The Whit & Wizdom of
Captain Don of Ballynashee
Electric Scotland
Scotland's Irish Origins
Burke's Landed Gentry Today
Irish GaelicGaeilge Helpers
The IreAtlas Townland Database
Blackboard CourseSites Beginning Irish
Try this site for Irish Names and Nicknames
Ancient through Modern Times in Celtic History
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE CELTS can be bought for $28.00(I've ordered one), and accessed from this link for free.
The Scottish Lion is one of the best catalogue for Scottish goods in the USA. You can call & ask for a free catalogue at 1-800-355-7268 toll free.
The Highlander is the leading Scottish Magazine in the USA. Call 1-800-607-4410 to subscribe at $17.50 per year.
P.O.Box 760
Vandalia OH 45377
There are several catalogues that feature video tapes on Scottish history & culture. One such catalogue is The World of A&E. Free catalogues are available by calling toll free 1-877-447-8679.
Tommy Old is an honorary Milligan, as well as a Scot of the Clans Auld & MacKinnon, I believe, regardless he is a good guy!
Meanings of some Irish Names - The original Celtic words are listed in parentheses.
| Barry | = | from the Norman French surname de Barri | |
| Brennan | = | O Braonain, descendant of Braonain | (a word for sorrow) |
| Burke | = | from the Norman French surname de Burgh or de Bourg | |
| Byrne | = | O Broin, descendant of Broin | (bran means raven) |
| Casey | = | O Cathasaigh, descendant of Cathasaigh | (cathasach means watchful) |
| Daly | = | O Dalaigh, descendant of Dalaigh | (dalach means assemblyman) |
| Donohue | = | O Donnchadha, descendant of Donnchadha | (donn means brown haired) |
| Dunne | = | O Duinne, a descendant of Duinn | (donn means brown or brown haired |
| Fitzgerald | = | son of Gerald | (a Norman French name) |
| Fitzpatrick | = | This name was originally Mac Giolla Padraig, meaning a descendant of a devotee of St. Patrick. In later years the Mac prefix as changed to the Norman "Fitz". | |
| Flynn | = | O Floinn, descendant of Floinn | (flann, meaning ruddy) |
| Kelly | = | O Ceallaigh, descendant of Ceallaigh | (ceallach is the word for strife) |
| Kennedy | = | O Cinneide, descendant of Cinneide | (ceann means head, eidigh means ugly) |
| Lynch | = | from the Norman French surname de Lench | |
| McCarthy | = | Mac Carthaigh, descendant of Carthaigh | (carthach means loving) |
| Murphy | = | O Murchadha, descendant of a murchadh | (sea warrior) |
| O'Brien | = | O Briain, descendant of Briain | (Brian Boru) |
| O'Connor | = | O Conchobhair, descendant of Conchobhair(/td) | |
| O'Donnell | = | O Domhnaill, descendant of Domhnaill | |
| O'Neill | = | O Neill, descendant of Neill | (Neill of the Nine Hostages) |
| Quinn | = | O Cuinn, descendant of Conn | |
| Regan | = | Riagain, descendant of Riagain | |
| Reilly | = | O Ragailligh, descendant of Ragaillach | |
| Ryan | = | O Malvilriain, descendant of Mavilriain | (a name not identifiable) |
| Sullivan | = | O Suileabhain, descendant of Suileabhain | (suil means eye and Levan is a Celtic deity. Therefore, this is the eye of the god) |
| Walsh | = | a person of Welsh origin |
AODH = (ee) "fire"; A frequent name among Kings and Chiefs. ANG. Hugh.
ART = "noble, great". The root of O'Hart.
BRANDUBH = " black hair".
BRIAN = bri, "strength"; an, "very great". The root of O'Brian, Brien, Bryant, Byrne, Byron, etc.
CAIRBRE = corb, "a chariot"; ri, "a king"; "ruler of the chariot".
CATHAIR = (cahir) cath, "a battle"; ar, "slaughter".
CATHAL = (cahal) cath, as above; all, "great". "a great warrior".
CATHBHAR = (cah-war) "a helmet", or, cath, as above; barr, "a chief".
CONCHOBHAR = "helping warrior".
CONN = "wisdom".
CORMAC = "the son of the chariot".
DIARMAID = "god of arms".
DOMHNALL = (donal) domhan, "the world"; all, "mighty". The root of MacDonald, MacDaniel, MacDonnell.
