Irish characters' names

Genre of [name_u]Story[/name_u]: Semi-historical (not quite sure what it’s called, so just read on)

Time Period/Location: circa 1920s, Co. Mayo, [name_f]Ireland[/name_f]
Brief Plot: A girl, whose Irish parents moved to [name_u]America[/name_u], returns to visit her great-grandmother, while standing up against the British soldiers and learning to love her stepmother.
Character 1:

Character Description: 12-year-old girl with curly reddish hair and hazel eyes—shy and diffident but grows more courageous and opinionated.
Who named the character: [name_m]Both[/name_m] her parents were extremely proud Irish and gave her a traditional Irish name.
Immediate family: she’s an only child and her mother died when she was two; her father has a job that requires traveling, so she lives in America with a governess.
Already Considered (if relevant): [name_f]Mairead[/name_f]

[name_m]Don[/name_m]’t Suggest These Names: No unisex names or surnames.

Anything else?: I also need a last name—Irish, but not something very obviously Irish like [name_u]Murphy[/name_u]. I’ve considered Magillicuddy.

Character 2:
Character description: old woman in her 70s, great-great-aunt of Character 1—fiercely loving and defiant—gray-haired with sharp gray-blue eyes.
[name_m]Don[/name_m]’t suggest these names: Same guidelines apply.
Anything else? She’ll have the same last name as Character 1, so their first names should have the same general feel.

Character 3:
Character description: old woman in her early 80s, sister to Character 2 and great-grandmother of Character 1—snow-white hair and hazel eyes—more understanding and patient than her sister.
[name_m]Don[/name_m]’t suggest these names: Same guidelines apply.
Anything else? See Character 2.

Character 4:
Character description: young woman about twenty-eight, stepmother to Character 1; loving and anxious to please, but slightly awkward. She’s also Irish, from Belfast.
[name_m]Don[/name_m]’t suggest these names: Same guidelines apply.

Anything else? I could also use a first name for Character 1’s father. He barely appears in the story so he’s a very minor character.

Thank you so much and sorry for the long post.

I tried to find out what names were popular in 1910s [name_f]Ireland[/name_f], but I couldn’t find anything substantial. I couldn’t find any information on popular names in 1850’s
or 1840’s [name_f]Ireland[/name_f], so I’m not completely sure if my suggestions are appropriate for when your characters would’ve been born.
Character 1:
[name_f]Roisin/name_f
[name_f]Aoife/name_f
[name_f]Fionnuala[/name_f](I’d spell it [name_f]Finola[/name_f], but if her parents are proud Irish people they might stick to the original. Maybe they’d call her [name_f]Nola[/name_f])
[name_f]Niamh/name_f
[name_f]Eilidh/name_f
[name_f]Meabh/name_f
[name_f]Orlaith/name_f
[name_f]Una[/name_f]/[name_f]Oona[/name_f]
[name_f]Aisling/name_f
[name_f]Sadhbh[/name_f](Sive, like five)

Character 2:
[name_f]Moira/name_f
[name_f]Aine/name_f
[name_f]Eithne/name_f
[name_f]Caoimhe/name_f
[name_f]Orlaith[/name_f]

Character 3:
[name_f]Aisling[/name_f](I don’t know of many traditional Irish names so I’m going to repeat a few)
[name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f]
[name_f]Meabh[/name_f]
[name_f]Muirgen/name_f
[name_f]Sinead/name_f
[name_f]Aine[/name_f]

Character 3:
[name_f]Aisling[/name_f]
[name_f]Ailis/name_f
[name_f]Eilis/name_f
[name_f]Eilidh[/name_f]
[name_f]Meabh[/name_f]
[name_f]Sadhbh[/name_f]
[name_f]Laragh/name_f
Fionnaula
[name_f]Niamh[/name_f]

Father:
[name_u]Finn[/name_u]
[name_m]Beacan[/name_m]
[name_m]Cian/name_m
[name_m]Declan[/name_m]
[name_m]Eamon/name_m
[name_m]Finbar[/name_m]
[name_m]Finnian[/name_m]
[name_m]Keir[/name_m]
[name_m]Killian[/name_m]/[name_m]Cillian[/name_m]
[name_m]Liam[/name_m]
[name_m]Lorcan[/name_m]
[name_m]Malachy[/name_m](I believe the Irish pronunciation is mal-a-key)
[name_u]Niall[/name_u]
[name_m]Seamus/name_m
[name_u]Rory[/name_u]

I’m not sure what type of surname you’re looking for. [name_u]Murphy[/name_u] seems to be pretty common in [name_f]Ireland[/name_f], but it is the Anglicized spelling. Magillicuddy seems to be more authentic, but when immigrants came to [name_u]America[/name_u] the authorities seem to have had a tendency to Anglicize their surnames.
Here are some websites with Irish surnames:
http://www.ireland-information.com/heraldichall/irishsurnames.htm
http://genealogy.familyeducation.com/browse/origin/irish
http://www.from-ireland.net/irish-surnames-a-z/
http://surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/irish

Thank you, those are very helpful suggestions. I will definitely check those websites when I get a chance.

