Tadhg, also Taḋg (/taɪɡ/TYGHE, Irish:[t̪ˠəiɡ,t̪ˠeːɡ]),[1][2] commonly anglicized as "Taig" or "Teague",[3][4][5][6] is an Irish masculine name that was very common when the Goidelic languages predominated, to the extent that it is a synecdoche for Irish-speaking man. The name signifies "poet" or "philosopher". This was also the name of many Gaelic Irish kings from the 10th to the 16th centuries, particularly in Connacht and Munster. Tadhg is most common in southwest Ireland, particularly in County Cork and County Kerry. The name has had a surge in popularity in the early 21st century;[7] As of 2000 it was the 92nd most common name for baby boys in Ireland, according to the Central Statistics Office, rising to 69th by 2005.[8] By 2022, it had risen to the 7th most common name for newly registered male births.[9]
Etymology
The commonly accepted meaning of Tadhg is "poet"[10] or "storyteller". The ultimate derivation is from the Celtic *tazg(j)o-,[citation needed] who were poets in early Celtic society. In any case, the name is widely attested in Gaulish and early British names.
When the whole of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, many Irish names and place-names were given English meanings. Due to similarity in sound, Tadhg is often listed as an Irish equivalent of the English-language names Timothy (Tim) or Thaddeus.
The name is also spelled "Taḋg" in Gaelic type with an overdot over the d to indicate it is lenited; the "dh" serves a similar purpose in the modern spelling. Tadhg has been anglicized as "Taihg", "Tighe" and "Teague". Alternative spellings include "Tadgh" and "Tadg".[11]
Synecdoche
Tadhg is also a metonym and was once so common as an Irish name that it became synonymous with the typical Irishman in the same way that Paddy or Mick might be today. Hence, Irish phrases such as Tadhg an mhargaidh (lit: Tadhg of the market) or Tadhg na sráide (lit: Tadhg of the street) are similar to the English language expression "average Joe" or "the man on the street"[12]
The anglicisationTaig (and formerly Teague) has been used in English since the seventeenth century to refer to Irishmen. The Irish-language name is used defiantly in a Jacobite poem written in the 1690s:
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