Boy's name

Odhrán

“OH-rawn”

from odhar, 'dun, sallow, pale-brown' — 'little pale one'

OranOdranOrin
Why it is said that way

The dh is silent, so the name is shorter than it looks: OH-rawn.

  • dh, gh → silent, or a soft y at the start
  • á é í ó ú (the fada) → a long vowel — and never optional

All seven rules, and every name with a respelling →

The story behind the name

St Odhrán was one of the twelve who sailed with Colmcille to Iona, and the first of them to die there; the island's oldest burial ground, Reilig Odhráin, where Scottish kings were laid, still carries his name.

Famous people with this name

Irish people with an English Wikipedia article whose given name is recorded as Odhrán on Wikidata; descriptions from Wikidata.

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