# Irish suffix or prefix that means "mother of" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 26, 2003, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-suffix-or-prefix-that-means-mother-of/157588 "2003-02-26T06:15:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-suffix-or-prefix-that-means-mother-of/157588/21 "2003-02-27T04:55:07Z")
Oooh, you know what? I kind of really like _síol Éabha_ as a username, don’t you? It’d be reflective of my newfound faith, and wouldn’t single out just ONE of my kids in my username. As for Aoibh, as long as it is _pronounced_ “Eve,” I like it. 😉 I have been SEARCHING for a Gaelic girls name that I like to go with my other kids’ names. (Their daddy picked the other names.) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-suffix-or-prefix-that-means-mother-of/157588/22 "2003-02-27T09:03:11Z")
I know an Aoibhin - pron. “Ee-veen” - “little Eve”. ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-suffix-or-prefix-that-means-mother-of/157588/23 "2003-02-27T10:40:27Z")
-ín is a diminuitive in Irish, so you could be Jimín (a particularly naughty little boy in litterature btw). FTR I probably went to school with about 10 Aoifes, and none of them used a fada (´). ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-suffix-or-prefix-that-means-mother-of/157588/24 "2003-02-27T11:42:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by InTransit \* > \*\*I’m not Icelandic, but I always thought that you took your father’s name as your last name, so Paul would be Paul Johnson and Yoko would be Yoko Johndottir. \*\* That’s the traditional way to do it, yes. Icelanders were no less patriarchical than the rest of us in the old days. Iteki’s way is the new feminist thang, as he puts it. ---
**Author:** ![Pergau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7c8e57/32.png) [@Pergau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pergau)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-suffix-or-prefix-that-means-mother-of/157588/25 "2003-02-27T13:37:57Z")
Just for completeness, in Irish, in the genitive case, the "wife of " is Uí so Mrs Pergau is Mrs Uí Phergau. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-suffix-or-prefix-that-means-mother-of/157588/26 "2003-02-28T01:26:58Z")
Arabic: Umm .Hawwa’ Hebrew: Em .Havvah Hindi & Urdu: Havva ki ma Persian: Madar-e Havva Turkish: Havva annesi ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-suffix-or-prefix-that-means-mother-of/157588/27 "2003-02-28T02:54:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Pergau \* > \*\*Just for completeness, in Irish, in the genitive case, the "wife of " is Uí so Mrs Pergau is Mrs Uí Phergau. \*\* Or, if you want to go the whole hog, _(first name)_ Bean Uí Phergau. **Jomo** , “Aoine” meaning “Friday” has no fada. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-suffix-or-prefix-that-means-mother-of/157588/28 "2003-02-28T11:11:19Z")
Look above, **hibernicus** , I had typed _Aoine_ without the accent. It’s hard to see on the letter i, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-suffix-or-prefix-that-means-mother-of/157588/29 "2003-02-28T11:20:36Z")
So it’s not \*Áóíñé \*, then? ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-suffix-or-prefix-that-means-mother-of/157588/30 "2003-03-01T18:21:20Z")
No, no, jjimm, you forgot the \_ under the ó! ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-suffix-or-prefix-that-means-mother-of/157588/31 "2003-03-01T20:56:47Z")
According to **Skulldigger** , Icelandic names traditionally always use the patronymic for a surname, with an -s- inserted, so that if Thor Ivarsson had a son and daughter named Gunnar and Ingrid, they would be Gunnar Thorsson and Ingrid Thorsdottir. > [@](#): > > Jomo, “Aoine” meaning “Friday” has no fada. [Brooklyn accent] And no mudda, eithah! 😉 [/Brooklyn accent] ---
**Author:** ![Pez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5e9695/32.png) [@Pez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pez)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-suffix-or-prefix-that-means-mother-of/157588/32 "2003-03-24T23:57:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polycarp \* > According to **Skulldigger** , Icelandic names traditionally always use the patronymic for a surname, with an -s- inserted, so that if Thor Ivarsson had a son and daughter named Gunnar and Ingrid, they would be Gunnar Thorsson and Ingrid Thorsdottir. Ahh, the Icelandic and Irish are more alike than I thought. In Icelandic to make the last name you take your fathers first (or given) name and add -son (or -dóttir) to the GENETIVE of that name. In many cases the genetive of masculine words (which most names of men are) is indeed -s so you get: name-s-son or name-s-dóttir. Example: the current PM of Iceland is Davíð Oddson, whose father is Oddur. The Gen. of Oddur is NOT Oddurs but Odds (the -ur is an common nominative ending). Girls take their last name in the same way. It is also legal for mothers to use their own name, in the same way as above. Example: footballer Heiðar Helguson, mother Helga, genetive Helgu, add -son = Helguson. ps. in old times it was apparently common to claim that our father above was the father of the child, in Icelandic (and old Norse) He=Hann and from that you get Hans-son or Hanson pps. in Iceland girls don’t change their name when they get married, so you can get a married couple (Davíð Jónsson and Guðrún Oddsdóttir) and their children (Karl Davíðsson and Halldóra Davíðsdóttir) all with different surnames. Makes it very _interesting_ to check into hotels in other countries. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-suffix-or-prefix-that-means-mother-of/157588.md?page=1)