Why do most Irish last names start with O? Detailed answer

BIG ENCYCLOPEDIA FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS
Free library / Directory / Big encyclopedia for children and adults

Why do most Irish last names start with O? Detailed answer

Big encyclopedia for children and adults

Directory / Big encyclopedia. Questions for quiz and self-education

Did you know?

Why do most Irish last names start with O?

Do you like your name? Do you think it says anything about you as a person? Would you choose this name for yourself? Nowadays, only actors and actresses can choose a suitable name for themselves. The rest of us should go by whatever name our parents gave them, even though it doesn't say anything about us. The name of the child was always given by the parents. At one time it had a certain meaning for them. It can characterize the appearance of a small child or express some parental feelings.

For example, the name Samuel means in Hebrew "questioner of God." And the name Blanche means in French "white", "pure". As cities grew and many people lived in the same place, it became difficult to distinguish people by their names. There were too many Johns, Williams and Davids. Imagine that you know two men named John and you want to tell someone about one of them. You could say, "I'm talking about John son of William." So a way arose to distinguish people from each other, and next to the name of a person they began to put the name of his father. This John began to be called John Williamson or in another way - John Williams, John Wilson, John Wils. All this showed that John was William's son!

In Ireland, the prefix "O" means "whom". When the Irish wanted to say "John son of Brian", they used this prefix and said "John O'Brian". All Irish names that begin with "O" come from this custom of naming a son with the father's name. The Scots used the same way of forming names, using the prefix "Poppy", which meant "son". "Mak" is abbreviated "Mk" or "M". Therefore John son of Donald will be referred to as "John MacDonald".

There were many other ways of originating surnames. Sometimes surnames were given depending on the place of residence. If Thomas lived near the forest, he could become Thomas Wood or Thomas Atwood. Sometimes the surname was derived from a nickname, such as Brown, Longfellow, or Drinkwater. If you had to choose a last name, what would you choose?

Author: Likum A.

Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

Why are human eyes blue and green even though they don't have these pigments?

There are no blue or green pigments in the iris of the human eye. The only coloring pigment in the eye is melanin: at certain concentrations, the color of the eyes becomes from light brown to almost black. However, with a low content of melanin, short waves of the light spectrum are not absorbed by the shell, but are reflected, as a result of which we fix blue, blue, green or gray eyes. This effect is due to Rayleigh scattering of light, which similarly explains the blue or gray color of the sky that we see.

Test your knowledge! Did you know...

▪ What is DNA?

▪ How many moons does the Earth have?

▪ How did a simple pencil help separate whites from non-whites in South Africa?

See other articles Section Big encyclopedia. Questions for quiz and self-education.

Read and write useful comments on this article.

<< Back

Latest news of science and technology, new electronics:

Machine for thinning flowers in gardens 02.05.2024

In modern agriculture, technological progress is developing aimed at increasing the efficiency of plant care processes. The innovative Florix flower thinning machine was presented in Italy, designed to optimize the harvesting stage. This tool is equipped with mobile arms, allowing it to be easily adapted to the needs of the garden. The operator can adjust the speed of the thin wires by controlling them from the tractor cab using a joystick. This approach significantly increases the efficiency of the flower thinning process, providing the possibility of individual adjustment to the specific conditions of the garden, as well as the variety and type of fruit grown in it. After testing the Florix machine for two years on various types of fruit, the results were very encouraging. Farmers such as Filiberto Montanari, who has used a Florix machine for several years, have reported a significant reduction in the time and labor required to thin flowers. ... >>

Advanced Infrared Microscope 02.05.2024

Microscopes play an important role in scientific research, allowing scientists to delve into structures and processes invisible to the eye. However, various microscopy methods have their limitations, and among them was the limitation of resolution when using the infrared range. But the latest achievements of Japanese researchers from the University of Tokyo open up new prospects for studying the microworld. Scientists from the University of Tokyo have unveiled a new microscope that will revolutionize the capabilities of infrared microscopy. This advanced instrument allows you to see the internal structures of living bacteria with amazing clarity on the nanometer scale. Typically, mid-infrared microscopes are limited by low resolution, but the latest development from Japanese researchers overcomes these limitations. According to scientists, the developed microscope allows creating images with a resolution of up to 120 nanometers, which is 30 times higher than the resolution of traditional microscopes. ... >>

Air trap for insects 01.05.2024

Agriculture is one of the key sectors of the economy, and pest control is an integral part of this process. A team of scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Potato Research Institute (ICAR-CPRI), Shimla, has come up with an innovative solution to this problem - a wind-powered insect air trap. This device addresses the shortcomings of traditional pest control methods by providing real-time insect population data. The trap is powered entirely by wind energy, making it an environmentally friendly solution that requires no power. Its unique design allows monitoring of both harmful and beneficial insects, providing a complete overview of the population in any agricultural area. “By assessing target pests at the right time, we can take necessary measures to control both pests and diseases,” says Kapil ... >>

Random news from the Archive

Intel Alder Lake-HX mobile processors 16.05.2022

The line of 12th generation Intel Core mobile processors was officially replenished with the Alder Lake-HX family the day before. These CPUs are designed for use in top gaming laptops and workstations, support overclocking and can offer up to 16 cores: eight high-performance Golden Cove and eight energy-efficient Gracemont.

Intel Alder Lake-HX processors use the same die as desktop 12th generation Core chips (Alder Lake-S). The main differences are in the BGA-performance, less "voracity" and, as a result, reduced operating frequencies. For Alder Lake-HX, a Processor Base Power of 55W at 157W Maximum Turbo Power is claimed, while for desktop counterparts these parameters reach 150W and 241W, respectively.

The flagship Intel Core i9-12950HX features 16 cores, 30MB L3 cache, 32 EU integrated graphics, a dual-channel DDR5-4800/DDR4-3200 memory controller, and Turbo Boost speeds up to 5,0GHz.

In terms of functionality, the system logic set for the Alder Lake-HX CPU is not inferior to desktop counterparts. In total, the new mobile platform provides 48 PCI Express lanes: 16 PCI-E 5.0 lanes, 20 PCI-E 4.0 lanes, and 12 PCI-E 3.0 lanes. There is support for Wi-Fi 6E (Gig+) wireless networks, eight SATA 6 Gb / s ports and a dozen USB 3.2, but there is no integrated Thunderbolt 4 controller.

Other interesting news:

▪ PIONEER Music Center with 40Gb HDD Coming at the End of May

▪ Headphones will monitor brain health and recommend music for your mood

▪ Perhaps there are planets inhabited by intelligent dinosaurs

▪ Mirrorless camera Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7

▪ Gravity does not seep into other dimensions

News feed of science and technology, new electronics

Interesting materials of the Free Technical Library:

▪ section of the site Firmware. Article selection

▪ article Financial management. Crib

▪ article What are microbes? Detailed answer

▪ article Videographer. Job description

▪ article Theory: volume and tone control. Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering

▪ article Domestic microcircuits and their foreign analogues. Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering

Leave your comment on this article:

All languages of this page

Home page | Library | Articles | Website map | Site Reviews