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.
Eamon says
June 26, 2016 at 10:18 AMEamon can only be pronounced as it is written by Irish or Scotish accents. The northern English accent is close and possibly American accents. This is because the ‘ea’ is diphthong which is a different vowel formed by two vowels. This sound is natural in Irish accents but totally alien in a southern English accent. The pronunciation is neither ‘a’ as in ‘tame (how it is pronounced in southern England) or ‘e’ as in beam. Northern English English and American English give a more similar pronunciation but it is not the same.
Edward says
December 8, 2013 at 9:33 PMMy wife and I struggled over picking a name for our boy. I wanted traditional, she wanted unique. When I sprung on her the wish to name our boy Éamonn, she was very soon on board.
But I really wanted to comment because I noticed the posting date of this name of the day. My son, Éamonn Miles was born September 25, 2008 – the day before this was posted.
It was also about a month after Australia’s Eamonn Sullivan set a world record at the 2008 Summer Olympics. My son’s name had already been decided by that point. 🙂
appellationmountain says
December 8, 2013 at 10:04 PMWhat a happy coincidence, Edward – and what a lovely name! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Eamonn B. says
December 7, 2013 at 8:54 PMI grew up in America and am of Irish family descent. I love my name as it is a family name, but dammit if every teacher I ever had in school didn’t butcher my name each first day of class.
I’m often complimented on my name and it always makes for good conversation. With so many Americans claiming family history with the Irish, the name Eamonn really sets you above the rest.
I’ve met 3 other Eamon(n)’s in my time, our names were an immediate bond. I guess it’s not so often you meet one, like Mike or John.
Éamonn says
September 2, 2013 at 8:28 PMThere is so much confusion over the way Éamonn or Eámonn or Eamonn can or is pronounced especially if your not from Ireland and don’t understand how the Irish language works. So to clear things up, it was originally spelt with what is called a “fada” over the “E” or “A”. A fada is basically an accent used in Gaelic {Irish language} similarly to other languages that have markings over certain letters to change the way the letter is pronounced. In this case it causes the the “E” to act like a silent letter hence the pronunciation “Ay-Min” or “Ay-Mon” depending on what part of Ireland your from. Over time the fada seems to have gotten lost in use regarding the name which in my opinion is where the confusion stems from about how to pronounce it.
appellationmountain says
September 3, 2013 at 7:55 PMThanks very much for the expert insight! 😉
Eamonn Oliver Brown says
February 2, 2012 at 12:53 AMMy name Eamonn and i live in Ireland. the correct way to pronouce my name is
aim mon Once you get to know a person their name nearly always seems to suit them
Eamonn is no different, and its roots originate in Ireland.
Rinn says
February 27, 2011 at 10:56 PMStumbled upon this cheery blog while looking for baby names. I wanted to re-iterate what the initial post states and that is that Eamon’s roots are Old English and not actually Irish.
I think in countries where modern English is used that the pronounciation should be phonetic and thus, “EE-mun.” I mean, do you know of any words that begin with ‘Ea’ and sound like ‘Ay’? Hint: there aren’t any.
This way you are not setting the kid up for a lifetime of correcting people on the pronounciation.
It’s a great name. But it’s a name that should be spoken like all other ‘Ea’ words like east, easy, eagle and easel.
Eamon P. says
April 11, 2015 at 8:19 PMI am completely confused by your post. My name is Eamon, and I am proud of my Irish heritage. It also sets me apart from the rest of all the John’s and Michael’s. The correct pronunciation is actually “ay-min,” not “ee-mun,” as you suggested. This is because the name should be spelled “Éamon,” where the accent mark (AKA fada) makes the “e” sound an “ay.” It makes no sense to change the pronunciation of the name just because it is not English. For example, hove you ever seen a “Hwan” instead of a Juan? I am also slightly offended on how you want to prevent a lifetime of correcting people. To me, I like the originality and how it represents my culture.
appellationmountain says
April 12, 2015 at 11:17 AMEamon, I think the comment reflects the experience of an American English speaker.
We don’t have diacritical marks in American English, and they’re not well understood.
Plenty of parents do respell names to make them more accessible. (I’ve never met a Hwan, but I’ve certainly met people named Shawn, Declan, Kaitlyn, Ashlyn, and so on.)
Often the pronunciation of a name does change, either by accident or intention. It is intuitive to see and say “Ea” like “ee” in American English – east, eagle, etc. – and so if parents saw the name Eamon on a baby name list, it’s reasonable that they might fall in love with the idea of EE mun rather than AY mun.
Lots of names are different in English – Genevieve, for example. We could say it zhen VEE ehv, just as it is said in French. But we don’t. Nina once sounded like the number nine, but now it almost always rhymes with Lena and Tina. Sounds aren’t fixed.
Eamon is a great Irish name, and I’m sure it would wear well in the US, just as many other traditionally Irish names do. But all names evolve and change as they are embraced by parents. It’s not meant to be a personal insult – and certainly shouldn’t detract from your pride in your name.
Eamon P. says
April 12, 2015 at 6:59 PMThank you for the great response. Being American, I can understand how people mispronounce the name and how it is sometimes frustrating when you have to repeat the correct pronunciation. I was only upset over Rinn stating how Eamon should be pronounced. I am sure it was just a misunderstanding. Thank you for the clear response and your understanding.
Eamon says
June 26, 2016 at 9:57 AMThe ‘ea’ in the name Eamon is a diphthong which is a different vowel formed from the juxtaposition of the two. This is a very natural pronunciation with any Irish accent or Scotish but is less so with an American accent and totally alien to a southern English accent. The nearest a non Irish person gets to it is the ‘at’ sound in ‘bay’ or ‘say’ although northern English is closer than south.
emily says
March 12, 2010 at 10:28 PMMy 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 🙂
LC says
June 15, 2009 at 11:43 PMMy 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.
Eamonn says
February 1, 2009 at 8:53 AMMind 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.
Eamonn says
February 1, 2009 at 8:47 AMEamonn Ivan Sterley, now there’s a name. He he, chuckle.
Emmy Jo says
September 28, 2008 at 8:38 AMI 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.
Laney McDonald says
September 27, 2008 at 12:41 AMI 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.
Laney McDonald says
September 26, 2008 at 10:25 PMEamon 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.
Laney McDonald says
September 26, 2008 at 10:22 PMEamon 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.
Lola says
September 26, 2008 at 4:50 PMI 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!