Girl's name
Órlaith
“OR-la”
ór + flaith, 'golden princess' or 'golden lady'
Why it is said that way
The th at the end is barely there, so it is OR-la. The name means golden princess, and Órla is the same name written shorter.
- th → h — never the English th
- á é í ó ú (the fada) → a long vowel — and never optional
The story behind the name
A genuinely royal name: Órlaith, sister of Brian Boru, was queen to the high king Donnchad Donn and was put to death in 941, and the annals record several princesses of the name in the 10th and 11th centuries. It vanished for most of a millennium and returned in the 20th century, usually spelled Orla.
Its age
Associated with AD 941 — Norse Cities & the Rise of Brian.
See Ireland in that year on the atlas ↗
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