DONOCH = donn, "brown; cu, "a warrior". ANG. Dennis in Ire. and Duncan in Scotland.
EOGHAN = "a young man" or "youthful warrior". ANG. Eugene, Owen.
FEARGAL = fear (fhar), "a man; gal, "valour". "a valiant warrior". The root of Virgil, and O'Farrell.
FEIDHLIM = (felim) "great goodness".ANG. Felix.
FERGUS = "a strong warrior".
FIACHA = "a hunter".
FLANN = "blood". "of a red complexion".
MAOL = "bald or tonsured person". A spiritual servant or devotee of a saint. The root of the surname Moyles.
NIALL = "a noble knight or champion". The root of O'Neil, etc.
RUADHRAIGE = ruadh,"red"; righ,"a king","the valiant,or red haired king". ANG. Rory, Roderick, Rogers.
TUATHAL = (tool) Possessed of "large landed Properties". The root of O'Toole, Tolan, etc.
UALGARG = uaill, "famous"; garg, "fierce". "a famous and fierce warrior".
| Gaelic | English | Gaelic | English | |
| AODH | HUGH | EAMONN | EDMUND | |
| BERACH | BARRY | ELISHE | ALICE | |
| BRIAN | BERNARD | GRAINE | GRACE | |
| BRIDGIT | DELIA (a nickname) | LIAM | WILLIAM | |
| CATHAL | CHARLES | MAIRE | MARY | |
| CEALLAIGH | KELLY | McGOWAN | SMITH (occ.) | |
| CONNAD | KENNETH | PADRAIC | PATRICK | |
| DATHI | DAVID | RUADHRI | RORY,RODGER | |
| DHONAL | DANIEL, DONAL | SEAMUS | JAMES | |
| DIARMID | JEREHMIA, DARBY | SEAN | JOHN | |
| DONOGH | DENIS, DONAT | TOMOLTACH | TIMOTHY,THOMAS |
| Bartholemew | BARTHOLOMAEUS |
| Dennis | DIONYSIUS |
| Edward | EDUARDUS |
| Eugene | EUGENIUS |
| John | JOANNES or JOHANNES |
| James | JACOBUS |
| Joseph | JOSEPHUS |
| Charles | CAROLUS |
| Lawrence | LAURENTIUS |
| Martin | MARTINUS |
| Matthew | MATTHAEUS |
| Maurice | MAURITIUS |
| Patrick | PATRITIUS |
| Paul | PAULUS |
| Peter | PETRUS |
| Timothy | TIMOTHEUS |
| William | GUILIELMUS |
Phonetics.........
We used to learn our 'ah' b' 'c' and not the 'ay' 'b' 'c'. Today children learn their 'ay' 'b' 'c' in school.
The fáda (accent) over a letter kind of lengthens and softens the sound of a letter.......so, sé (him) is shay and sí (her) is shee (as in beep)
There are 18 letters in the Irish alphabet: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u. We also 'borrow' the letters j, q, v, w, x, and z in what are known as loan words.
We have the basic vowels: a, e, i, o, and u. These may either be short or long, and the difference in the length of a vowel, when one type is exchanged for the other in a word can change the meaning of that word.
The following gives some indication of how the vowels are pronounced. Remember that your accent differs again to any of ours and what you have when you say these words are an approximation, the sound will be somewhat different when spoken by an Irish person.
Vowel: English word which contains this vowel as sounded
a cat
á with fada* law
e che (rry)
é with fada* may
i shin
í with fada* mean
o done/lot
ó with fada* more
u bus
ú with fada* cool
*a fada is an accent above the letter - I've put that here in case some peoples browsers don't read that accent.
To put a fáda on a word in mail (MSIE) or with your word programme hit the letter key and your 'Alt Gr' key at exactly the same time
The vowels combine with each other in a number of ways, for example i and u combining with ia and ua, which sound like eea and ooa.
In the middle of words the combinations a(id)h, o(id)h, eidh and eigh also consist of two vowel sounds pronounced like the English eye or my.
Accents vary from place to place with the dialect. I speak Galway Irish, Donegal Irish sounds like a foreign language mainly becasue of the accent, Kerry Irish I understand better given that I had teachers from Kerry.
and bringing the above a bit farther.........
Also, (e)amh is pronounced like 'ow' in the english cow and how; for some dialects (e)abh, obh, omh, odh, ogh are also pronounced in this way as 'ow'; while in others they are pronounced like a long o sound as in the English more.
