Girl's name
Damhnait
“DAV-nit”
from damh, 'stag' or 'ox' — 'little fawn' or 'little doe'
The story behind the name
St Dympna, a 7th-century Irish princess who fled her father and was killed at Geel in Belgium, became the patron saint of those suffering mental illness — and Geel built a tradition of caring for psychiatric patients in ordinary family homes that is studied to this day.
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