Which names were the most popular among males in early medieval Ireland?
To find out, researcher Heather Rose Jones compiled a list of the most-used male names in the book Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae, “a collection of Irish genealogical material from the pre-Norman period (i.e., roughly pre-12th century).”
The 10 most-used names were…
- Áed, 248 instances
- Óengus/Áengus, 191
- Ailill, 145
- Fergus, 140
- Eochaid, 130
- Lugaid, 129
- Domnall, 120
- Cairpre, 109
- Conall, 108
- Cormac, 105
It’s pretty interesting that Áed came out on top, as Áed is the ultimate root of the Aidan-names (e.g. Ayden, Aedan, Adyn) that became so trendy during the first decade of the 2000s.
Other names in Ireland’s medieval top 100 include Crimthann, Crundmáel, Indrechtach, and Imchad. Click the link below to see the rest.
Source: 100 Most Popular Men’s Names in Early Medieval Ireland by Heather Rose Jones
Image: Adapted from Cliffs of Moher 3 by Carogonmu under CC BY-SA 4.0.
