Most helpful customer reviews
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2.0 out of 5 stars
Rough at best, Sep 16 2003
Only mildly accurate, the clumsy mix of true Gaelic forms along with Anglicizations leaves me a bit put off. This might make it useful to many, but it is not at all formal in structure. There are also some names with variations given that are just ridiculously old. Noone uses the root 'dub' in place of 'dubh.' Some truly ancient names are included, but their selections are random. It appears to be mostly gloss from a few limited sources.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Great for reading and reference, Jun 10 2003
This charming name book will assist parents in choosing the appropriate Celtic name for their baby as it provides an extensive list of evocative Irish names. But why an Irish name? For some reason, this musical language and the magical legends of Ireland have become very popular in the Anglo-Saxon world and further afield. The introduction discusses trends in the giving of names and mentions the most popular current Irish names. The chapter Little Dark One provides a cursory history of the settling of Ireland by the Celts and then lists and explains suitable names for dark haired people, such as Darcy, Douglas and Duane. In the chapter The Fairest Of Them All there's mention of the Tuatha De Danaan and a discussion of names like Barry, Finbar, Kelly, etc. Red haired people are treated in the next chapters, where some of the more common names are Rory and Rowan, whilst the next chapter deals with names deriving from the root words for light or brightness; these include Aidan and Keegan. A Celtic Menagerie provides names that are connected with animal names or qualities: here you will find Colm, Conan, Conor, Oscar and Ronan. In the chapter titled The Green Isle, names derived from plants are given, including Darren and Tyrone. Warrior names in the next chapter include Casey, Fergal and Kane. Wednesday's Child provides names for less worthy traits, like Doran, Etain and Kennedy. Banshee names include Bevin, Cliona and Una, while names invented by authors include Fiona, Gulliver, Imogen and Vanessa. The next chapter discusses and lists the retranslation back into Irish, of popular Anglophonic names and also provides a list of Irish names with their English translations. The A - Z index lists all the names and their meanings/histories alphabetically and is followed by a calendar of saints' feast days. This interesting read and valuable reference work concludes with a thorough index.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Full for Such a Little Book, Jan 31 2003
I found this book to be quite helpful and full of information. I did expect it to be bigger, as in a physically larger book, but for it's size it is chock-a-block with names.The book is divided up into sections so that you can find a name based on Irish animals, myths, saints, legends, etc and dark, light or red hair. Then there is a complete name listing from A to Z, a list that translates Irish names to English and another that does English to Irish. What I especially liked was that the author gave you the Irish name, often an alternative spelling (ie. older or more tradish Irish), how to pronounce the name, whether it is for a boy or girl and Anglicanized alternative spelling(s). Each name has a short story about where it came from, what is it's meaning and any other names it is related to. This is a great reference guide and enjoyable to simply read, too.
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