The Ballycastle Blog: Irish Genealogy and More

The English translations of Irish village and town names have taken different spellings over the years. In the early 1800’s, engineering and map surveyors traveled throughout Ireland, translating Irish place names into English, with varying results (see previous posting about Translations: The Play). The Irish word for “head” is “cean”. Irish village names starting with “cean” translated to “cane” or “keane” in the English versions. In the 1901 Irish census, the grandfather of one recent client lived in Canearagh in County Kerry. The same man’s 1878 birth certificate spelled his birthplace as Keaneiragh. Both of these spellings are correct spellings for the same place. Discovering and knowing these spelling differences make Irish family document searches that much more satisfying and interesting to do.

The English translations of Irish village and town names have taken different spellings over the years. In the early 1800’s, engineering and map surveyors traveled throughout Ireland, translating Irish place names into English, with varying results (see later posting about Translations: The Play). The Irish word for “head” is “ceann”. Irish village names starting with “ceann” translated to “cane” or “keane” in the English versions. In the 1901 Irish census, the grandfather of one recent client lived in Canearagh in County Kerry. The same man’s 1878 birth certificate spelled his birthplace as Keaneiragh. Both of these spellings are correct spellings for the same place. Discovering and knowing these spelling differences make Irish family document searches that much more satisfying and interesting to do.