The combinations umh and ubh are pronounced like a long oo sound as in the English word cool.
The combination ao does not represent two sounds. In Ulster and Connaught Irish it is usually pronounced ee; in Munster Irish it sounds like the vowel in the English may; aoi is usually pronounced ee
In some counties they have 'e' and sound it like 'a'. In some counties they drop their 'h' in words and names, some counties will pronounce the word Bally as Balla or even it can be spelled Baile or Ballagh..
Accents and words........
Some people will sound an 'rd' combination as 't'.
The 'H' can be dropped from a name, making for example the surname 'Harmon' become 'Armon'
'O' can be pronounced 'Au' making Odlum become Audlum
The vowel sounds are substituted for one another left, right and centre in any surname or placename it seems.
We add 's' we take it away, as and when we feel like it or so it may look - but this is really related to the accent in the area.
Banaghan can become Bannan losing the 'gh' sound
A 'v' sound can become a 'w' sound
Bee can be pronounced Bay.
Boy - Bye
Matthew - Machew
"One of the most striking and interesting of the phenomena to be observed in a study is the tenacity with which families have continued to dwell for centuries, down to the present day, in the very districts where their names originated. This obtains in almost every county in Ireland. Thus, the births registered for the distinctive Kerry names of Brick, Brosnan, Culloty, Kissane, MacElligott and MacGillycuddy, to take more or less random examples are entirely confined to that county. "
A few words about prefixes: Mac is the Gaelic word for "son" and is sometimes written Mc, despite the widely held notion that Mac is Irish and Mc is Scottish. Both are found in the two Gaelic national traditions. O is really a word all by itself, signifying "grandson." The apostrophe that now usually appears after it is simply the result of a misunderstanding by English-speaking clerks in Elizabethan time, who took it to be a form of the word "of." That other distinctively Irish prefix, Fitz, derives from the French word fils, meaning son.
Most certainly, Honora can not be Johanna - as Johanna - as a name, is the feminine version of John, as is Jane and Joan. Honora, or Hanora in Latin, means Honour, not Ioannes (John)
Also, Helen can never be "Nora' ( except to the ignorant); it is a Greek name - Nora is an abbreviation of Honora (Honour), or Hanora.
Diarmuid has been very incorrectly Anglicised as Jeremy, Jeremiah, Jerry and Darby, and recently as Demot.
Brennan (O Brenain) as a surname in Irish Gaelic, means 'Sorrow'. But Brenainn or Brenainn (a borrowing from the Welsh Celtic language, as a first name), was Latinised as Brandensus, or Brendanus, Anglicised to Brendan.
LATIN FIRST NAMES
| Adalbertus | Albert or George |
| Adam (Ade) | Adam |
| Adeliza | Adelize |
| Adranus | Adrian |
| Aedus | Hugh |
| Aemilia | Emily |
| Agna | Agnes, Nancy |
| Agna, Agnetis, Agneta | Agnes |
| Ailmerus | Aylmer |
| Alanus | Alan |
| Albertus | Albert |
| Albinus | Aubin |
| Alda | Aude |
| Alesia, Alicia | Alice |
| Alfredus, Aluredus | Alfred |
| Alicia | Alice, Elsie, Alyssa |
| Alienora, Eleanora, Elianora | Eleanor |
| Aloisius | Aloysius, Louis, Luis |
| Alvredus | Alfred |
| Amabilla | Amabel |
| Amfridus | Amfrey |
| Amica, Amata, Amia | Amy |
| Amphelicia | Amfelice |
| Anastasia | Anastasia or Nancy |
| Andreas | Andrew |
| Anna | Anne |
| Antonius | Anthony |
| Appolonia | Polly or Pauline |
