{"id":7811,"date":"2016-03-31T15:51:36","date_gmt":"2016-03-31T15:51:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=7811"},"modified":"2016-04-08T16:23:43","modified_gmt":"2016-04-08T16:23:43","slug":"five-irish-names-for-boys-pronunciation-and-meaning-alabhaois-eadbhard-feardorcha-ronan-tiarnan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/five-irish-names-for-boys-pronunciation-and-meaning-alabhaois-eadbhard-feardorcha-ronan-tiarnan\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Irish Names for Boys: Pronunciation and Meaning (Alabhaois, \u00c9adbhard, Feardorcha, R\u00f3n\u00e1n, Tiarn\u00e1n)"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>

An tusa R\u00f3n\u00e1n? An r\u00f3n th\u00fa? [seal graphic: http:\/\/4vector.com\/free-vector\/seal-2-99040; boy graphic:<\/em>
http:\/\/www.clipartlord.com\/category\/people-clip-art\/children-clip-art\/; t\u00e9acs le R\u00f3isl\u00edn]<\/em><\/p><\/div>Continuing our look at some Irish given names, here are five more, this time for boys.\u00a0 \u00a0I picked these five names since they are interesting from the viewpoint of spelling or meaning.\u00a0 They range in popularity from moderate (R\u00f3n\u00e1n<\/strong>) to fairly uncommon (Alabhaois<\/strong>).\u00a0 At some point, I might also do a blog on the top contenders\u00a0 — probably Se\u00e1n, S\u00e9amas, Seosamh, Liam<\/strong> and M\u00edche\u00e1l<\/strong>, but my hunch is that those are already pretty familiar\u00a0 –\u00a0 except perhaps for the inflected forms (an tuiseal gairmeach, an tuiseal ginideach<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

Seo c\u00faig ainm do bhuachaill\u00ed agus d’fhir:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alabhaois<\/strong> [AH-luh-weesh], Aloysius, which itself is an Occitan form of Louis. \u00a0Latin versions of the “Aloysius” include “Ludovicus<\/em>” and the impressively spelled “Chlodovechus<\/em>.”\u00a0 Its origin is Germanic.\u00a0 Direct address form — no change: “A Alabhaois<\/strong>!”<\/p>\n

Newcomers to Irish might wonder why, if the “bh” sound is pronounced like a “w,” why not just spell it with a “w”?\u00a0 The answer is that the letter “w” is very, very rare in Irish.\u00a0 Throughout Irish, the sound of the English “w” is spelled either “bh” (an bh\u00f3) or “bhf” (bhfuil) or “mh” (a Mh\u00e1ire), so it’s quite logical for Aloysius to be spelled with a “-bh-” in the middle.\u00a0 In fact, I can’t say that the English spelling of “Aloysius” is very logical — how do we get the sound “wish” out of “ys”?<\/p>\n

The letter “w” in Irish mostly occurs loanwords that have been borrowed as is from English or other languages (wadi, wok, wigwam, wassail, wah-wah, boogie-woogie*) and there’s one example in an abbreviation (kw for “cileavata”). \u00a0As for actual Irish words, we have \u00a0Darwineach, Darwineachas, and Shawach, where the “w” is just being retained from the English names. \u00a0Another “w” is retained in the gaming term “pwn\u00e1il,” which suggests that at some point we’ll see an Irish word for “pwnage,” which presumably would be “*pwn\u00e1id,” to go ahead and coin it since I don’t see it anywhere online. \u00a0Another word to keep an eye out for!<\/p>\n

Speaking of the name “Alabhaois,” can you figure out which famous Irishman would have written his name this way, if he had been using Irish: \u00a0S\u00e9amus Agaist\u00edn Alabhaois Seoighe.\u00a0 Freagra th\u00edos.<\/p>\n

Ar aon chaoi, ar ais go dt\u00ed na hainmneacha.<\/p>\n

\u00c9adbhard<\/strong> [AYD-ward], Edward.\u00a0 Here the “w” spelling has been Gaelicized, becoming “-bh-.”\u00a0 Direct address: “A \u00c9adbhaird<\/strong>!” [uh AYD-wirzh<\/sup>dj, note the slender “r” and “d” pronunciations at the end of the word].\u00a0 Meaning: from the Old English “ead” (wealth; prosperous) and “weard” (guardian, protector, perhaps related to “warden” and thus “ward”).\u00a0 No relation to the Irish word “an bard” (the bard\/poet) or “an bhaird” (of the bard\/poet), although they happen to look the same.<\/p>\n

Feardorcha<\/strong> [FAR-DOR-uh-khuh, note the guttural “ch” sound as in “chutzpah,” represented by “kh” in the transcript, and the “uh” sound between the “r” and the “ch,” making this a four-syllable word]. \u00a0Sometimes anglicized as “Fardoragh;” equated with Frederick or Ferdinand.\u00a0 Direct address: “A Fheardorcha<\/strong>!” [uh AR-DOR-uh-khuh, with the “f” silent].\u00a0 \u00a0The actual Irish means “dark or dark-skinned man” but, if we’re looking at the “Frederick” or the “Ferdinand” equivalents, the meaning is from the Germanic. Ferdinand is from “frith” (protection) or “fri\u00f0” (peace)” or “far\u00f0” (journey) and “nanth” (courage) or “nand” (ready) — quite a few combinations to choose from.\u00a0 Frederick means “peaceful ruler.”<\/p>\n

Finally, two that aren’t particularly challenging as far as spelling or pronunciation, but which are interesting nonetheless and which may work better in a North American or other diaspora context (as my friend Ruair\u00ed can probably vouch for).<\/p>\n