I would like to suggest Cunningham or [name_u]Campbell[/name_u] for the surname. [name_u]Campbell[/name_u] is very common in [name_f]Ireland[/name_f] but isn’t instantly recognized as so here in the
US. It wouldn’t be as obvious as my fave Irish surname which is O’[name_f]Malley[/name_f].

Thanks for the suggestion!
Does anyone know anything about the surname [name_m]Burke[/name_m]? It’s the name of an Irish martyr whose story I like and I’m also considering using it. Does
anyone know if it’s heard in [name_f]Ireland[/name_f]?

[name_m]Hi[/name_m],
I’m Irish and I live in [name_f]Ireland[/name_f].
[name_m]Burke[/name_m] is actually pretty popular in [name_f]Ireland[/name_f] as a surname. I found this online:
[name_m]Burke[/name_m] is an English variant of a surname that is common in [name_f]England[/name_f] and [name_f]Ireland[/name_f] which originates with the Cambro-Normans. In Old English, the name means “fortified hill”. Variants include [name_m]Bourke[/name_m], de Burgo, [name_m]Burgh[/name_m], and De [name_m]Burgh[/name_m].

As for first names… are the characters Irish or Northern Irish? What religion are they?
[name_f]Niamh[/name_f] is actually normally pronounced knee-uv in [name_f]Ireland[/name_f].
For the father:
[name_m]Daithi[/name_m] - [name_m]Daw[/name_m]-hee
[name_m]Declan[/name_m] - Dec-lan
[name_m]Eamonn[/name_m] - Ay-mon
Peader - Pwya-der
[name_m]Ruari[/name_m]/[name_u]Rory[/name_u] - [name_m]Roar[/name_m]-ree
[name_u]Aidan[/name_u] - Ay-dan
[name_m]Conor[/name_m] - [name_u]Con[/name_u]-er
[name_m]Colm[/name_m] - Cull-um
Stepmother:
[name_f]Aoife[/name_f] - Ee-fah
[name_f]Nuala[/name_f] - [name_m]New[/name_m] - lah
[name_f]Catriona[/name_f] - [name_f]Cat[/name_f]-ree-oh-nah

[name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f] has two pronounciations: [name_u]Keeva[/name_u] and Kweeva. [name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f] pron. Kweeva is more popular.

There are some excellent suggestions above.
[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps :slight_smile:
iamnotanowl

Thank you, that’s really helpful. I don’t have much time to research stuff so information like that is very useful.
The characters are [name_m]Roman[/name_m] Catholics and (oops) the county I’ve chosen for them to live in is not the one I stated on the original post. They are in County [name_m]Mayo[/name_m] in a fictional village.

No problem :slight_smile: I have noticed that back in the 1920’s, [name_m]Roman[/name_m] Catholics tended to call their children Irish names whilst people of other denominations, such as Protestants and Presbyterians, tended to use more English names.
Northern [name_f]Ireland[/name_f] was loyal to [name_f]England[/name_f] due to the Ulster Plantation in the 1600’s during this time. This means that there would have been more Anglicans, Protestants and Presbyterians, than [name_m]Roman[/name_m] Catholics in NI’s population. There was more [name_m]Roman[/name_m] Catholics in [name_f]Ireland[/name_f] during that time and there still is a large divide between [name_m]Roman[/name_m] Catholics and people of other religions today.
Can you tell I am a huge lover of [name_m]History[/name_m]???!
[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helped :slight_smile:

Okay…so it would be plausible that a character would have a name like [name_f]Eithne[/name_f]? I’ve pretty much chosen this name for the aunt, but do tell me if it’s not going to work. Thanks a lot! :slight_smile:

It might work. I looked it up on the National Irish Census Archive in the censuses of 1901 and 1911. 116 results for 1911 and 6 results for 1901. I really like the name so I say go for it.

Oh good! Thank you for putting so much work into this! Also, could I use [name_f]Nola[/name_f] as a nickname for [name_f]Fionnuala[/name_f] or should I go for [name_f]Nuala[/name_f]? Could I use this name for the girl?

I think [name_f]Nola[/name_f] would be fine :slight_smile:

caritas I’d be honored if you used my great-grandmother’s maiden name of Geraghty. Pronounced “gerrity”. Our family crest is “an oak in full strength” and they are closely related to the Conors/O’Conors/O’Connors which were the last ruling family of [name_f]Ireland[/name_f]. The Geraghty’s were prominent in County Roscommon but were also in County [name_m]Mayo[/name_m]. Totally up to you :slight_smile:

I don’t think I’ve ever heard that name before but I really like it! If I don’t use it for the main characters I will definitely use it for another one. Thank you for the suggestion!
And thank you as well, iamnotanowl!

No problem

[name_f]Happy[/name_f] writing!

Thanks! It’s dragging a bit now but I’m hoping to get it back in pace at some point this weekend. :slight_smile: