What's in a name?

I published my first book, The Golden Thread, in 2015, so I've been writing for over 6 years and have now published 8 books.  Though I have written blogs before, this is my first venture onto 'Blogger' and so far I am most impressed.  As this is my first blog, I thought it best to introduce myself a little.

I love to investigate the meaning behind names, particularly when creating a character for a novel.  Their name must have an appropriate meaning to reflect the personality, temperament and nature of the subject.  Do you know the meaning of your own name?

My name, Brendan, is derived from the Gaelic name Breandán, which is in turn derived from the earlier Old Irish Brénainn and it means, ‘Prince’ or ‘King.’  Wow, I am royalty.  This may explain why I was not at all daunted on the two occasions when I have been honoured to meet members of the Royal Family.  The first time was when I was invited to one of the Queen’s garden parties and the second when I showed Prince Edward around the charity that I worked for.  Incidentally, the name ‘Edward’ means wealth (that’s interesting).

Image from Pixabay

Now, what about my surname?  If you have not yet realised it is Irish Gaelic, pre-10th century origin, derived from the name O'Conbhuidhe meaning 'the descendant of yellow hound'.  Yellow hound was most likely a Gaelic Chieftan.  I am proud of my Irish heritage (my dad was Irish) and I do consider myself to be Irish (though born in England).  I also like to use the name, ‘Yellow Dog’ in honour of my ancestors.

This is why I call this blog, ‘Yellow Dog Blog.’  I am also a drummer in a band called, ‘The Shaggy Dog Raconteurs’ and my band name, well obviously it’s ‘Ole Yella Dog.’  My final tribute to the origins of my name is in the name that I publish my books under, you guessed it,‘Yellow Dog Publishing.’

As for my middle name, Mark, that means, ‘consecrated to the god of Mars.’  I laugh at this one because as a Christian, I feel that I am consecrated to the God of the Universe.

My name is Brendan Conboy, King Yellow Dog.  I do hope that you start to follow my blog and enjoy getting to know me through my random rambles.  Now go and find out who you are. 

Brendan is a Christian poet and author of 8 books, based in Stroud Gloucestershire.
There are 'self-made men' and 'God-made men', Brendan is the latter.
An associate speaker with Christian Vision for Men.
A member of the Association of Christian Writers.

Comments

  1. DavidSeptember 14, 2021 at 9:57 AM

    BCon-boy. Beacon boy…

    Let your light shine, etc…
    Interesting 🤔

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brendan ConboyOctober 12, 2021 at 8:57 AM

      Wow, thanks David, I've never seen that in my name before. Thank you for that thought. x

      Delete

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