Q&A

What does knock mean in Irish place names?

What does knock mean in Irish place names?

A Gaelic word meaning a hill. There are many example of this, including Knock (county Mayo), Knock (Belfast, county Down) and Knockmore [the great hill], county Antrim.

What does Bally mean in Irish town names?

Bally in Irish can mean but homestead or settlement and also pass or passage. Essentially it is derived from the Gaelic phrase “baile na” meaning “place of.” So, for example, Ballyjamesduff, in Cavan, is literally the place of James Duff.

What does Cill mean in Gaelic?

Gaelic cill (pronounced keel) originally meant ‘cell, church’ from Old Irish cell, (ultimately from Latin cella) and now usually means ‘chapel, churchyard’ in modern Gaelic.

What does ARD mean in Irish?

high, lofty
Irish and Scottish Gaelic word meaning ‘high, lofty’, ‘above the ground, elevated’. Employed in many titles and names, especially place-names. Because the prefix is sometimes separate, e.g. Ard Macha, and sometimes joined, e.g. Ardmore, all entries with ard- in this definition are alphabetized letter by letter.

What does dun mean in Ireland?

fort
A dun is an ancient or medieval fort. In Ireland and Britain it is mainly a kind of hillfort and also a kind of Atlantic roundhouse.

What does Tully mean in Irish?

Tully (surname)

Language(s) Irish
Origin
Meaning devoted to the will (i.e. of God) or quiet, peaceful
Region of origin Ireland and Scotland
Other names

Do the Irish say wee?

Technically, wee is supposed to refer to small things, but in Ireland, that is not always the case. Instead, the word ‘wee’ is used to describe absolutely everything.

What is kilwinning in Gaelic?

Kilwinning (Kilwinin in 1202) in North Ayrshire is a Gaelic name meaning ‘the church of Saint Finnan’ (Gaelic Finnean). Cill is an old Gaelic word, no longer in use, which derives from Latin cella ‘a monk’s cell’ which also gives us English cell. It appears many times in Scotland in names beginning with Kil-.

What does Rath mean in Irish?

Noun. rath (plural raths) (historical) A walled enclosure, especially in Ireland; a ringfort built sometime between the Iron Age and the Viking Age.

What does Kil mean in Ireland?

Names of Irish Gaelic origin

Anglicised spelling Irish English translation
kil, kill cill churchyard or graveyard
kil, kill coill woodland
kin, ken cionn/ceann head
knock cnoc hill

What is the oldest surname in Ireland?

Ó Cléirigh
1. Surnames developed in Ireland as early as the tenth century, making them among the first in Europe. The earliest recorded surname is Ó Cléirigh.

Where do you find the names of Places in Ireland?

As is evident most places in Ireland have two names, one an English one, the other Irish and in general both names are displayed on signposts and at the approach to towns.

How are Irish names translated into English names?

*Irish names were often “translated” into English with names that had no etymological connection, but which sounded similar or had similar meanings. The names in italics represents Irish Gaelic names that may have no connection to the English name given linguistically, but were historically connected to the English name through this process.

Where does the name Dublin come from in Irish?

The Origin of Irish Place Names. Dublin is a phonetic derivation of “ Dubh Linn ” or “ black pool “, while the Irish, “ Baile Atha Cliath ” means “ the town of the ford of the hurdles “. The intermingling of Irish and English languages in Ireland goes back centuries and this is evident in the commonly used names of places.

How can I translate a list of placenames?

This feature enables the searching of c.5,800 toponymic sources. Translate a list of placenames from one language to another in one step, without having to search for them individually. Resources for teachers and learners at primary, post-primary and third level.