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Help[Facts] Re: Mapuche origin
in reply to a message by Lumia
Thank you!
What is the Mapuche origin of the name? I do wonder if the Irish name Eileen also affected this in Chile, since I know there certainly were Irish settlers in Chile, because of their independence leader Bernardo O'Higgins. :)
http://www.nndb.com/people/922/000092646/
What is the Mapuche origin of the name? I do wonder if the Irish name Eileen also affected this in Chile, since I know there certainly were Irish settlers in Chile, because of their independence leader Bernardo O'Higgins. :)
http://www.nndb.com/people/922/000092646/
This message was edited 5/27/2008, 9:14 AM
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Replies
The Mapuches are one of the native cultures of Chile and Argentina; they were called Araucans, too. In their language, Ailín (also spelled Aylín in some sources) means "very clear, transparent".
Because of the similarity, some people have mixed up Ailín with two other Mapuche names. The first one is Ailén (with the variants Aillén and Aylén), coming from the Mapuche word ailliñ, "ember, red-hot coal", and some people interpret it as "little ember" and other people as "burning ember".
The second one is Ayelén, which in Mapuche means "happy, glad".
The three names are right now popular in Argentina because of its use in soap operas and sitcoms and the revival of native first names.
In this case, the English Eileen, adaptation of the Irish Eibhlín, has nothing to do with the Mapuche Ailín.
Because of the similarity, some people have mixed up Ailín with two other Mapuche names. The first one is Ailén (with the variants Aillén and Aylén), coming from the Mapuche word ailliñ, "ember, red-hot coal", and some people interpret it as "little ember" and other people as "burning ember".
The second one is Ayelén, which in Mapuche means "happy, glad".
The three names are right now popular in Argentina because of its use in soap operas and sitcoms and the revival of native first names.
In this case, the English Eileen, adaptation of the Irish Eibhlín, has nothing to do with the Mapuche Ailín.
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Thank you again
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