- Tadhg
Tadhg, often Anglicized as
Teague , is an Irish name that was very common in the past. This was also the name of an 11th-century king of Connacht.Tadhg is most common in south-west Ireland, particularly inCounty Cork andCounty Kerry .The name has enjoyed a surge in popularity recently, becoming the 64th most common name for baby boys in 2006 according to the
Central Statistics Office inIreland . [ [http://www.cso.ie/releasespublications/documents/births_d_m/current/babynames.pdf 2006 Most Popular Baby Names in Ireland, Central Statistics Office] ]Pronunciation
Tadhg is from the
Irish language . The "adh" is adiphthong that is pronounced like the "i" in the English word "Tiger". The name is pronounced as if pronouncing "Tiger" and dropping the "er".pelling
There was originally no "h" after consonant letters in the Irish language; it was added to fit the modern Roman alphabet. "Tadhg" was originally spelled as "Taḋg" in the Irish
uncial alphabet with anoverdot over the "d" to indicate it is lenited. "Tadg" is often seen as a spelling for "Tadhg" and has been popularly anglicized as "Tighe". Other examples can be found with the spellings of "Tadgh", "Taidgh" (found in North London) as well as the even more uncommon spelling "Tadhgh".The name is found once in an
Old Norse Viking source spelled as "Taðkr", showing that formerly the "dh" was pronounced as the "th" in "the".Meaning
The commonly accepted meaning of Tadhg is "poet," but in actuality the original meaning of the name is more likely from the totemic Celtic *Tazgo-, evolved to the Gaelic Tadhg, which means "badger". [ [http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE523.html Bartleby American Heritage Dictionary] ] There is an alternative view that the name means "weaver," but this is likely incorrect.
When 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 name
Thaddeus orTimothy , but these names are not actually related.Tadhg and its Anglicized form
Taig (not to be confused with the surname Teague) used to be derogatory terms for Irish people, especially those with nationalistic leanings and also because the name had been so common. It has since been replaced by 'Paddy' and 'Mick' [ [http://homepage.mac.com/ciaranbrewster/files/Tadhg.html Ciarán Brewster] ] , except in Northern Ireland.Flashman's Lady, by George MacDonald Fraser, has a comic character Mr. Daedalus Tighe.
Famous People
The American actor
Kevin Tighe , is probably the most famous example of the surname Tighe. However, he was born as John Kevin Fishburn. [ [http://www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=tighe&x=0&y=0 Imdb.com] ]References
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