Tadhg

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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 in County Cork and County 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 in Ireland.^[1]

1 Pronunciation
2 Spelling
3 Meaning
4 References

[edit] Pronunciation

Tadhg is from the Irish language. The adh is a diphthong that is pronounced like the i in the English word Tiger. In fact, the name itself is pronounced as if pronouncing Tiger and dropping the er.

[edit] Spelling

There was originally no "h" 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 an overdot 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 one of "Tadhgh".

[edit] 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.^[2] There is an alternative view that the name actually 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 or Timothy, 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 It has since been replaced by 'Paddy' and 'Mick'.^[3]