Girl's name
Clíodhna
“KLEE-na”
uncertain; borne by a figure of the Otherworld
Why it is said that way
The dh is silent: KLEE-na. She is a queen of the sídhe in the Munster stories.
- dh, gh → silent, or a soft y at the start
The story behind the name
Clíodhna was a woman of the sídhe who left the Otherworld for a mortal love and was drowned by a great wave at Glandore in County Cork — 'Clíodhna's Wave', one of the three great waves of Ireland. She later became a guardian spirit of the MacCarthys.
Where the name belongs
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