Literature: Names with Gaelic origins and lots of character
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Pronounced: ay + deen; Meaning: jealousy
A female version of the popular Irish name, Aidan, this moniker is sure to leave your little girl’s pals green with envy. Coming from the ancient Irish sun and horse goddess, Etain, it's a sweet pick for your modern chick who's bound to give off a heavenly vibe.
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Pronounced: awn-ye; Meaning: joy, brilliance, wit, glory
Aine is the traditional spelling of Anne and also the Gaelic mythological goddess of love, growth, and healing. It’s a quirky variation on a classic name, perfect for the little girl who’s bound to stand out ever so elegantly.
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Pronounced: ash-lin; Meaning: vision, dream
C.S. Lewis used the name Aslan for his King of Beasts in The Chronicles of Narnia. Just as Aslan protected Narnia in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, this Gaelic interpretation of the name is perfect for that future female leader who can display grace under pressure.
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Pronounced: ang-gus; Meaning: unique, one choice, exceptionally strong
Want to raise a lover, not a fighter? Look no further than Angus, the Gaelic god of love, youth, and poetry. Gracefully immortalized by W.B. Yeats in The Song of Wandering Aengus, this name holds powerful meanings for literary and mythology buffs everywhere.
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Meaning: strong, virtuous, honorable
Give your little guy this super-popular Irish name, and he'll share the title of one of the most honored kings in Ireland, Brian Boru. As legend tells it, Boru battled against Vikings in the name of his homeland — meaning this is the perfect moniker for your mini macho man.
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Pronounced: kah-tree-o-na; Meaning: pure, chaste
The Irish variant of Cathleen, this name has inspired the creation of favorable protagonists in several literary works, such as Robert Lewis Steven’s late 19th century crime thriller, Catriona. Despite its modest definition, this name is spot on for that little leading lady who is hard to ignore.
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Pronounced: keer + awn or keer + in; Meaning: little black-haired one
With this newly popular name, your son will share the honor of nearly 26 saints. (The moniker has been a hit in Ireland for more than 1,500 years!) Today, Irish soccer superstar Ciaran O'Brian and actor Ciaran Hinds share the name, making for a unique moniker with a touch of the old and the new — a win-win.
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Pronounced: dor-ahn; Meaning: fist, stranger, exile
We cannot forget the beautifully soulless title character, Dorian, in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. Its Gaelic variant Doran is perfect if you’re looking for a strong boy’s name with more soul than his counterpart.
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Meaning: the fair one
Made popular by the red-maned heroine in the Disney hit Shrek, this pretty name evokes visions of fairness and purity. Its origin actually lies in Scotland, but in recent years it has gained popularity in Ireland. With its sweet meaning, we can't question why.
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Pronounced: gur-tee or gare-tee; Meaning: strength of the spear; spear maiden
Gertie McDowell is a young, sassy Dublin lass that Leopold Bloom falls for in Ulysses. She's famous for her beauty — though it turns out she has a bum leg — and she fascinates Joyce's protagonist during a fireworks show. Short for Gertrude (of Germanic origin), Gertie is a lot more spunky and playful, just like the name's literary namesake.
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Pronounced: mack-morris; Meaning: son of Morris; dark, swarthy
You can take the surname-for-a-first name trend to a very unique level with Macmorris — Shakespeare’s only known Irish character, a quarreling hothead in Henry V.
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Pronounced ree-gan or ray-gun; Meaning: impulsive, angry, queen
Don't let the demonized The Exorcist character, Regan MacNeil, stop you from using this striking name, which also made an appearance in Shakespeare’s King Lear. Its grand and intimidating meaning almost guarantees your girl won’t be a shrinking violet.
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Pronounced: rah-der-ik; Meaning: red king
Roderick has many meanings in different cultures. It's derived from the Gaelic name Ruairidh and is a good choice if you want an uncommon but traditional-sounding name. Though the mad, paranoid Roderick in Edgar Allen Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher may be the last person you’d want your kid to embody, there's no denying the phonetic punch or the powerful intercultural meanings of this name. Whether you go with Roderick, Rod, or Robert, all closely translating to "famed; shining; ruler," you've got yourself a standout.
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Pronounced: shay-musl; Meaning: conqueror
This authentic Irish version of the classical and masculine James secured a spot on the Social Security Administration's Top 1000 Baby Names list in 2009. Possible culprits: either the name of J.K. Rowling's Quidditch enthusiast Seamus Finnigan or the Irish poet laureate Seamus Heaney.
