Name of the Day: Eamon
We all know that vowels are big these days. And boys’ names ending in -n? There’s nothing hotter. So we were surprised to learn that this choice has never cracked the US Top 1000.
Thanks to Laney for suggesting our Name of the Day: Eamon.
We had to think about how to pronounce Eamon, but it turns out our initial hunch was correct: he’s AY man or AY mon. If we only had a Scottish accent, I suspect the latter would sound better, but since all we can offer is a bland, Mid-Atlantic approach, we’re favoring something closer to AY man.
Either way, Éamonn is the Irish version of Edmund. We like Edward and Edwin, but Edmund feels a bit dour. Eamon offers an intriguing means to revive the name with a lot of modern style and spirit. We think the spelling variant with just one “n” is more accessible in the US – and seems to appear more often in the census records, too.
His roots are Old English. All the Ed- names derive from the element ead, meaning rich. The ending mund is usually translated as protector. Back in the day, Edmund was worn by kings and saints, and it’s never really gone out of use. But it has declined rather dramatically, disappearing from the US Top 1000 entirely after 1997.
Famous Eamons are many, but they tend to hail from the other side of the Atlantic, including:
- Éamonn Ceannt, an Irish nationalist known for his role in the 1916 Easter Rising and a colleague of Éamon de Valera;
- Eamonn Andrews, a radio host who made the leap to television early in its development in Ireland;
- Eamonn Holmes, a well-known UK television presenter currently active;
- The Italian-Irish, Staten Island-born pop rap one-hit-wonder Eamon Doyle, whose 2004 single boasts a name too R-rated for inclusion here;
- Golfer Eamonn Darcy;
- Swimmer Eamon Sullivan;
- Most famously, American-born Irish president Eamon de Valera, born Edward.
The name is still used sparingly in Canada and Scotland, along with variant spelling Eamonn.
While we suspect it would strike a more familiar note on the other side of the Atlantic, even in the US, it has a ring of authenticity about it that recent innovations like Drayton and Braven lack.
Eamon was also the name of an early adventure game written for Apple computers in 1980. Unlike today’s flashy, graphics-intensive productions, Eamon felt more like a Choose Your Own Adventure story. But it was one of the first interactive games to encourage users to write expansion modules and had a faithful following for many years. While today Eamon is mostly a memory, it holds an interesting place in gaming history.
We think Eamon works as an authentic Irish heritage name, though choices like Ronan might be easier to pronounce and even spell. Still, when compared with the tired Aidan, Eamon seems incredibly fresh – and not at all difficult to love.
Filed under: Kiss Me I'm Irish, Names for Boys, Names of the Day | 9 Comments
Tags: Eamon, Eamonn
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I am thoroughly charmed by Eamon. Funny though, when I say it sound rather Jamaican (Ay
-mon) to myself. Which, upon reflection seems to be rather proper anyway. (Hmm?) I’m a solid fan of Edward (hence him being either at the front or the mddle of just about every combo I have) but not Edmund. He’s a bit too doughy for me and the Narnia Edmund firmly squashed any like I might have had when I was small. But Eamon *is* charming. Light and sweet yet still firmly masculine. My only problem with Eamon is simple, he’s still a two syllable, ends in in ‘n’ name. He stands out but not too much. Which is perfect for a lot of folks but not me. I still prefer my ‘O’ & ‘S’ enders, personally. I’ will definitely add Eamon to my list of “fresh suggestions” for folks online however. I’d love to see him on someone else’s boy!
Eamon is a great name. I’ve never even heard of the video game before so I was shocked when I read this post but that doesn’t bother me a bit. I am Irish and my boyfriend is part Irish; We love classy sounding Irish names and Eamon is a good example of that. I am strongly attached to this name. I think our first son will be named Eamon, but we’re still trying to figure out middle names.
I’m so sick of hearing Aidan and anything that rhymes with it, especially Jayden (ugly, horrible name). Eamon is so much nicer and very unique.
Eamon is a great name. I’ve never even heard of the video game before so I was shocked when I read this post but that doesn’t bother me a bit. I am Irish and my boyfriend is part Irish; We love classy sounding Irish names and Eamon is a good example of that. I am strongly attached to this name. I think our first son will be named Eamon, but we’re still trying to figure out middle names.
I love Eamon! I am 99% Irish and 1% Latvian and my boyfriend is half Irish, half German so we love classic Irish names. It’s a great name. We’re still set on it if we have a boy, but we are still working on middle names.
Aidan (Hayden, Brayden, Kayden, Jayden, etc.) are way overrated and with the exception of Aidan, they are all flimsy and horrible in my opinion. I especially hate Jayden. I could say the same for most other trendy names. The only name that rhymes with Aidan that I would even consider is Raidon/Raiden since it is actually a Japanese name unrelated to Aidan. It is the name of the Japanese thunder God, and has a totally different pronunciation than Aidan too. I would only use it for a pet though. That is a pretty interesting choice to explore, although it would likely be confused with the other -aidan/ayden/aiden/aydon/aidon names.
I like Edward, but my boyfriend doesn’t because of the association with Ed, Edd and Eddy. Funny how all 3 of the main characters have variants of the same name.
I really like Eamon, and I think it’s a great alternative to Aidan, Ian, Evan, and all the other overused Irish/Scottish/Welsh names. I’m not against the two-syllable ends-in-N boys’ names as long as they sound distinctive, which I think Eamon does. I still prefer the S-endings (like Julius and Miles), but I doubt I’ll ever be able to talk my husband into these.
My favorite names are ones I have some sort of personal connection to (either through people I’ve known, books I’ve read, or history I’ve studied), so I’d probably never use Eamon on a son, but it’s definitely a name I’ll be suggesting to others.
Eamonn Ivan Sterley, now there’s a name. He he, chuckle.
Mind you, growing up in South Africa, I identified with the Janis Ian song “At Seventeen:” “A brown eyed girl in hand me downs, Whose name I never could pronounce….” Everyone got it wrong, including my own mother, until we moved to Eire.
My husband’s name is Ammon (ryhmes with salmon), which people often mispronounce as Eamon. I love his name and wonder if you’ve done a page on that one ever? It was derived from the Egyptian sun god Amon-Ra.
My sons name is Eamon and I love it, so does the whole family. He is about 50% irish and is a fun loving kid with a name that fits him perfectly. We pronounce it more like Ay-min and if someone such as a nurse does not know the name, it is usually mis-pronounced. I expected it, and it’s always a story to tell about how it derives from Ireland and is a “true” Irish name. It beats being like everyone else. It’s not a made up name, but it is truly unique. Eamon Robert, one of a kind