![]() ![]() Thus a woman marrying a man named Ó Dónaill may choose to use Bean Uí Dhónaill (Mrs. Again, the second part of the surname is lenited (unless it begins with C or G, in which case it is only lenited after Uí). In both cases bean may be omitted, in which case the woman uses simply Uí or Mhic. In this case, Ó is replaced by Bean Uí ("wife of descendant of") and Mac is replaced by Bean Mhic ("wife of the son of"). If a woman marries, she may choose to take her husband's surname. When anglicised, the name can remain O' or Mac, regardless of gender. Thus the daughter of a man named Ó Dónaill has the surname Ní Dhónaill the daughter of a man named Mac Siúrtáin has the surname Nic Siúrtáin. However, if the second part of the surname begins with the letter C or G, it is not lenited after Nic. A female's surname replaces Ó with Ní (reduced from Iníon Uí – "daughter of descendant of") and Mac with Nic (reduced from Iníon Mhic – "daughter of the son of") in both cases the following name undergoes lenition. ![]() Sometimes beag would be used to imply a baby was small at birth, possibly premature.Īdjectives denoting hair colour may also be used, especially informally: Pádraig Rua ("red-haired Patrick"), Máire Bhán ("fair-haired Mary").Ī male's surname generally takes the form Ó/ Ua (meaning "grandson/descendant of") or Mac ("son/descendant of") followed by the genitive case of a name, as in Ó Dónaill ("grandson/descendant of Dónall") or Mac Siúrtáin ("son/descendant of Jordan").Ī son has the same surname as his father. This did not necessarily indicate that the younger person was small in stature, merely younger than his father. The word Beag/ Beg, meaning "little", can be used in place of Óg. Mór ("big") and Óg ("young") are used to distinguish father and son, like English " senior" and " junior", but are placed between the given name and the surname: Seán Óg Ó Súilleabháin corresponds to "John O'Sullivan Jr." (although anglicised versions of the name often drop the "O '" from the name). Sometimes the name of the mother or grandmother may be used instead of the father or grandfather.Ī first name may be modified by an adjective to distinguish its bearer from other people with the same name. This convention is not used for official purposes but is generalized in Gaeltachtaí (Irish-speaking areas) and also survives in some rural non- Gaeltacht areas. The form of a surname varies according to whether its bearer is male or female, and in the case of a married woman, whether she chooses to adopt her husband's surname.Īn alternative traditional naming convention consists of the first name followed by a double patronym, usually with the father and grandfather's names. In the Irish language, surnames are generally patronymic in etymology but are no longer literal patronyms as, for example, most Icelandic names still are. JSTOR ( May 2009) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Ī formal Irish name consists of a given name and a surname.Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This article needs additional citations for verification. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |