Is that Santa Claus on summer holidays?
Fotos c) by Margit Anna BinderIt always surprises me that the Irish generally can tell from which part of the country someone is from, only by hearing their surnames. The family name “Power” for example is most common in Waterford, people with the name “Baxter” live in Down, Antrim and Tyrone.......
The Name “Doyle”, in Gaelic, Ó Dubhghaill, means “dark foreigner” or “dark and tall”. That was a name used for the Vikings who invaded the country a long time ago and they were the ancestors of the “Doyle’s”. This name was spelt in many different ways, e.g. Doyle, Doyill, Doile, Dahl and many more.
As it is known that the Vikings mostly went to Dublin, Wexford and Waterford, it is more than likely that someone named “Doyle” comes from the Eastern part of the country.
I never ever met someone in Austria, who tries to discover from which province someone comes from. We Austrians don’t really care about those things and I believe it would be too difficult to find out, anyway. We did not even try to Austrianise a foreign name and when you look into our telephone books, you wouldn’t know which country you are in, because there are not many original Austrian names. So, when someone is called “Nowak”, we just know that this person has Slavic roots, but it could be from many generations back in time, but we would never be able to tell from which province the person called “Nowak” comes from.
I love to listen to my Irish family when they are talking about somebody. Everybody seems to know everyone, and if they don’t know a certain person personally, then they know someone who knows him or her. In the case that person is a total stranger in the area, they are analysing where his family are probably living by using his surname as a hint.
It is much more complicated with the first names. Gerry (Gerald), my brother in law, who is actually called Patrick, told me a story about a guy named Jack, who was called Owen by his parents to distinguish him better from Shawn, his dad, who was also called Sean. Does that sound crazy to you? I think I have to explain that Jack, Owen, Shawn and Sean are all variants of the name John. It is so simple, isn’t it?
By the way the Irish are often called “Paddy” abroad, that comes from St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland and yet the name Patrick is just an introduced one. St. Patrick himself was brought into Ireland as a slave and the name Patrick is mainly found to be held by the English and the Welsh, who came in with the Normans and are not original Irish natives. That means the name “Paddy” for an Irish person, is actually used wrong. A tip for you: When you meet an Irish, don’t call him “Paddy”, he might not like it as it is often used by the English to try and demean an Irish person.
The Name “Doyle”, in Gaelic, Ó Dubhghaill, means “dark foreigner” or “dark and tall”. That was a name used for the Vikings who invaded the country a long time ago and they were the ancestors of the “Doyle’s”. This name was spelt in many different ways, e.g. Doyle, Doyill, Doile, Dahl and many more.
As it is known that the Vikings mostly went to Dublin, Wexford and Waterford, it is more than likely that someone named “Doyle” comes from the Eastern part of the country.
I never ever met someone in Austria, who tries to discover from which province someone comes from. We Austrians don’t really care about those things and I believe it would be too difficult to find out, anyway. We did not even try to Austrianise a foreign name and when you look into our telephone books, you wouldn’t know which country you are in, because there are not many original Austrian names. So, when someone is called “Nowak”, we just know that this person has Slavic roots, but it could be from many generations back in time, but we would never be able to tell from which province the person called “Nowak” comes from.
I love to listen to my Irish family when they are talking about somebody. Everybody seems to know everyone, and if they don’t know a certain person personally, then they know someone who knows him or her. In the case that person is a total stranger in the area, they are analysing where his family are probably living by using his surname as a hint.
It is much more complicated with the first names. Gerry (Gerald), my brother in law, who is actually called Patrick, told me a story about a guy named Jack, who was called Owen by his parents to distinguish him better from Shawn, his dad, who was also called Sean. Does that sound crazy to you? I think I have to explain that Jack, Owen, Shawn and Sean are all variants of the name John. It is so simple, isn’t it?
By the way the Irish are often called “Paddy” abroad, that comes from St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland and yet the name Patrick is just an introduced one. St. Patrick himself was brought into Ireland as a slave and the name Patrick is mainly found to be held by the English and the Welsh, who came in with the Normans and are not original Irish natives. That means the name “Paddy” for an Irish person, is actually used wrong. A tip for you: When you meet an Irish, don’t call him “Paddy”, he might not like it as it is often used by the English to try and demean an Irish person.
