New Post
Search
Help
ArchivesIncorrect meaning listed?
Hi,
My wife and daughter were recently looking at names and meanings and happened to come across your site. I was quite surprised when they discovered the following (which to the best of my knowledge is incorrect):
CAVAN
GENDER: Masculine
USAGE: Irish
Meaning & History
Derived from the name of an Irish county, which is from Irish cabhán "hollow".
Having been given this name, all previous searches from many different resources give a meaning akin to "handsome".
Where do you get this research from? and do you claim it to be accurate?
Regards.
My wife and daughter were recently looking at names and meanings and happened to come across your site. I was quite surprised when they discovered the following (which to the best of my knowledge is incorrect):
CAVAN
GENDER: Masculine
USAGE: Irish
Meaning & History
Derived from the name of an Irish county, which is from Irish cabhán "hollow".
Having been given this name, all previous searches from many different resources give a meaning akin to "handsome".
Where do you get this research from? and do you claim it to be accurate?
Regards.
1
Replies
Interesting that so many can be wrong, even books from decades ago.
Thanks.
Thanks.
1
A book from "decades ago" is even MORE likely to be incorrect than a recent one. Standards of research in this area have increased over the years. :)
1
Maybe it is a hollow kind of handsomeness...? :-P
1
Sources which interpret Cavan as "handsome" seem to be confusing it with Kevin, which is a separate Irish name which goes back to words meaning "handsome" and "birth."
Probably someone incorrectly guessed that Cavan was just an alternative form of Kevin, and once the incorrect information was in print, many others copied it.
Though no source is perfect, etymological origins on this site are more likely to be accurate than those on most others or in most "baby name" books.
Probably someone incorrectly guessed that Cavan was just an alternative form of Kevin, and once the incorrect information was in print, many others copied it.
Though no source is perfect, etymological origins on this site are more likely to be accurate than those on most others or in most "baby name" books.
1
There are no sources listed by Mike for this name, but a reliable website on Irish names agrees with him:
http://www.babynamesofireland.com/c-names
Note, that there are tons of unreliable websites on baby names around (either using the same buggy master file or plagiarising each other).
http://www.babynamesofireland.com/c-names
Note, that there are tons of unreliable websites on baby names around (either using the same buggy master file or plagiarising each other).
1