Tadhg Explained

Tadhg
Pronunciation:
pronounced as /ga/
Gender:Masculine
Language:Irish
Origin:Tadc
Meaning:poet, philosopher, storyteller
Shortform:Tig
Petname:Taidhgín
Cognate:Teague, Taig, Taigue

Tadhg, also Taḋg (pronounced as /ga/),[1] [2] commonly anglicized as "Taig" or "Teague",[3] [4] [5] [6] is an Irish masculine name that was very common when the Goidelic languages predominated, to the extent that it is a synecdoche for Irish-speaking man. The name signifies "poet" or "philosopher". This was also the name of many Gaelic Irish kings from the 10th to the 16th centuries, particularly in Connacht and Munster. Tadhg is most common in southwest Ireland, particularly in County Cork and County Kerry. The name has had a surge in popularity in the early 21st century;[7] As of 2000 it was the 92nd most common name for baby boys in Ireland, according to the Central Statistics Office, rising to 69th by 2005.[8] By 2022, it had risen to the 7th most common name for newly registered male births.[9]

Etymology

The commonly accepted meaning of Tadhg is "poet"[10] or "storyteller". The ultimate derivation is from the Celtic, who were poets in early Celtic society. In any case, the name is widely attested in Gaulish and early British names.

When the whole of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, many Irish names and place-names were given English meanings. Due to similarity in sound, Tadhg is often listed as an Irish equivalent of the English-language names Timothy (Tim) or Thaddeus.

The name is also spelled "Taḋg" in Gaelic type with an overdot over the d to indicate it is lenited; the "dh" serves a similar purpose in the modern spelling. Tadhg has been anglicized as "Taihg", "Tighe" and "Teague". Alternative spellings include "Tadgh" and "Tadg".[11]

Synecdoche

Tadhg is also a metonym and was once so common as an Irish name that it became synonymous with the typical Irishman in the same way that Paddy or Mick might be today. Hence, Irish phrases such as Irish: Tadhg an mhargaidh (lit: Tadhg of the market) or Irish: Tadhg na sráide (lit: Tadhg of the street) are similar to the English language expression "average Joe" or "the man on the street"

See main article: Taig. The anglicisation Taig (and formerly Teague) has been used in English since the seventeenth century to refer to Irishmen. The Irish-language name is used defiantly in a Jacobite poem written in the 1690s:

Original[12]   Translation
"You Popish rogue", Irish: ní leomhaid a labhairt sinn"You Popish rogue" is not spoken
Irish: acht "Cromwellian dog" Irish: is focal faire againnbut "Cromwellian dog" is our watchword,
Irish: nó "cia sud thall" go teann gan eagla"Who goes there" does not provoke fear,
Irish: "Mise Tadhg" géadh teinn an t-agallamh"I am Tadhg" is the answer given

Taig in the Troubles in Northern Ireland was used as an abusive and pejorative term by Protestant loyalists to refer to Catholic nationalists.

People with the name

Traditional

Gaelic nobility

Recent

See also

Notes and References

  1. (pronunciations given for the name Tadhg separately from those for the slang/pejorative Teague.)
  2. Web site: Page:Quiggin Dialect of Donegal 0030.png - Wikisource, the free online library . 2024-01-03 . en.wikisource.org . en.
  3. Book: Nash, J. . New Essays on Maria Edgeworth . 2006 . Ashgate Pub. . 978-0-7546-5175-8 . 145 . 8 January 2017.
  4. Book: Coghlan, P. . Irish Names for Children . 1998 . Mercier Press . 978-1-85635-214-7 . 56 . 8 January 2017.
  5. Book: Moser, J.P. . Irish Masculinity on Screen: The Pugilists and Peacemakers of John Ford, Jim Sheridan and Paul Greengrass . 2013 . MCFARLAND & Company Incorporated . 978-0-7864-7416-5 . 117 . 8 January 2017.
  6. Book: Mountain, H. . The Celtic Encyclopedia . 1998 . Universal Publishers . 978-1-58112-893-2 . 4 . 991 . 8 January 2017.
  7. Web site: The Irish For: The rise of Rían - the latest baby names in Ireland . Ó Séaghdha . Darach . 3 March 2022 . thejournal.ie . The Journal . 23 May 2022 .
  8. Web site: Irish Babies' Names 2005 . Central Statistics Office . cso.ie . 16 June 2006 . 22 February 2024 .
  9. Web site: Irish Babies' Names 2022 . cso.ie . Central Statistics Office . 24 February 2023 . 22 February 2024 .
  10. Babies' Names, Oxford University Press, 1995,, entry for "Tadhg"
  11. Web site: Behind the Name: Tadhg, the Irish boy’s name going international . rollercoaster.ie . 5 February 2024 . 21 February 2024 . The most common spelling these days is Tadhg, but it can be written as Tadgh or Tadg..
  12. Irish: Céad buidhe re Dia ("A hundred thanks to God") by Diarmaid Mac Cárthaigh
  13. Book: George MacDonald Fraser . Flashman's Lady (The Flashman Papers, Book 3) . 1 December 2011 . HarperCollins Publishers . 978-0-00-744949-1.
  14. Book: Lance Pettitt . Screening Ireland: Film and Television Representation . 2000 . Manchester University Press . 978-0-7190-5270-5 . 124–.

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