Laragh

Irish feminine given name that is derived from the name of a village or a townland, but it is unclear which one exactly, as there are two villages and three townlands by the name of Laragh in Ireland. In Northern Ireland, there are even four townlands with that name - but no villages, however.

The meaning of the name tends to differ between the villages and the townlands. In the case of the two villages, it is said to be derived from Gaelic Láithreach meaning "the site (or ruins) of a building". Other sources give a somewhat similar meaning for Laragh, varying from "this or the place" to "a place of special significance to a person" and even "a place of sanctuary". But for at least one of the townlands (the one in county Longford), the name is derived from Gaelic Leath Ráth meaning "half a ringfort". That is rather different compared to the other meanings, even though it still refers to some sort of place or building. I guess perhaps the safest conclusion to make from all of this now is that Laragh generally refers to a place (which can be a building or just a particular geographical spot) and then best leave it at that.

A known bearer of this name is the Irish model Laragh McCann (b. 1990).