Erin is a personal name taken from the
Hiberno-English word for
Ireland, originating from the
Irish word "Éirinn". "Éirinn" is the
dative case of the Irish word for Ireland, "Éire", genitive "Éireann", the dative being used in prepositional phrases such as "go hÉirinn" "to Ireland", "in Éirinn" "in Ireland", "ó Éirinn" "from Ireland".
The dative has replaced the nominative in a few regional Irish dialects (particularly Galway-Connemara and Waterford).[1] Poets and nineteenth-century
Irish nationalists used Erin in
English as a
romantic name for Ireland.[2] Often, "Erin's Isle" was used. In this context, along with
Hibernia, Erin is the name given to the female
personification of Ireland, but the name was rarely used as a given name, probably because no
saints, queens, or literary figures were ever called Erin.[3]
As a
given name, Erin is used for both sexes, although, given its origins, it is principally used as a feminine forename. It first became a popular given name in the United States.[3] Its US popularity for males peaked in 1974 with 321 boys registered with the name.[7]Erin is also a name for Ireland in
Welsh, and is one of the 20 most popular girls' names in
Wales.[8][9]
As a
family name, Erin has been used as one of the many spellings of the name of the Scottish clan "Irwin"—which was involved in the Scottish
Plantations of Ireland.[10] However, that name was originally derived from the place of the same name near
Dumfries, and means "green water", from
Brittonicir afon.[11][12]
People
Women
Erin Andrews (born 1978), American sports reporter
Erin Anttila (born 1977), Irish-Finnish singer, better known by her mononym Erin