Comments on: Name of the Day: Tadhg

By: appellationmountain

appellationmountain — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:53:09 +0000

I’m fairly confident they’re originally two unrelated names – Tadhg and Tegwen. The gwen element in Tegwen does mean fair, and the first element has a similar meaning. I can imagine that Teagan could stand in for Tegwen as easily as it could serve as a diminutive form of Tadhg, but I think that’s a coincidence that has developed relatively recently.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 06:50:01 +0000

I thought that Teagan was a modern variant of an old Welsh spelling of “Tegwen” meaning “beautiful, blessed or fair.” Am I wrong?

By: SilentOne

SilentOne — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:11:15 +0000

I’m in the same boat here- I read through and still hear Tadj or Tadguh or some such thing in my mind.

But I have automatically heard Neeve for Niamh from almost as soon as I learned the correct pronunciation. I’m not sure why that one was so much easier for me.

By: SilentOne

SilentOne — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:06:44 +0000

I actually have a neighbor Tegan who was named after the Doctor Who character.

By: appellationmountain

appellationmountain — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:57:56 +0000

Niamh will be NotD on 2/8 – how have I not written about her yet? As for the blood question, I’m not sure. I met a non-Japanese couple who called their daughter Keiko. (She’s half-German and looks like a little fraulein – blonde hair, blue eyes.) My neighbors paired a very Scottish first name (her side) with his obviously Latino surname. Seamus looks, well, half-Scottish, half-Latino. And plenty of families use names to celebrate their Russian/French/Italian heritage, even though it is in the distant past … and means neglecting other heritages.

I could go on. I think the bottom line is this – if the name isn’t actually going to cause your child distress, you can consider it. But much of the decision has to do with your personal comfort level, where you live, how adventurous your friends and family have been with baby names … we could call our kid Niamh here, in Metro DC, and no one would be fussed. But in my smaller, less cosmopolitan hometown? Maybe not so much.

By: Mercedes

Mercedes — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:50:39 +0000

This is definitely my all time favorite Gaelic boy’s name. I adore Irish names.. you should do a post on Niamh (favorite girl’s name). But is is completely weird to name your child a so incredibly Irish name (as opposed to names like Kathleen or Liam that are more Americanized) if you haven’t got a drop of Irish blood in you?

By: appellationmountain

appellationmountain — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:33:06 +0000

I’m not sure that Teagan’s popularity is actually related to Tadhg – isn’t that another TV tie-in? Hmmm … there was a character called Tegan on Doctor Who back in the 80s. I’m drawing a blank – a soap opera, maybe?

By: appellationmountain

appellationmountain — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:29:28 +0000

Claire, you’re probably right – except that I’m hearing more parents consider non-intuitively pronounced choices like Niamh. It may the logical extension of the Irish naming trend that’s been building for years. (I know two baby Maeves!)

By: appellationmountain

appellationmountain — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:27:47 +0000

LOL – me, too, Corinne! And I’ve seen it listed SO many places with Teague as an equivalent. I think if Tadhg were in the middle spot, you could do as you please.

Actually, this one is such a rarity in the US, I can’t see the harm in TEIG, either.

By: Claire

Claire — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:28:55 +0000

I read this post earlier and came back to see comments. I still skimmed through and read it as Tad-ig. There’s no way this child would ever have anyone call him by the right name.