R\u00f3n\u00e1n<\/strong> [Rrr<\/sup>OH-nawn, with a flapped “r” at the beginning, like an abbreviated version of the trilled “r” as in Spanish or Welsh, stopping after the first actual trill contact].\u00a0 There’s no real anglicization of this name as such.\u00a0 In an English context, the long marks can still be kept but some people might drop them, similar to “Se\u00e1n,” for example.\u00a0 In theory, the long mark should always be there, but it’s often dropped. \u00a0Direct address: “A R\u00f3n\u00e1in<\/strong>!” [uh Rrr<\/sup>OH-naw-in, not too different but with a slender “n” at the end].\u00a0 \u00a0Meaning: little seal (r\u00f3n, a seal, not the other word “r\u00f3n,” meaning “horsehair,” in case you happen to find that).<\/p>\n

Tiarn\u00e1n<\/strong> [Tch<\/sup>EER-nawn], lord; might be considered a diminutive form, but not as diminutive as the “-\u00edn” ending of “S\u00e9amais\u00edn” or “maidr\u00edn.”\u00a0 Based on “tiarna,” lord, also used for “lord” as “God,” especially in prayer.\u00a0 Direct address: “A Thiarn\u00e1in<\/strong>!” [uh HEER-naw-in, with the “t” silent and the final “n” slenderized, as with “A R\u00f3n\u00e1in!”<\/p>\n

Bhuel, sin c\u00faig ainm, ar a laghad.\u00a0 Ar nd\u00f3igh, t\u00e1 na c\u00e9adta ainmneacha ann.\u00a0 B’fh\u00e9idir go nd\u00e9anfaidh muid n\u00edos m\u00f3 acu i gceann tamaill\u00edn <\/strong>(there’s that diminutive “-\u00edn” again!).\u00a0 An bhfuil suim agaibh ann?\u00a0 N\u00f3 ainm ar leith (a particular name) a mbeife\u00e1 fiosrach faoi <\/strong>(that you would be curious about)?\u00a0\u00a0 SGF\u00a0 — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

* Maidir leis an bhfocal “boogie-woogie,” i bhfr\u00e1sa mar “an ceol boogie-woogie”:<\/strong> s\u00edlim go bhfuil s\u00e9 suimi\u00fail go bhfanann “boogie-woogie” mar sin i nGaeilge ach go bhfuil leagan Breatnaise den fhocal (b\u0175gi-\u0175gi, which would, I believe, be pronounced closer to “boogie-oogie” than “boogie-woogie”).\u00a0 Ach n\u00edos suimi\u00fala f\u00f3s, t\u00e1 an focal “b\u00faga\u00ed\u00e1il” ann, i bhfr\u00e1sa\u00ed mar “Is maith leo a bheith ag b\u00faga\u00ed\u00e1il” (They like to boogie).\u00a0 N\u00edl a fhios agam c\u00e9n f\u00e1th nach mbeadh “*b\u00faga\u00ed-bh\u00faga\u00ed” ann i nGaeilge ach n\u00ed fheicim \u00e1it ar bith ar l\u00edne \u00e9 agus n\u00ed fheicim i bhfocl\u00f3ir ar bith \u00e9.\u00a0 Fi\u00fa leis an litri\u00fa n\u00edos hipit\u00e9isigh seo: *b\u00faga\u00ed-mh\u00faga\u00ed.\u00a0 Is ionann an fhuaim a bheadh ag “*b\u00faga\u00ed-bh\u00faga\u00ed” agus “*b\u00faga\u00ed-mh\u00faga\u00ed.\u00a0 Of course, “m\u00faga\u00ed-mh\u00faga\u00ed ” would be a different kettle of fish, with an actual initial “m” sound, maybe referring to “Moogie” (the mother of Quark and Rom on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) playing “boogie-woogie.”\u00a0 Or would it be “b\u00faga\u00ed-bh\u00faga\u00ed Mh\u00faga\u00ed (Moogie’s boogie-woogie).\u00a0 An seinneann M\u00faga\u00ed b\u00faga\u00ed-bh\u00faga\u00ed?\u00a0 N\u00f3 b\u00faga\u00ed-mh\u00faga\u00ed?\u00a0 Or in direct address, “An seinneann t\u00fa b\u00faga\u00ed-bh\u00faga\u00ed, a Mh\u00faga\u00ed?”\u00a0 Bhuel, ceisteanna do l\u00e1 eile, is d\u00f3cha.<\/p>\n

Freagra:<\/strong> S\u00e9amus Agaist\u00edn Alabhaois Seoighe<\/strong> = James Augustine Aloysius Joyce, although I don’t know if he ever signed his name that way.\u00a0 These days, most people seem to use the spelling “S\u00e9amas” but in the past “S\u00e9amus” was also common.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) Continuing our look at some Irish given names, here are five more, this time for boys.\u00a0 \u00a0I picked these five names since they are interesting from the viewpoint of spelling or meaning.\u00a0 They range in popularity from moderate (R\u00f3n\u00e1n) to fairly uncommon (Alabhaois).\u00a0 At some point, I might also do a blog…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":7814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[445791,446540,94531,8378,172902,447486,5032,445236,445508,289996,5667,9706,5878,5911,274839,7551,446987,446747,447146,306150,446433,446310,446185],"class_list":["post-7811","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-alabhaois","tag-boogie-woogie","tag-boy","tag-diminutive","tag-direct-address","tag-eadbhaird","tag-eadbhard","tag-feardorcha","tag-fheardorcha","tag-gairmeach","tag-irish","tag-james-joyce","tag-lenition","tag-little","tag-name","tag-pwn","tag-pwnage","tag-pwnail","tag-ronain","tag-ronan","tag-seal","tag-thiarnain","tag-tiarnan"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7811"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7817,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7811\/revisions\/7817"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}