Baby Names - Éada = Ada?

antseanoifig

I'm hoping someone can help me get to the bottom of this debate.

With a little girl on the way we really like Ada as a name however would also prefer as Gaeilge.

We're of the understanding there is not necessarily a direct translation of Ada however do any of the following work?

- Éada (basing this on Éabha)

- Éda

- Éde

Or maybe we're doomed to accept the Anglicised and Hebrew descended origin!

Thanks 😀

Jim_Hodge

Íde is usually taken as the Irish for Ada around here.

FishOnABike

How about Aobhdhadh just to confuse the foreigners? 😉

antseanoifig

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121189608#Comment_121189608

Ah okay interesting. I'd have had that down as "ee-da"

Thanks!

antseanoifig

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121189697#Comment_121189697

😂 I travel for work. Would have fun explaining that one to colleagues!!

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121190586#Comment_121190586

Correct but it's the Irish equivalent of Ada.

gameoverdude

Don't worry about it.

I've an Irish name, but quite a few of my friends call me Dan or Daniel. Jewish name and no way connected to my name, but meh.

I do like Íde though. Nice ring to it.

Esel

Having a name which you repeatedly have to spell and explain how it sounds could be a major headache through life.

gameoverdude

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121191261#Comment_121191261

Not really. Why would it be?

Esel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121191332#Comment_121191332

Because you repeatedly have to spell it and explain how it sounds...

SuperBowserWorld

Just go with "Ada" for Irish and for English.

gameoverdude

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121191454#Comment_121191454

Fair enough. if you think it's onerous.

You kind have to deal with it have pride in your name.

I_wear_a_hat

According to babynames.com, there were 17 girls given the name "Éada" in ireland in the last 3 or 4 years, so you will not be alone if you choose it.

Éda is definitely incorrect Irish (if i or e occur before a consonant then then i or e must occur after the consonant as well).

I am pretty sure Éde is incorrect also - I can't think of a word in Irish where éde occurs.

Íde is about twice as popular as Éada at the moment.

Interestingly, the name Éadaoin (similar to Éada in meaning) has vanished in the last 3/4 years as Éada and Íde have risen in popularity.

endacl

Ah, sure you just can’t beat the auld ‘focailmadeupachta’ when it comes to inventing Irish names. If you like the Germanic name Ada, name the child Ada. It’s a perfectly good name. If you want an unusual Irish name, how about Cabáiste? Or Eitleán? Those are definitely Irish, and your child will stand out as unique in the playground.

gameoverdude

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121191760#Comment_121191760

Éadaoin again is a lovely name.

gameoverdude

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121191791#Comment_121191791

I'd get banned if I reply to this post further.

antseanoifig

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121191791#Comment_121191791

Well the intention was never to be made up.

The question was, is there an equivalent.

Peregrinus

What do we mean by "equivalent"?

A correspondence between names in different languages arises in four ways:

First, both names come from a common root — Irish Seán and French Jean, both ultimately descended from the Latin Ioannes; Irish Máire, English Mary, French Marie and Spanish/Italian Maria, all from Hebrew Miriam. There are lots of these.

Secondly, a name in one language is simply rewritten using the spelling conventions of another language — Irish Seán becomes American Shawn; Irish/Scots Gaelic Dónal becomes English Donald; English Edmund becomes Irish Eamonn.

(There's a bit of a blurry line between the first and second cases; is Éamonn a transcription into Irish of the English Edmund, or is it a separate name which evolved out of the English Edmund? Or did it start out as one and then become the other?)

Thirdly, names are unrelated and arise independently, but they coincidentally resemble one another and, by convention, they come to be accepted as corresponding to one another — Irish Aodh and English/Norman Hugh; Irish Tadhg and English Timothy, Thaddeus; Irish Somhairle and English Samuel.

Fourthly, a name with a clear meaning is simply translated into another language, retaining the meaning — Greek Theophilos ("one who loves God") becomes Latin Amadeus (same meaning). This is relatively rare.

In some cases we just don't know. The Irish name Éadaoin is fairly old, but we don't know if it started of as a transcription of the Saxon Edwina, or it evolved out of the (very old) Irish Etain.

So, Éada. As an Irish name, I think this is fairly modern. It's unlikely to be a name that evolved independently in Irish, because if it were it would be older, and also because the word éad in Irish means "jealousy" or "envy"; who's going to give their daughter a name like that? My guess is that it's unlikely to have evolved out of Ada, if only because it arises long after the decline of Ada as a popular name. So I'm thinking it's a modern coinage, either a shortening of Éadaoin or a transcription of Ada.

Is it the "equivalent" of Ada? It is if you want it to be. As already noted, a lot of "equivalences" between Irish and foreign names arise simply because everyone treats the names as equivalent. Those conventions have to start somewhere.

Kalimah

Excellent post Peregrinus!

Supercell

My parents gave me a name that I can barely pronounce never mind anyone else. Everytime I meet someone new I have "the conversation" about how to pronounce my name. Please don't do that to your kid!

Tombo2001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121191454#Comment_121191454

Not sure thats true - when you introduce yourself to be people, you dont hand out a piece of paper and ask them to read it. You say your name. And then they say what they hear.

Heaps of Irish names are in the category you describe, hasnt held Saoirse Ronan back, or Roisin Murphy.

Eada is pretty easy to say. if anything, its a common name with multiple different spellings (in an Irish context), much like Aoibhe/ Eva/ Ava/ Eabha, of whom every underage girls gaa team has 4 or 5.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121190601#Comment_121190601

is the anglicisation of Íde not Ita?

Insect Overlord

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121192565#Comment_121192565

That was how the poet Michael Hartnett translated it anyway.

gameoverdude

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121192556#Comment_121192556

It should be but it isn't.

We're kind of lucky in a way. Small country, unique language but also huge exposure to the rest of the world. A lot of us would understand a lot of "foreign" names.