Mike Collin's latest Letter from Ireland is fascinating!

(If you'd like to find a letter from Ireland in your email box every Sunday morning, read more here. It's free and always entertaining.)

Today's topic was "Do you know your name in Irish?" Mike provided Irish equivalents--and pronunciations--of "English" given names for both girls and boys. He suggests you could "have some fun" by occasionally calling friends and family by the Irish version of their name.

English Names and Irish Equivalents

Let’s start with some girls' names:

• English: Jane/Janet – Equivalent Irish: Sinéad (pronounced "Shin-ade").
• English: Barbara – Equivalent Irish: Gormladh (pronounced "Gurm-la").
• English: Joan/Joanna/Hannah – Equivalent Irish: Siobhán (pronounced "Shiv-awn").
• English: Margaret – Equivalent Irish: Mairéad (pronounced "Mor-ade").
• English: Elizabeth – Equivalent Irish: Sibeal (pronounced "Sybil").
• English: Abigail/Deborah – Equivalent Irish: Gobnait (pronounced "Gub-nit").
• English: Grace – Equivalent Irish: Gráinne (pronounced "Grawn-ya").
• English: Marion– Equivalent Irish: Muireann (pronounced "Mwir-in").

And on to the boys:

• English: Charles – Equivalent Irish: Cathal (pronounced "Cah-hal"). This also gives us the surname Cahill. As you may be aware, most Irish surnames are derived from first names.
• English: Terence/Terry – Equivalent Irish: Turlough (pronounced "Tur-lock")
• English: James – Equivalent Irish: Séamus (pronounced "Shay-mus") - often Shay for short.
• English: Daniel – Equivalent Irish: Domhnall/Dónal (pronounced "Dough-nal"). This also gives us the surnames McDonnell and O’Donnell. Think of "Daniel O’Donnell".
• English: Timothy – Equivalent Irish: Tadhg (pronounced "tie-g").
• English: Denis – Equivalent Irish: Donnchadha (pronounced "Dunn-a-ka").
• English: Edward – Equivalent Irish: Eamon (pronounced "aim-on").
• English: Dermot/Jeremiah – Equivalent Irish: Diarmuid (pronounced "dear-mid").