Cíarán

See also: ciaran, Ciaran, ciarán, and Ciarán

Old Irish

Etymology

From cíar (“black”) +‎ -án. Popularized by Irish saints dating back from the 5th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkʲiːa̯raːn/

Proper noun

Cíarán m (genitive Cíaráin)

1. a male given name

Declension

Masculine o-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	Cíarán	—	—
Vocative	Cíaráin	—	—
Accusative	CíaránN	—	—
Genitive	CíaráinL	—	—
Dative	CíaránL	—	—
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

• Irish: Ciarán
  • → English: Ciaran, Keiran, Kieran, Kieron
• → Old Norse: Kjaran
  • Icelandic: Kjaran

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
Cíarán	Chíarán	Cíarán pronounced with /ɡ(ʲ)-/
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Ó Corráin, Donnchadh, Maguire, Fidelma (1981) Gaelic Personal Names, Dublin: The Academy Press, →ISBN, page 51
• Patrick Hanks, Flavia Hodges, Kate Hardcastle, editor (2006) “Ciarán”, in A Dictionary of First Names, second edition, Oxford University Press, →ISBN.