Niamh

Niamh
Gender feminine
Language(s) Irish
Origin
Word/name Ireland
Meaning bright, radiant
Region of origin Ireland

Niamh (Irish pronunciation: [ˈniːəv], from Old Irish Niaṁ) is an Irish feminine given name (meaning "bright" or "radiant"),[1] anglicised as Neve or Neave /ˈnv/.[2]

In Irish mythology, Niamh is the daughter of the god of the sea, Manannán mac Lir and one of the queens of Tír na nÓg, the land of eternal youth. She was the lover of the poet-hero Oisín.

Neave (variants Neeve, Neve, Neaf, Niave, Neaves, Neeves, Niaves) is an unrelated English surname cognate to the word nephew. The form Neve is also used as a Dutch and Flemish surname. The given name of Canadian actress Neve Campbell is derived from the Dutch surname, her mother's maiden name.

The name is not to be confused with the now-uncommon masculine given name Naomh, Naoimh, meaning "blessed" or "saint" (also rarely used as a given name).

People with the given name

Niamh

Neve or Nieve

Fictional characters

Other uses of the name

See also

References

  1. niamh in Ó Dónaill, Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla (1977).
  2. Niamh (behindthename.com), Neave (babynamesofireland.com), MFnames.com - Origin and Meaning of Neve (mfnames.com)
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