List of Irish Names for Recording by www.talkirish.com

Thought I'd start a list of Irish names we could record and post here on www.talkirish.com. Here's just a few to kick off. Add to this list here.

Sorcha

Róisín

Caoimhe

Oisin

Gráinne

Seamus

Seán

you got one for the name Meghan.

you got one for the name Meghan.

Meghan is of Welsh origin.

Hi - have you got one for Bernadette

Go raiby maith agat

Bernie

The Irish for Bernadette is Bearnairdín, which is pronounced Barnarjeen (in the north) or Barnardeen (in the south). I like the name Skinnader. There was a wonderful character who was a maths teacher from Glasgow and went over to join in the 1916 Uprising. She later became the head of the Irish National Teachers Organisation. I have also come across the name in the context of the expulsions from south Ulster at the end of the 18th century, when thousands of people fled to Mayo because of the activities of the Peep O'Day Boys. The name Skinnader is found in Monaghan and that area, and I have always assumed that it comes from Sceanadóir, a maker of knives. If so, it is probably more likely to be a Galloglass (Gallóglach = Foreign Warrior) name, from one of the Scottish Gaelic-Norse mercenaries who were so active in the wars with the English in the Middle Ages. Many Irish families trace their origin to the Gallóglaigh, such as the Sweeneys and the McCabes. Names based on occupations like Mac an Tailliúra tend to be of Scottish rather than Irish origin, hence my guess that Mac an Sceanadóra is Scottish in origin. Do your family have any folklore about the origins of the Skinnaders?  

Go raibh maith agat Seano.  That's very helpful - especially giving the pronounciation as well.  I'm a 'returner' to learning Irish - learnt it for many years through the whole Irish education system but of course can't speak it. 

I've forwarded what you say about the Skinnader name on to my husband who is from North Monaghan - he will be very interested.  He is already aware of Margaret Skinnader (don't think she spelled it the same although!) and is not really sure of the origin of the name although he feels that its probably Scottish

Regards

Bearnairdín

hi im looking for irish translated to english to help me understand and put to gether sentances, if ud like to give me sum home work would be great thanks slan leath agus giramiahgut. my spelling not to good

Hi Stacey,

I am a great believer in examples. It's amazing how many language courses get people to translate stuff which they aren't comfortable with before they've had enough examples to really understand what's happening. So here is a random selection of sentences in Irish with translations. Hope they are useful!

Bhí mé díreach ar tí an dinnéar a ithe nuair a chuir sí scairt orm.

I was just about to eat dinner when she rang me.

Bhí an ghaoth iontach láidir aréir ach tá an aimsir deas inniu.

The wind was very strong last night but the weather is nice today.

Cá bhfuil na heochracha sin a chuir mé ar an tábla inné?

Where are those keys I put on the table yesterday?

An bhfaca tú an scannán sin riamh?

Did you ever see that film? (In English you would have to say "Have you ever seen" but not in Irish)

Chuala mé ar an nuacht gur dódh siopa mór i lár na cathrach aréir.

I heard on the news that a big shop in the city centre was burned last night.

Cé hé an fear sin atá ag labhairt le do chairde?

Who is that man who is speaking to your friends?

An léann tú leabhair go minic nó an fearr leat amharc ar an teilifís?

Do you read books often or do you prefer watching television?

Have a go at learning them. Copy the English and the Irish separately and test yourself. When you've learned them, I'll post some more. All the best, Seán.

Bridget, it was my grandmothers name.  But what about Barbara, it was my great grandmothers name.

grma

I like the Irish names Íosac and Garbhán.

Íosac is certainly nice if you like Biblical names - it's just the Irish version of Isaac. I also like Garbhán, though to an Irish speaker it has slightly negative connotations because the root of it is the word garbh, which means rough, so garbhán means "little rough one". It was the name of an ancient saint. Some sources online say that it should be pronounced Garvan, which is not right. Irish has a tendency to put in epenthetic vowels - for example, the Irish talk about going to a fillum while British or American speakers would generally say film, so the name is properly pronounced garavan (in the south) or garawan (in Ulster dialect). And a word of caution is necessary - if the child is going to have to live in a predominantly English-speaking environment, Garbhán with the southern pronunciation might create problems. "Hey, this kid here's called Caravan!" 

Bridget is an easy one. In the modern spelling it's Bríd and in the unreformed spelling it's Brighid. Some people get really het up about the reformed spelling and the Caighdeán, either for or against. In my less than humble opinion, common sense dictates that the Caighdeán and a standard form of spelling is a good thing for the language and its speakers. However, I think that proper names have to be an exception. If someone wants to use Brighid rather than Bríd, then why not? As for the standardisation of surnames, it is incredibly silly. Why would anyone want ALL the Ó Gallchóir families in Donegal to spell their surname the same way?

Anyway, Barbara is not an Irish name originally. Apparently it comes from the Greek for barbarian. It is often stated that it means foreigner, but I think that foreigner would properly be Xena, as in warrior princess and icon of the nineties. The Irish form of Barbara is quite similar to the English. It is Bairbre, pronounced barbra (or more usually bwarbra with a pronounced w sound after the b - something like the w sound after the m when someone kisses in a pretentious manner - "Mwah! Dwarling, it's so mwarvellous to see you ...")

Apropos of nothing, someone asked me the other day if there is an Irish version of Courtney. Now, the surname Courtney in Ireland is often an anglicised version of Mac Cuarta but you couldn't use Mac Cuarta as a girl's forename. My recommendation would be either to keep it as it is or gaelicise the spelling to Cúrtnaí, so Courtney Cox would be Cúrtnaí Nic Coiligh (yes, I'm serious!)

I use my name, as Gaeilge, whenever I can.

Aindriú is, I believe, the Ulster form of Andrew (as Béarla) and Mac Cionnath is McKenna, or son of Kenneth. I never liked the southern form of Andrew – Aindréas, and a teacher gave me the alternate spelling that just seemed to fit better and I like to use that now.

 a list of names in Irish would probably have to start with saint's names.

Also, how do we help a non-native speaker to intuitively understand the pronunciation of a name like Caoimhe – a beautiful name, for sure, but Irish speakers (whether fluent or not) have an inferred knowledge that lets them “see” the way the word is pronounced. My wife, even after ten years, still has difficulty with Irish names.

Of course, in case anybody thinks I know what I’m talking about…I mis-spelled Mac Cionnath when I put in my user name and don’t know how to fix that…foolish old me.

Aindriú

Nuair a déir tú aon focal i do teanga féin, tá tú ag caint as do chroí