Boy's name
Rónán
“ROH-nawn”
IPA: /ɾˠoːˈn̪ˠɑːn̪ˠ/
from rón, 'seal' — 'little seal'
The story behind the name
A dozen saints bore it, and in the old stories it belongs to a king who, deceived by his wife, kills his own son Mael Fothartaig — a tale of tragic misjudgement told in 'Fingal Rónáin'. The seal in the name links it to the selkie lore of the western coasts.
Famous people with this name
- Ronan Keating (born 1977) — Irish singer
- Ronan of Locronan (AD 550–AD 700) — Irish saint
- Ronan Hardiman (born 1961) — Irish composer
- Ronan Finn (born 1987) — Irish footballer
- Ronan Byrne (born 1998) — Irish rower
Irish people with an English Wikipedia article whose given name is recorded as Rónán 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