Top of the Morning to the Flynns’ Gaelic First Names: St. Patrick’s Day 2020

Errol

The popularity of the name Errol soared after Captain Blood!

A variation of Earl, Errol is a Scottish name that means nobleman and wanderer.

Sean

Rare in the U.S. when Errol named Sean.

Sean (written “Seán” or “Séan” in Irish) is a Hibernization of the English name “John” (‘God has favoured’ in Hebrew); that is, it’s a transliteration of “John” into a form which can be pronounced in Irish and written with the Irish alphabet, which nowadays is simply a version of the Roman alphabet.

Deirdre

Deirdre was the name borne by a legendary Irish princess who was betrothed to the king of Ulster, Conchobar. She eloped, however, to Scotland with her lover Naoise, who was then treacherously murdered by the king. Deirdre supposedly died of a broken heart. The name might be derived from the Old Irish Derdriu (young girl) or from the Celtic Diédrè (fear).

Rory

Off the chart rarity when Rory was born!

An anglicisation of the Irish Ruairí, Rory is a buoyant, spirited name for a redhead with Celtic roots. …Rory may also be a nickname for Aurora.

Arnella

Perhaps the most rare!

Not a Gaelic name, but being that St. Patrick was of Italian blood, Arnella fits right in as well as Patricio!

Arnella was first found in various parts of Southern Italy including early references in Sicily, and the city of Naples. The name eventually moved further north, and those members of the family that lived there adopted the northern tradition of ending their name in “i”, whereas those that stayed in the south kept the southern suffixes. The name Arnella means “sand” and was probably first given to someone who lived near a beach or sandy area.

— Tim

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