Boy's name
Donnchadh
“DUN-a-khoo”
donn + cath, 'brown-haired warrior' or 'strong warrior'
Why it is said that way
Same shape as Murchadh: a helping vowel, the loch sound in the middle, and a silent dh at the end. DUN-a-khoo.
- dh, gh → silent, or a soft y at the start
- ch → the back-of-the-throat sound in loch — not ch as in church
The story behind the name
Borne by a son of Brian Boru and by kings of Munster and Leinster; the Scottish form is Duncan. Donnchadh Rua Mac Conmara was an 18th-century Waterford poet whose mock-epic on emigration is still read.
Surnames built on this name
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