Monday, March 17, 2008

Happy St. Patrick's Day

While I don't think I am techincally Irish (I am a little fuzzy on some my genealogy) One day each year I find it hard to escape the notion. When asked if I am Irish, I answer with "In name only" So today I thought I would share this connection with you.

Erin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ErinGiven Name

A topographic map of Ireland, which Erin is named after

This article is about the meaning of Erin.
Erin is a Hiberno-English derivative of Irish Gaelic Éirinn, the dative case - and also locative case - of Éire, the Irish word for "Ireland".[1] Poets and also nineteenth-century Irish nationalists also used Erin in English as a romantic name for Ireland, as shown in the catchphrase (when speaking of Ireland's experiences with Britain), "Let Erin Remember". Erin has also been used as a poetic name for peace and love. According to Irish mythology and folklore, the name was given to the land by the Milesians after the goddess Ériu. Erin Go Bragh (Éirinn Go Brách, in standard orthography), often heard during St. Patrick's Day, means "Ireland Forever". The etymological history of the word as it drifted throughout the Gaelic region gave rise to its use by the early Scots to both mean "Ireland", as well as "West", as Ireland lay to the geographic west of Scotland. [2]
Erin is a given name sometimes for both sexes, although it is essentially and foremost a female name.
Erin has been used as one of the many spellings of the name of the Scottish Clan Irwin, which has been involved in the Scottish Plantations of Ireland.[3] However, their name was originally derived from the place of the same name near Dumfries, and means "green water", from Brittonic ir afon. [4] [5]

2 comments:

Brenda said...

from now on...I'm calling you GREEN WATER.

Erinn said...

Too funny - yes it is interesting when the meaning of your name is a a country.