Let’s start with some girl's names:
English: Jane/Janet – Equivalent Irish: Sinéad (pronounced “Shin-ade”).
English: Barbara – Equivalent Irish: Gormladh (pronounced “Gurm-la”).
English: Joan/Joanna – Equivalent Irish: Siobhán (pronounced “Shiv-awn”).
English: Margaret – Equivalent Irish: Mairéad (pronounced “Mire-ade”).
English: Elizabeth – Equivalent Irish: Sibeal (pronounced “Sybil”).
English: Grace – Equivalent Irish: Gráinne (pronounced “Grawn-ya”).
And on to the boys:
English: Charles – Equivalent Irish: Cathal (pronounced “Caw-hal”). This also gives us the surname Cahill. As you may be aware, most Irish surnames are derived from first names.
English: Terrence/Terry – Equivalent Irish: Turlough (pronounced “Tur-lock”)
English: James – Equivalent Irish: Séamus (pronounced “Shay-mus”) – often Shay for short.
English: Daniel – Equivalent Irish: Domhnall/Dónal (pronounced “Dough-nal”). This also gives us the surnames McDonnell and O’Donnell. Think of “Daniel O’Donnell.”
English: Timothy – Equivalent Irish: Tadhg (pronounced “tie-g”).
English: Dermot – Equivalent Irish: Diarmuid (pronounced “dear-mid”).
What about all the “Patricks” and “Patricia” out there? The actual Irish for Patrick is often used in Ireland – it is “Pádraig” and pronounced “Paw-drug.” However, in Munster especially, most Pádraigs are pronounced “Paw-rick,” and often the shorter version of that is used – “Paudie” (pronounced “Paw-dy”). So, you, Patricks, might want to try these alternatives for a change!
Well, that’s it on “given names” for a while. How about you – do feel free to reply below and share the Irish names in your family!
