Girl's name
Bláthnaid
“BLAW-nid”
from bláth, 'flower' — 'little flower' or 'flower-like'
Why it is said that way
The th is an h, and after the long á it all but disappears: BLAW-nid. There is no th sound in Irish at all.
- th → h — never the English th
- á é í ó ú (the fada) → a long vowel — and never optional
The story behind the name
In the Ulster Cycle, Blathnát betrays her husband Cú Roí to Cú Chulainn — and is thrown from a cliff by the dead man's poet in revenge. The name's real career, though, is as an Irish equivalent of Flora and Florence.
Meanings follow Ó Corráin & Maguire's Irish Names and Woulfe; pronunciations give the commonest Irish-English form. Know this name better — a dialect pronunciation, a family tradition? Tell us. · All Irish names A–Z