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[ 2 syll. ei-(t)hne, eit-h-ne ] The girl name Eithne is pronounced EH-THNIY- or EH-NYah †. 1: Eithne's language of origin is Celtic. It is predominantly used in Irish and Scottish. The Irish eithne ('kernel') was used in bardic poetry as a term of praise. In Celtic mythology, the name was borne various characters, including the mother of the Irish god Lugh. Another bearer was the Elcmar's wife, who died embracing Christianity, thereby popularizing the name among early Irish saints and queens. Saint Ethenia was the 5th-century daughter of King Laoghaire; as a little girl, she was among the first to be converted by Saint Patrick, together with her sister Fidelmia. The name is usually pronounced 'EH-THNIY-' by English speakers and 'EH-NYAH' by Irish speakers, thus the Irish phonetic variant Enya. This form has been made famous by the Irish singer Enya (1962-). Eithne has 17 variant forms that are used in both English and foreign languages. English variant forms of the name include Edna (also used in German, Hawaiian, Irish, and Scottish), Ena (also used in Irish and German), Enja, Enya (also used in Irish), Etha (also used in Irish), and Ethenia (also used in Irish). Variant forms used in foreign languages include the Irish Aine, the Irish Aithne, the Irish Aithnea, the Irish Ethna, the Irish Ethne, the name Ethnea, the name Ethnee, the Irish Ethni, the Irish Etna, the Irish Etney, and the name Ith. 2: Eithne is of Celtic origin. The meaning here is 'little fire'. Derived from the word aed which is of the meaning 'fire'. The name is sometimes taken as the feminine form of Aidan. Eithne is the feminine version of the English, Irish, and Scottish Aidan. Eithne is not commonly used as a baby girl name. It is not in the top 1000 names. Baby names that sound like Eithne include the English and Irish Enya, the name Ethnee, the Irish Ethni, the Latvian, Lithuanian, and Russian Anya, the name Eadin, the Irish Edain, the name Eddna, the name Edene, the name Edin, the Scottish Edmée, the English, German, Hawaiian, Irish, and Scottish Edna, the Hebrew Ednah, the German Edwine, the name Edwynn, the name Edyn, the English Emi, the English Emie, the Turkish Emine, the English, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, and Italian Emma, and the name Emmey. A famous person named Eithne is Enya, Singer, born Eithne Ni Bhraonain 17 May 1961, Gweedore, Ireland.
† English pronunciation for Eithne: EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; TH as in "theta (TH.EY.T.AH)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; IY as in "eat (IY.T)" ; EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; Y as in "yield (Y.IY.L.D)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)"   |