| Arcturus, Artorius, Arturus | Arthur |
| Audoenus, Audoinus, Oeneus, Oenus | Owen |
| Audomarus | Aymer |
| Augustinus | Austin |
| Avelina | Evelyn |
| Avicia | Avice |
| Baldricus | Baudry |
| Bartholomeus | Bartholomew |
| Basilia | Basile |
| Basilius | Basil |
| Baudewinus | Baldwin |
| Beatrix | Beatrice |
| Benedictus | Benet |
| Bertrandus | Bertram |
| Blasius | Blase |
| Blasius | Blaise |
| Bricius | Brice |
| Brigida, Brigitta, Brigid | Bridget |
| Caritas | Charity |
| Carolum, Carolus | Charles, Carl |
| Caterina, Katerina, Katharina | Catherine |
| Catharina | Catherine, Kathryn, Kathleen, Caitlin |
| Cecilia | Cecily |
| Cecilius | Cecil |
| Christiana, Christina | Christine |
| Christophorus | Christopher |
| Claricia | Clarice |
| Clemencia | Clemence |
| Clemens | Clement |
| Colecta | Colette |
| Constantia, Custancia | Constance |
| Daniele | Daniel |
| Denisia, Dionisia | Denise |
| Deodatus | Theodore |
| Desiderata | Desiree |
| Desideratus | Didier |
| Dionisius | Dennis |
| Dionisius, Dionysius | Denis |
| Donatus | Duncan |
| Dorothea | Dorothy |
| Droco, Drogo | Drew |
| Duvenaldus | Donald |
| Eadmundus | Edmund |
| Eadwardus | Edward |
| Eduardus | Edward, sometimes Eamon |
| Egidia | Gille |
| Egidius | Giles |
| Eleanora SEE Alienora | |
| Elena | Ellen |
| Elianora SEE Alienora | |
| Elias | Ellis |
| Elisius | Elisha |
| Elisabetha | Elizabeth, Beth, Betty, Isabel, Lisa |
| Emericus | Emery |
| Emma | Emme |
| Erchenbaldus | Archibald |
| Ernisius | Ernis |
| Etheldreda | Audrey |
| Eudo | Eudes |
| Eustachius | Eustace |
| Eva | Eve |
| Falcasius | Fawkes |
| Felicia | Felice |
| Fidelia | Vera or Faith |
| Fides (Fidis) | Faith |
| Folcho SEE Fulco | |
| Francisca | Frances |
| Franciscus | Francis, Frank |
| Francus | Frank |
| Fridericus | Frederick |
| Fulco, Folcho | Fulk |
| Galwanus | Gawain |
| Garnerius | Warner |
| Genofeva | Genevieve |
| Georgius | George |
| Gerardus | Gerard |
| Germanus | Germain |
| Geroldus SEE Giraldus | |
| Gilebertus, Gislebertus | Gilbert |
| Ginevra | Jennifer |
| Giraldus, Geroldus | Gerald |
| Godefridus | Godfrey |
| Godelacius | Guthlac |
| Goditha | Goodith |
| Goisfridus, Gosfridus | Geoffrey |
| Goscelinus | Jocelin |
| Gottfridus/Godefredus | Godfrey |
| Gratia | Grace |
| Griffinus | Griffin |
| Griselda | Grizel |
| Gualterus | Walter |
| Guarinus SEE Warinus | |
| Guenliana | Wenteliana |
| Guglielmus, Gulielmus, Gulielmo | William |
| Gwendoloena | Gwendolen |
| Hamo | Hamon |
| Haraldus | Harold |
| Hasculfus | Hasculf |
| Hawisia | Hawise |
| Helena | Helen, Ellen, Nell, Aileen, Eileen, Nora |
| Helewisa | Helewise |
| Hereweccus, Henricum, Henricus, Herveius, Henricus | Henry |
| Hervicius | Hervey |
| Hieremias | Jeremiah |
| Hieronymus | Jerome |
| Hilaria Hilarius | Hilary |
| Hoelus | Howel |
| Honorah | Nora/Norah |
| Honoria | Honour |
| Hugo | Hugh |
| Humfredus | Humphrey |
| Idonea | Idony |
| Ingelardus | Engelard |
| Ingeramus | Ingram |
| Isabella | Isabel |
| Isenbardus | Imbert |
| Ivo, Ivonus | Ives |
| Jacobus | James or Jacob |
| Joanees, Johannes, Joannes, Johannis, Joanis | John, Sean, Eoin, Ian |
| Joanna, Johanna | Joan, Jane, Jeanne, Jeanette, Joanne, Sinead, Siobhan |
| Jocea, Jocosa, Jodoca, Joceus, Jodocus | Joyce |
| Johanna | Joan |
| Johanna | Honora |
| Johanna, Jonna | Jane, Joan or Jean |
| Josephum | Joseph |
| Josias | Josiah |
| Juliana | Gillian |
| Jurdanus | Jordan |
| Katerina, Katharina SEE Caterina | |
