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Rónán

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This article is about the Irish name. For other uses, see Ronan (disambiguation).

Rónán
Statue of Saint Ronan
PronunciationEnglish: /ˈroʊnən/
Irish: [ɾˠoːˈnɑːn]
GenderMale
Language(s)Irish, English

Rónán, anglicised as Ronan, is an Irish and Breton male given name and surname. In modern sources, it is traditionally derived from rón, the Irish word for 'seal'.

Alternatively, the name Ronan is associated with the Irish name Raghnall meaning 'mighty', anglicized as Ronald, Reginald, Crandall and Randall.[1]

In other cases, name Ronan come from the Irish surname O'Ruanaidhín, anglicized as Rooney.[2] It is also from the personal name Ruadhán, meaning 'little red one', anglicized as Roan, Rowan and Roy.[3]


In Irish Mythology, the name is derived from a very old legend, which tells the story of a mother seal who is warned never to stray too closely to the land. When the seal is swept ashore by a huge wave, she becomes trapped in a human form, known as a "Selkie" or "seal maiden". Although she lives as the wife of a fisherman and bears him children, known as "ronans" or "little seals", she never quite loses her "sea-longing". Eventually she finds the "seal-skin" which the fisherman has hidden and slips back into the ocean. However, she cannot forget her husband and children and can be seen swimming close to the shore, keeping a watchful and loving eye on them.[4]

There are twelve Irish saints bearing the name of Ronan commemorated in the Martyrology of Donegal:[5] These include:

  • Ronan of Locronan, a c. 6th century Irish pilgrim saint and hermit in western Brittany
  • Rónán Mac Bearaigh (died 665), founder of Druim Inesclainn (Drumshallon) (see Féchín of Fore).
  • Rónán of Ulster, brother of St. Carnech, and grandson of Loarn, died 11 January 535.
  • Rónán Fionn is honoured as patron of Lan Ronan (Kelminiog) in Iveagh. His feast is celebrated on 22 May, both in Ireland and Scotland.
  • Rónán of Iona is explicitly referred to by Bede in the controversy with his countryman St Finan of Lindisfarne, Bishop of Lindisfarne, 660. This controversy, on the calculation of the date of Easter, was ended at the Synod of Whitby, in 664, when Rónán's views were upheld. This is the saint referred to in the title of Sir Walter Scott's book, Saint Ronan's Well. Scott's St. Ronan was a Celtic monk, Bishop of Kilmaronen, who advocated the use of the Roman rather than Celtic manner. This St Rónán is also the patron saint of the Scottish town of Innerleithen. He is commemorated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church on 7 February.[6]
  • Rónán of Lismore was a successor of St. Carthage, and several Munster churches were built in his honour. His feast is celebrated on 9 February 763.
  • Another saint of this name is best known by the ruined church of Kilronan (Irish: Cill Rónáin), Co. Roscommon, where Turlogh O'Carolan and Bishop O'Rourke are buried.

The name appears in an ogham inscription documented by the Ogham in 3D project[7] as ᚏᚑᚅᚐᚅᚅ  ᚋᚐᚊ  ᚉᚑᚋᚑᚌᚐᚅᚅ (transliteration: RO/NA/NN MAQ COMOGANN) or, Rónán, son of Comgán.[8]

People with the given name

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People with the surname

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Fictional characters

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Reynolds - Anglicised Surnames in Ireland". Library Ireland.
  2. ^ "Ó Ruanaidhín - Irish Names and Surnames". www.libraryireland.com. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Ronan - The Meaning of The Name".
  4. ^ "Irish baby names meanings - List of unique and unusual Irish names for your baby girl or boy". 8 May 2021.
  5. ^ Flood, William Henry Grattan (1912). "St. Ronan" . Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13.
  6. ^ "Orthodox Calendar. HOLY TRINITY RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH, a parish of the Patriarchate of Moscow". www.holytrinityorthodox.com. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Ogham in 3D". 14 May 2024.
  8. ^ "CIIC 145. Arraglen (AIRGHLEANN), Co. Kerry". ogham.celt.dias.ie.
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