Comments
Meaning
Usage
Pronunciation
Famous
Impression
Other
The meaning is Godawful, but the name itself is tinkly-sounding and very pretty.
1
1
There is a song by the symphonic metal band Leaves' Eyes called "Étaín." It's from their album Meredead.
3
3
The evidence in the tales mentioning Ëtaín strongly point to her representing the moon, not the sun. See
Hicks, Ronald
2009 Cosmography in Tochmarc Étaíne. Journal of
Indo-European Studies 37:115-129
1
Hicks, Ronald
2009 Cosmography in Tochmarc Étaíne. Journal of
Indo-European Studies 37:115-129
1
The book Beyond Shannon and Sean: An Enlightened Guide to Irish Baby Naming states the name ÉTAÍN can be pronounced as either ay-teen or eden.
3
3
In English, "eighteen" may not be a great sound, but the real problem with this name for me is the meaning. I would definitely have some moral tribulations when considering naming a little girl "jealousy". No offense to the Etains out there.
-4
-4
In Old and Middle Irish a t, c, or p in other than initial position is normally pronounced as d, g, b respectively. Thus
cét = 100 was pronounced ke:d & is now spelt céad from a Celtic word kentom which, you will note is very like the Latin word centum. So Étaín was pronounced /e:di:n/ & is written in modern Irish as Éadaoin or quite often in English dress as Aideen. Anyone who knows the modern Irish spelling system will see immediately that Éadaoin would be well represented by the English spelling Aideen. There is therefore no need to confuse it with the numeral 18 in English.
3
cét = 100 was pronounced ke:d & is now spelt céad from a Celtic word kentom which, you will note is very like the Latin word centum. So Étaín was pronounced /e:di:n/ & is written in modern Irish as Éadaoin or quite often in English dress as Aideen. Anyone who knows the modern Irish spelling system will see immediately that Éadaoin would be well represented by the English spelling Aideen. There is therefore no need to confuse it with the numeral 18 in English.
3
It's pronounced eh-teen. I've also heard it pronounced as eh-deen.
3
3
I find myself wishing that this name was pronounced EE-TAIN, because I think that sounds so pretty. But I shrink from naming a child something that is pronounced "incorrectly" even if it DOES sound prettier the other way.
4
4
Why would anyone have a name that sounds like a number?
-2
-2
I guess we can pronounce this like "ee-teen"; but the important thing is that in many countries we haven't "eighteen" - 18, so Étaín is a pretty name!
5
5
Comments are left by users of this website. They are not checked for accuracy.
The meaning isn't so bad when you put it into context and read the story of Étaín in Irish Mythology. It makes perfect sense and her story is actually nice with a happy ending.