A formal Irish name consists of a

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

and a

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

. In the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

, most surnames are patronymic surnames (distinct from

patronym A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, ...

s, which are seen in Icelandic names for example). The form of a surname varies according to whether its bearer is a man, a woman, or a woman married to a man, who adopts his surname. An alternative traditional naming convention consists of the first name followed by a double patronym, usually with the father and grandfather's names. This convention is not used for official purposes but is generalized in (Irish-speaking areas) and also survives in some rural non- areas. Sometimes the name of the mother or grandmother may be used instead of the father or grandfather.

Epithets

A first name may be modified by an adjective to distinguish its bearer from other people with the same name. ("big") and ("young") are used to distinguish parent and child, like " senior" and " junior" are used in English, but are placed between the given name and the surname, e.g. corresponds to "John O'Sullivan Jr." (anglicised surnames often omit , leaving no trace of original ). The word ("little") can be used in place of . This does not necessarily indicate that the younger person is smaller in stature, merely younger than their parent or in some cases to imply a baby was small, possibly premature, at birth. Adjectives denoting hair colour may also be used, especially informally, e.g. ("red-haired Patrick"), ("fair-haired Mary").

Traditional ''Gaeltacht'' names

Colloquially in (Irish-speaking areas) and some other areas it remains customary to use a name formed by the first name (or nickname), followed by the father and the paternal grandfather's name, both in the

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive ca ...

, e.g. (Seán O'Casey), son of , son of , would be known to his neighbours as . Occasionally, if the mother or grandmother was a well-known person locally, her name may be used instead. If the mother's name is used, then the maternal grandfather or grandmother may follow it, e.g. . This system can be particularly useful for distinguishing people who live in the same area and who share a common surname but are not closely related, e.g. two people named John McEldowney might be known as "John Patsy Dan" and "John Mary Philip" respectively. Even the Irish forms sometimes survive in parts of the Sperrins, so that among the principal families of Glenullin some branches are known by father/grandfather forms such as or .

Surnames

Ó and Mac surnames

A man's surname is generally formed by ("descendant"; historically ) or ("son") followed by a name or definite noun (often a profession) in the

, e.g. (literally "descendant of Dónall") and (literally "son of Jordan"). When is followed by a vowel, a (lowercase) is attached to the vowel, e.g. (O'Higgins) or (Hughes). A woman's surname replaces with (reduction of "descendant's daughter") and with (reduction of "son's daughter"). In both cases the following name undergoes lenition, except for when is followed by or . Thus the daughter of has the surname and the daughter of a has the surname . In

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

it is common for a woman who adopts her husband name to just use or rather than the forms seen below. If a woman marries a man, she may choose to take his surname. In this case, is replaced by ("descendant's wife") and by ("son's wife"). In both cases may be omitted, which results in or . In both cases the following name undergoes lenition, except for when is followed by or . Thus a woman marrying may choose to adopt or as her surname and a woman marrying may choose to adopt or as her surname. , , and are sometimes used instead of , , and before a vowel or (which is silent) followed by a vowel.

Other surnames

Norman surnames formed by (always lowercase; "of") followed by a name, e.g. ( Burke), ( Power), or ( Hide, Hyde). Some names consist of ("servant's son") or ("follower's descendent") followed by a name in the genitive case, e.g. , .

Examples of first names and surnames

Notable examples of first names and surnames

Many Irish people use English (or

anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

) forms of their names in English-language contexts and Irish forms in Irish-language contexts. The Irish names of some people more famous under their English names include: Other people are generally better known by their Irish name than by their English name, including the following:

References

Name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...

Names by country