View Message

This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

[Opinions] Re: Fake Irish?
If I'm not mistaken, Colleen is the Anglisized form of Cailin, which is in fact Irish.
Archived Thread - replies disabled
vote up1

Replies

Yes, but Cailin was not used as a name in Ireland until very recently. It was just the Irish Gaelic word for "girl." It was considered about as appropriate to name your daughter Colleen or Cailin in Ireland as it would be considered appropriate to name your daughter Girl in the USA. I have a friend who is now about 50 who is named Colleen. Her paternal grandmother was born in Ireland, and was extremely angry at her son for giving his daughter that name. My friend told me that it was years before her grandmother stopped asking her father "When are you going to give the colleen a real name?"
vote up1