Cathal

Cathal
Pronunciation /ˈkæhəl/
Irish: [ˈkahÉ™lË ]
Gender Masculine
Language(s) Irish, English, Scottish Gaelic
Origin
Language(s) Celtic
Derivation cath + val
Meaning "battle" + "ruler"
Other names
See also Cathal, Cathel, Cahal, Charles, Cahill, Kathel
Look up Cathal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Cathal is a common given name in the Irish, Scottish Gaelic and English languages. The name is derived from two Celtic elements: the first, cath, means "battle"; the second element, val, means "rule".[1] There is no feminine form of Cathal unlike names such as Adrian. The Gaelic name has several Anglicised forms, such as Cathal,[2] Cathel,[3] Cahal, Cahill and Kathel.[4] It has also been Anglicised as Charles,[4] although this name is of an entirely different origin as it is derived from a Germanic element, karl, meaning "free man".[5]

As is obvious from the list below, the name was in medieval times most popular in Ireland's two western provinces, Munster and Connacht.

People with the name

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 343, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1
  2. ↑ Mark, Colin (2006), The Gaelic-English Dictionary, London: Routledge, p. 714, ISBN 0-203-22259-8
  3. ↑ Maceachen, Ewan (1922), Maceachen's Gaelic-English Dictionary (4, revised and enlarged ed.), The Northern Counties Newspaper and Printing and Publishing Company, pp. 467–469
  4. 1 2 MacFarlane, Malcolm (1912), The School Gaelic Dictionary prepared for the use of learners of the Gaelic language, Stirling: Eneas Mackay, p. 144
  5. ↑ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 52, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1
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