The distribution of names here has really interested me. Not surprisingly, there's a healthy dose of religious-based names--especially among men--such as Daniel, James, Adam, Luke, and Michael. What's fun is to meet people with uniquely Irish names (at least according to my ear).
One of the serving lady's name on campus is Sinead ("shuh-NADE"). I responded, "Oh, like Sinead O'Connor?" It was probably all she could do to not roll her eyes. It's like when people ask me if I've ever heard of the rapper, Warren G.
Then a cashier I met in Dingle had a nametag with "Siobhan" on it. "Shuh-VAHN" is how you pronounce it, then," she said. Oh yes, "si" make the "shuh" sound and "bh" make th "v" sound.
I went ahead and looked up Irish birth names commonly given in 2010. Here's a completely non-scientific sample:
Female
Aoife
Ciara
Saoirse
Caoimhe
Niamh
Clodagh
Aisling
Male
Conor
Cian
Darragh
Oisin
Cillian
Eoin
Callum
The differences in names between the US and Ireland has been especially apparent and fun in Coca-Cola's recent "share a coke" campaign. The soda bottles have written on them, "Share a Coke with" and then a name ("Aoife") or title ("Mate"). Proof that I'm a total sucker for Coke's amazing marketing machine, I've enjoyed pawing through cans and bottles in shops and restaurants to see what common names in Ireland are (according to Coke, anyway, which should inherently be taken as Truth).
Here are some of my findings:
One of the serving lady's name on campus is Sinead ("shuh-NADE"). I responded, "Oh, like Sinead O'Connor?" It was probably all she could do to not roll her eyes. It's like when people ask me if I've ever heard of the rapper, Warren G.
Then a cashier I met in Dingle had a nametag with "Siobhan" on it. "Shuh-VAHN" is how you pronounce it, then," she said. Oh yes, "si" make the "shuh" sound and "bh" make th "v" sound.
I went ahead and looked up Irish birth names commonly given in 2010. Here's a completely non-scientific sample:
Female
Aoife
Ciara
Saoirse
Caoimhe
Niamh
Clodagh
Aisling
Male
Conor
Cian
Darragh
Oisin
Cillian
Eoin
Callum
The differences in names between the US and Ireland has been especially apparent and fun in Coca-Cola's recent "share a coke" campaign. The soda bottles have written on them, "Share a Coke with" and then a name ("Aoife") or title ("Mate"). Proof that I'm a total sucker for Coke's amazing marketing machine, I've enjoyed pawing through cans and bottles in shops and restaurants to see what common names in Ireland are (according to Coke, anyway, which should inherently be taken as Truth).
Here are some of my findings:
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