This listing is incorrect. Aslan is the character in “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.” It’s the Turkish word for lion. Aislin is a incorrect version of the word “Aisling” (meaning: dream or vision) which has risen to prominence as a first name in the last 50 years.
Roderick is not an Irish name. It’s a Germanic surname, and the “Fall of the House of Usher” is not set in Ireland (but New England) and Edgar Allan Poe wasn’t even Irish.
This list was really shoddy. Who wants to name their child after crazy, angry, unstable, unsympathetic characters? Plus the research for this piece if flawed.
A good source for reliable — legitimate — Irish names can be found online on a site called Baby Names of Ireland. It includes audio files for all of the names.
@WOM: You’re right; Aslan is indeed the correct character’s name in Narnia, with the Turkish translation of “lion”. Aislin is used here as an Irish variant of the name for females, and has also been seen as “Aslynn” or “Ashlynn”.
As mentioned, Roderick has many meanings in different cultures. Roderick, derived from the Gaelic name, Ruairidh, is a good fit for a modern-day name. (See changes above)
For the sake of variety (outside of traditional folklore), the names selected reflected a range of literary characters, whether they are admirable or appalling. I definitely encourage readers to submit any additional favorite names to celebrate in this list!
- the Author
@Kim Nguyen: “Aislin is used here as an Irish variant of the name for females…” WHAT? There is no legitimate onomatological connection between the Aislin & Aslan. There is only YOUR opinion that the names are linked, because they have four letters in common. If you wish to make a literary connection to the name Aisling, cite the use of the word as noun referring to a genre of poetry. My understanding is that Roderick is a German name that came to the British Isles with the spread of Protestantism. The name Ruairidh is a legitimate Scottish name that was (in the name of cultural and religious imperialism been) anglicized to Roderick. I realize that this is meant to be a fluffy piece, and some people (ie my husband) could legitimately say I’m taking this way too seriously. I just cringe at the thought of someone using your erroneous information when picking a name for their child.
@WOM: I sincerely appreciate your thorough input, and admire your persistence to clarify what could be more than a fluff piece for the parents you mentioned. I assure you that my research, both online and off, was vast, and as you can imagine presented a variety of information. For the name particularly Roderick, multiple sources pointed to sometimes dual origins, as mentioned in the following few links:
http://www.babycenter.com/baby-names-ruairidh-608355.htm
http://www.babynamesofireland.com/pages/boy-names-o-z.html
http://www.baby-names-meanings.net/meaning/ruairidh.html
http://www.babyhold.com/babynames/Ideas/Traditional_Irish_Baby_Names/
All names listed were not meant to mislead, spin, or stretch, but were merely based on my best research. Thanks again.
“I realize that this is meant to be a fluffy piece, and some people (ie my husband) could legitimately say I’m taking this way too seriously. I just cringe at the thought of someone using your erroneous information when picking a name for their child.” Oh chill out, WOM. It’s not that big a deal. Names have evolved so much since their origins.
Thanks for writing about Gaelic names, I really enjoyed reading this! My husband and I are huge fans of Gaelic names and named our second daughter Ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee).
I really love Gaelic names!! And who cares if this is a fluff piece, it’s supposed to be entertaining, if you are not entertained you have the choice to stop reading and go on to something else. Stop attacking the author, if you don’t like it one comment was plenty.
Kudos to you! I hadn’t tohught of that!
BION I’m iprmsesed! Cool post!
Information is really cool
http://www.babynology.com/babynames.html
I have a lot of sympathy for the points made below by WOM. This is a very poorly researched article. As an Irishman (whose name is the Gaelic version of Eugene, and is pronounced as Owen) I have to say that I would exclude Aislin, Doran, Macmorris, Regan and Roderick from a list that intends to suggest typical Irish forenames. Regan and Doran are commonly found as family names. Aislin is probably confused with Aisling, which is a common girl’s name. The article is neither entertaining nor well-informed. It’s a lazy piece of work.
You?re the one with the bairns here. I?m watching for your posts.
Great coommn sense here. Wish I?d thought of that.
Hey, that post leaves me feeling foloish. Kudos to you!
I’m not easily iprmesesd. . . but that’s impressing me!
Kewl you shuold come up with that. Excellent!
Great article, thank you again for wiritng.
Filalny! This is just what I was looking for.