What Does Ireland Mean? The Meaning of Éire and Ireland’s Other Names

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It is one of those questions that sounds simple until you start digging. The name ‘Ireland’ has been in use for more than a thousand years, and behind it sits a story that involves goddesses, invading Romans who could not stand the weather, and a medieval mix-up that gave Scotland its name.

What does the name Ireland mean?

‘Ireland’ is made of two parts. The first comes from Éire, the Irish name for the island, which in Old Irish was Ériu. The second is simply the English word ‘land’. Old English speakers called it Íraland, ‘the land of the Irish’, and the name has barely changed since.

Linguists trace Ériu back to an older Celtic form, usually reconstructed as Īweriū. Its exact meaning is debated, but the most common suggestion is that it is related to words for ‘abundant’ or ‘fertile’, making Ireland something like ‘the abundant land’. Fitting, for an island with that much grass.

Ériu: the goddess behind the name

In Irish mythology, Ériu was one of three sister goddesses of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the divine race who ruled Ireland before humans arrived. When the Milesians, the legendary ancestors of the Irish, landed on the island, they met all three sisters in turn: Banba, Fódla and Ériu. Each asked that the island be named after her.

The poet Amergin promised Ériu that her name would be the chief name of the country, and it was. Her sisters were not forgotten, either: Banba and Fódla survive as poetic names for Ireland to this day. You can read more about the old gods in our guide to Celtic gods and goddesses.

What is the official name of Ireland?

Article 4 of the Irish Constitution of 1937 says the name of the State is Éire, or in the English language, Ireland. The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 describes the State as the Republic of Ireland, which is why you will hear that name used, especially in sport, but officially the country’s name is simply Ireland.

It is also worth remembering that the island of Ireland includes Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. ‘Ireland’ can mean the whole island or the State, depending on who is talking.

Ireland’s other names

Éire

The modern Irish name, and the official name of the State in the Irish language. It is pronounced roughly “AIR-uh”.

Erin

An anglicised form of Éirinn, the Irish dative case of Éire. It became the romantic, poetic name for Ireland in English, as in “Erin go bragh” (Éirinn go brách), “Ireland forever”.

Hibernia

The Latin name used by the Romans, who never conquered Ireland. It comes from the Greek Ierne, but Roman writers seem to have connected it with hibernus, “wintry”, which says a lot about what they thought of the weather.

Banba and Fódla

Ériu’s two sisters, also used as poetic names for Ireland in Irish-language verse for centuries.

Inis Fáil

“The island of Fál”, named after the Lia Fáil, the Stone of Destiny on the Hill of Tara where the High Kings were said to be crowned.

The Emerald Isle

First used by the poet William Drennan in his 1795 poem “When Erin First Rose”. It stuck, thanks to all that rain-fed green grass.

Scotia

In the early medieval period, Latin writers used Scotia for Ireland and Scoti for the Irish. Irish settlers later took the name with them to the north of Britain, which is how Scotland got its name.

How to say Ireland in Irish

In Irish, Ireland is Éire. You will also see Éireann, as in Banc Ceannais na hÉireann (the Central Bank of Ireland), and Éirinn, as in ‘in Éirinn’ (in Ireland). These are the same word in different grammatical cases, which is one of the things that makes Irish a challenge for learners. For more, see our guides to English words that come from Irish and Irish slang.

Keep reading

• Facts about Ireland
• Irish surnames and their meanings
• Irish mythological creatures
• Old Ireland on film

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