Girl's name
Dearbhla
“DER-vla”
'daughter of a poet' or 'true desire'
Why it is said that way
The bh is a v: DER-vla. Dervla is the same name spelled for English.
- bh, mh → v — or w in the middle of a word
The story behind the name
St Dearbhla of Mayo, whose well and church stand at Fallmore on the Mullet peninsula, is said to have torn out her own eyes to repel a suitor — and to have had her sight restored at the well. The travel writer Dervla Murphy made the name known worldwide.
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