Irish Names [Paperback]

Donnchadh O Corrain (Author), Fidelma Maguire (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 1992

A tremendous resource and reference book, with almost a thousand Irish names culled from works going back to the early medieval period with the historical background for each. Useful in tracing family roots and even for seeking out unique Irish names for a new family member.

Product Details

• Paperback: 188 pages
• Publisher: Lilliput Pr Ltd; 2 edition (December 31, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0946640661
• ISBN-13: 978-0946640669
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,090,274 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Source for Historical Recreationists (i.e. SCA), July 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Irish Names (Paperback)

This book is a top-notch source for those in the Society for Creative Anachronism, who wish to register an Irish name for their personna. The names are dated to the time of their popularity, and several spelling variations are provided. Also, the pronounciation guide in the beginning of the book is of great benefit to those trying to wrap there toungues around Gaelic.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very useful in tracing Irish roots, November 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Irish Names (Paperback)

This book has been very handy in tracing back the Irish side of my family. The tradition in Ireland was to name the firstborn son after the father's father, the firstborn daughter after the father's mother, the secondborn son after the mother's dad and the secondborn daughter after the mother's mother. So from looking at the names of your Irish grandmother's siblings, for example, you can make a pretty good guess as to her grandparents' names. However, during the 19th Century and even before, Irish names were being traded in for English-sounding names. So your grandfather Bernard might be named after his grandfather Brian, or Anthony might be named after Hewney, since both names can be used to anglicize the Irish name Uaithne. This book is a big help with such translations. It also provides a bit of history on many Irish names, plus some guidance with pronunciation. It seems like quite an impressive piece of scholarship. Also recommended: Irish First Names, by Ronan Coghlan, which takes a somewhat lighter tone but is still a useful reference.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not incredibly useful to non-scholars, November 20, 2003

By 

Domhnall O'Donnchadha "Domhnall" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Irish Names (Paperback)

The 3 out of five rating is based on a few things:
Firstly, as explained in its introduction, almost all newer names are omitted. Their justification is fine, but at the same time they purport usage for modern naming purposes.
Secondly, the positioning of older forms first and modern versions second is in my opinion, entirely wrongheaded. It poises the book on the verge of total irrelavance for anything other than historical research. This is emblematic in the greatest problem to my eye: the lack of a 'buailte' (the little dot) over certain consonants and the lack of a following 'h' to indicate the same thing. For those new to the language, this is widely misleading. No one should see "dub" as the translation of 'black' when the modern spelling, "dubh," actually aids in pronunciation, understanding, transliteration to English, and overall relavance.

The strength of the book is its breadth. If you already understand the manners of Irish naming custom, and certainly you'll need exposure to pronunciation, you will make much use of this book. Further, it draws from a number of the best quality sources.

This is certainly not a baby-naming book. Nor is it relavant for anything regarding modern naming conventions. For these subjects I would recommend the small but very dense and accurate, 'Irish First Names,' by Ronan Coghlan and the many sources which draw strongly from or rewrite/edit the works of Father Patrick Woulfe. I don't wish to speculate, but O Corrain & Maguire seem to fly in the face of Woulfe's earlier research. This book is most valuable to SCA members and sometime scholars.