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Note: Ogham is written vertically from bottom to top.
What’s Your Name in Ogham?
Ogham is an alphabet which was traditionally used to write Primitive Irish ~1,600 years ago, the earliest known form of Gaelic. As it is known only from fragments inscribed on stone, it is impossible to accurately translate all names, words and phrases into Primitive Irish and then into ogham. For this reason, modern Irish (Irish Gaelic) is used instead.
We have compiled a list of common names, words and phrases in Irish and the corresponding ogham transliteration. If your name is in English, ideally you should find the Irish equivalent first before transliterating it into ogham.
| English | Irish | Ogham (click to enlarge) |
|---|---|---|
| John | Seán | ᚄᚓᚐᚅ |
| James | Séamus | ᚄᚓᚐᚋᚒᚄ |
| Kevin | Caoimhín | ᚉᚐᚑᚔᚋᚆᚔᚅ |
| Mary | Máire | ᚋᚐᚔᚏᚓ |
| Kathleen | Caitlín | ᚉᚐᚔᚈᚂᚔᚅ |
| Sarah | Sorcha | ᚄᚑᚏᚉᚆᚐ |
Most Popular Ogham Words & Phrases
From our analytics collected over the years, most visitors search for their first name or a spiritual word/phrase such as grá (love) or saol (life). Below are the top 10 phrases searched.
| English | Irish | Ogham (click to enlarge) |
|---|---|---|
| Love | Grá | ᚌᚏᚐ |
| Family | Teaghlach | ᚈᚓᚐᚌᚆᚂᚐᚉᚆ |
| Strength | Neart | ᚅᚓᚐᚏᚈ |
| Peace | Síocháin | ᚄᚔᚑᚉᚆᚐᚔᚅ |
| I love you | Tá mé i ngrá leat | ᚈᚐ ᚋᚓ ᚔ ᚍᚏᚐ ᚂᚓᚐᚈ |
| Life | Saol | ᚄᚐᚑᚂ |
| Ireland | Éire | ᚓᚔᚏᚓ |
Ogham Translator vs Transliterator — what’s the difference?
Most people are searching on Google for “Ogham Translator”, however, ogham is not a language but an alphabet, so the correct term should actually be “Ogham Transliterator”.
A translator translates from one language to another, whereas a transliterator converts letters from one alphabet to the corresponding letters of another alphabet.
Much like the English language uses the Latin alphabet, the Irish spoke Primitive Irish (an early form of Gaelic) and wrote with the ogham alphabet long before the arrival of the Latin script to Ireland.
This tool simply converts Latin characters (eg. ABC) to ogham symbols (eg. ᚐᚁᚉ) – this is called transliteration. This tool does not translate from English to Primitive Irish and there are no such translators or dictionaries in existence.
A Brief History…
Ogham is an Early Medieval alphabet used to write the early Irish language, Primitive Irish. Evidence shows that Ogham was in use since at least the 4th century, long before the arrival of the Latin alphabet to Ireland.
There are around 400 surviving inscriptions on stone monuments throughout Ireland and also several in western Britain left by Irish settlers. Most of the inscriptions consist of personal names, probably of the person commemorated by the monument.
| ᚛ᚋᚐᚊ ᚉᚓᚏᚐᚅᚔ ᚐᚃᚔ ᚐᚈᚆᚓᚉᚓᚈᚐᚔᚋᚔᚅ᚜ MAQ CERAN[I] AVI ATHECETAIMIN Son of Ciarán, descendant of the Uí Riaghan |
| ᚛ᚉᚑᚏᚁᚔᚕᚑᚔᚋᚐᚊᚔᚂᚐᚏᚔᚇ᚜ CORBI KOI MAQI LABRID Here is Corb, son of Labraid |
The more ancient examples are standing stones, where the script was carved into the edge of the stone.
The Breastagh Ogham Stone is a pillar with Ogham carvings incised on two edges.
| ᚛ᚂᚓᚌᚌᚄᚇᚂᚓᚌᚓᚄᚉᚐᚇ᚜ ᚛ᚂᚓᚌᚌᚄᚇᚂᚓᚌᚓᚄᚉᚐᚇ᚜ ᚛ᚋᚐᚊ ᚉᚑᚏᚏᚁᚏᚔ ᚋᚐᚊ ᚐᚋᚋᚂᚂᚑᚌᚔᚈᚈ᚜ Legescad, son of Corrbrias, son of Ammllogitt |
This is believed to refer to a grandson of Amalgaid mac Fiachrae (died. AD 440), Irish King of Connacht of the Uí Fiachrach. A succession dispute broke out upon his death between his two sons Óengus and Éndae. Saint Patrick himself arranged for the high king Lóegaire mac Néill and his brother to mediate the dispute!
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