| Kenewricus | Kenric |
| Landebertus | Lambert |
| Laurencia, Laurencius | Laurence |
| Laurentium | Lawrence |
| Lecia SEE Leticia | |
| Leonellus | Lionel |
| Leonius | Leo |
| Lucas (m.) | Luke, Lucas |
| Lucia | Lucy |
| Ludovicum, Ludovicus, Lodovicus | Louis, Lewis, Ludwig |
| Luelinus | Llewelyn |
| Mabilla, Mabilia | Mabel |
| Magdalena | Madeline |
| Malachias (m.) | Malachy |
| Marcus | Mark |
| Margareta | Margaret |
| Margeria | Margery |
| Maria | Mary, Maureen, Maeve, Molly, Mame, Polly, Moire |
| Maria Anna | Mary Ann, Marian, Marianne |
| Mariam | Mae,Mary |
| Mariana | Marion |
| Mariota | Mariot |
| Marmaducus | Marmaduke |
| Martinus | Martin |
| Mathaeus | Matthew |
| Matilda, Matildis, Matillis | Maud |
| Mattheus | Matthew, Matthias |
| Matthias (m.) | Matthias, Matt |
| Mauricius, Meuricius | Maurice |
| Mereducius, Moreducus | Meredith |
| Michaelem | Michael |
| Milisenda | Millicent |
| Milo | Miles |
| Mirabilis | Mirabel |
| Miriela, Mirielda SEE Muriella | |
| Misericordia | Mercy |
| Mordacus | Murdoch |
| Moreducus SEE Mereducius | |
| Morganus | Morgan |
| Moyses | Moses |
| Muriella, Miriela, Mirielda | Muriel |
| Nantia | Nancy |
| Natalis | Noel |
| Ni | Nicholas |
| Nicholaus, Nicolaus | Nicholas |
| Nigellus | Niel |
| Normanus | Norman |
| Odo, Otho | Otes |
| Oeneus, Oenus SEE Audoenus | |
| Olaus | Olave |
| Oliva | Olive |
| Orabilis, Orabilia | Orabel |
| Patritius | Patrick |
| Petronilla | Parnel |
| Petrus | Peter |
| Philippa | Philippe |
| Pigotus | Pigot |
| Placencia | Pleasance |
| Radulfus, Radulphus | Ralph |
| Randolphus | Randal |
| Reginaldus | Reynold |
| Reimundus | Raymond |
| Reinerus | Rayner |
| Reinfridus | Remphrey |
| Ricardus | Richard, Dick, Dirck |
| Richerus | Richer |
| Roesia, Rohesia | Rose |
| Rohelendus, Roulandus | Roland |
| Rothericus | Roderick |
| Rufus | Rory, Rufus, Red |
| Rugerius | Roger, Rory |
| Sabinus | Sabin |
| Salamanus, Salamon | Solomon |
| Samuelem | Samuel |
| Sarra | Sarah |
| Savaricus | Savary |
| Scolastica | Scholace |
| Serlo | Serle |
| Sewallus | Sewel |
| Sibella | Sibyl |
| Stanislausum | Stan |
| Stephanus | Stephen |
| Suanus | Sweyn |
| Teodoricus, Terricus | Terry |
| Theodoricus | Derek |
| Theodorus | Theodore |
| Theophania | Tiffany |
| Thomas, Thome, Thomasum | Thomas |
| Timotheus | Timothy |
| Tobias | Toby |
| Turoldus | Thorold |
| Turstanus | Thurstan |
| Veronica | Veronica or Bernice |
| Vincencius | Vincent |
| Vitalis | Viel |
| Vitus | Guy |
| Walkelinus | Waukelin |
| Warinus, Guarinus | Warin |
| Warnerus | Warner |
| Wenteliana SEE Guenliana | |
| Wido SEE Guido | |
| Willelmus, Guillelmus | William |
| Wymerca | Wymark |
Naming Traditions
Our ancestors often used the following naming procedure when picking out a name for a new child. This explains why certain names are VERY common in a given family line. Watching for these patterns can help in your genealogy research.
| 1st son | = | father's father |
| 2nd son | = | mother's father |
| 3rd son | = | father |
| 4th son | = | father's oldest brother |
| 5th son | = | father's 2nd oldest brother or mother's oldest brother |
| 1st dau | = | mother's mother |
| 2nd dau | = | father's mother |
| 3rd dau | = | mother |
| 4th dau | = | mother's oldest sister |
| 5th dau | = | mother's 2nd oldest sister or father's oldest sister |
YOUR CLAN WEB SITE - If your clan run a newsletter or web site and would like to link with Burke's Landed Gentry please contact webmaster@burkes-landed-gentry.com