April 9 is National Name Yourself Day and a quirky new survey has revealed how the Irish feel about traditional Irish names, from baby names to nicknames.
From Cillian Murphy to Saoirse Ronan, Liam Neeson to Catríona Balfe, classic Irish names have become well-known outside of Ireland.
However, according to a new survey by MyNameTags.ie, 44% of Irish adults would like to change their first name.
What's more, 48% of Irish admit that their Irish names are often mispronounced and misspelled.
According to the survey, some names that were most often mispronounced or misspelled included Irish favorites such as Aoife, Deirdre, Deirbhile, Aisling, Seamus, and Muireann.
Amazingly, 12% of those surveyed said that they would change their child's name, which presumably they chose themselves!
As part of the survey, respondents were also asked to pick an alternative name that they would try out for National Name Yourself Day with a wide variety of names submitted with everything from traditional to trendy names featured including Grace, Molly, Harper, and Poppy for women, and James, Billy, Jack and Michael for men.
Only one Irish name in the mix!? We were pretty surprised.
Given the results of the survey, we thought we'd run through some of the names the survey found to be the most often mispronounced, providing simple pronunciation and a little history.
If you're in doubt, check out our guide to some Irish names below:
Aoife
(ee-fa)
This name means beautiful, radiant or joyful, and likely derives from the Gaelic word ‘aoibh’ meaning ‘beauty’ or ‘pleasure.’ In Irish mythology, Aoife is known as the greatest woman warrior in the world. She gave birth to the mythological hero Cuchulainn’s only son, Connlach, and was the daughter of a king of Connacht. Legend has it, her marriage was arranged by St. Patrick himself.
Deirdre
(deer-dra)
This name comes from the older Gaelic form “Derdriu.” The meaning is possibly derived from the Celtic word for woman. In Irish legend, Deirdre was the name of a tragic character who died of a broken heart after Conchobar, the King of Ulster, killed her lover Naoise.
Deirbhile
(dare-villa)
The name is derived from the Old Irish word "dearbhfhuil," meaning "daughter of a poet" or "true poet's daughter."
One of the most famous figures associated with the name Deirbhile is Saint Deirbhile of Erris, also known as St. Dervla or Dervila. She lived in the 6th century and is believed to have been a noblewoman who devoted her life to religious pursuits. Legend has it that she established a monastery in what is now County Mayo, Ireland.
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Aisling
(ash-ling)
This name means "dream" or "vision" from the Gaelic word ‘aislinge’ and refers to an “aisling,” which is a poetic genre of Irish language poetry from the late 17th century. It only started being used as a first name in the 20th century. The poetic genre has been personified in Ireland as a beautiful woman in peril.
Seamus
(shay-muss)
An Irish male name of Latin origin, Seamus is the Irish equivalent of the name James, which is the English New Testament variant for the Hebrew name Jacob. It entered the Irish and Scottish Gaelic languages from the French variation of the late Latin name for Jacob, Iacomus; a dialect variant of Iacobus, from the New Testament Greek Ἰάκωβος (Iákōvos), and ultimately from Hebrew word יעקב (Yaʻaqov), i.e. Jacob. Its meaning in Hebrew is "one who supplants" or more literally "one who grabs at the heel."
Muireann
(mweer-in)
This name means "sea white, sea fair." In Irish mythology, this was the name of a 6th-century mermaid caught by a fisherman in Lough Neagh. He brought her to St. Comghall, who baptized her, transforming her into a woman.
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