Aidan

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A male given name of Irish origin ; the name of several early Irish saints ; occasionally a surname or place name in Ireland and nearby regions
2. An Irish masculine forename found in historical and religious contexts ; associated with multiple saints, particularly from Ireland ; sometimes used geographically or as a family name
3. A traditional Irish boy's name used by historical and religious figures ; borne by several saints in Irish Christian history ; at times appearing as a surname or in Irish placenames

Etymology: Aidan is a diminutive of "Aodh", an old Irish name whose root meaning is "fire", and the name is closely tied to Saint Aidan, a Christian saint of Ireland. Irish "Aodhán" and Scottish Gaelic "Aodhan" are both little-form versions of "Aodh", and English later took up the name in its anglicized spelling. The base name "Aodh" is often linked to a Celtic sun god, so a name that began as a word for fire may carry a faint trace of sun worship. That link comes from the sources for the root rather than from any recorded story about the name itself, so it is best read as a possibility rather than a settled fact.