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 A patronymic surname is a surname originated from the given name of the father or a patrilineal ancestor. Different cultures have different ways of producing patronymic surnames. In the Old Testament of the Bible, men are identified by their l ...

(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 name Icelandic names are names used by people from Iceland. Icelandic surnames are different from most other naming systems in the modern Western world in that they are patronymic or occasionally matronymic: they indicate the father (or mother) o ...

s 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 Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

" 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 Premature may refer to: * ''Premature'' (2014 film), an American comedy film * ''Premature'' (2019 film), an American romantic drama film * '' PREMature'', a 2015 British television drama miniseries See also * Premature aging, of an organism * ...

, 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 In linguistics, lenition is a sound change that alters consonants, making them "weaker" in some way. The word ''lenition'' itself means "softening" or "weakening" (from Latin 'weak'). Lenition can happen both synchronically (within a language ...

, 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

, 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 Burke (; ) is a Normans in Ireland, Norman-Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (''circa'' 1160–1206) had the surname'' de B ...

), (

Power Power may refer to: Common meanings * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power, a type of energy * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events Math ...

), 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