How do you pronounce Móirín?

Móirín is pronounced “mo-REEN”. Irish has three main dialect groups (Ulster, Connacht and Munster) and many names are said differently in each. The respellings here give the pronunciation most commonly heard in Irish English; where a well-known variant exists, both are shown.

What does the name Móirín mean?

Móirín means 'little Mór' — a pet form of Mór.

Is Móirín a boy's or a girl's name?

Móirín is traditionally a girl's name in Ireland.

How else is Móirín spelled?

Other spellings and equivalents include Moreen. Irish names were written down by English-speaking clerks for centuries, which is why so many spellings survive for one name.

Girl's name

Móirín

“mo-REEN”

'little Mór' — a pet form of Mór

Moreen

Source: Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames (1923) ↗

The story behind the name

The -ín ending is the Irish diminutive, the same one that turns Máire into Máirín and Nóra into Nóinín. It is affection, not size.

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