Most Popular Baby Names - Names and their Meanings

 by: John Lynch

The meaning of baby names of irish origin lies

hundreds of years back in the Irish gaelic language

of the ancient Celts who migrated from Central Europe

before the foundation of the Roman Empire.

The Celts Dominant

Those Celts who came to Britain, France and Ireland

were dominant for a long period. With the spread of

the Roman Empire, the Celts gradually were pushed back

into North Western France (modern Brittany with its

distinct Breton language), Western Britain (Cornwall

and Wales), Northern Britain (Isle of Man and Scotland),

and the island of Ireland which was never conquered by

the Romans.

As a result of Ireland's separate development from Roman

influence, the gaelic language and way of life was much

less diluted than in Scotland or Wales. Again the influence

of the Anglo-Normans and later the English was less in

Ireland because of the difficulty of establishing control

in the country other than a few coastal towns such as

Dublin.

The English kings' governor sat in Dublin Castle issuing

edicts against native Irish habits in dress, custom and

language, only to have them ignored in about 80% of the

country with the exception of the areas around Dublin

called The Pale where the English army held sway.

Gradual English Control

This situation continued for hundreds of years until the

English asserted an uneasy control at the end of the 17th

century with the defeat of James 11 at the Battle of the

Boyne by William of Orange (the Dutch Protestant prince who

was offered the English throne by Parliament)in 1690.

  (continued...)

Irish Baby Names - History and Origin
  Page 2