Méabh
is an old Irish name that means 'intoxicating'. Méabh was a
Queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She also gained much
fame in the 1980s and the early 1990s in Ireland when she was featured on the Irish
£1 bank note (see picture).
Another famous and very accomplished Méabh (although she spells her name differently) is Maeve Brennan, the Irish novelist who wrote for the New Yorker magazine in the 1950s and 60s (and whose writing my Mammy is a big fan of!)
The 'bh' in my name is pronounced as a 'v' sound so my name is pronounced 'May-ve' (rhyming with 'save').
It is also sometimes spelt 'Maeve' (to simplify things for those who have not had the privilege of learning the Irish language) but my Mam and Dad have chosen that I will have it spelt a pure Irish way, guaranteeing me all sorts of interesting scenarios in the future when people unfamiliar with the name see its spelling for the first time...
Speaking of spelling, 'M-é-a-b-h' is not the only way to spell my name in Irish. The following are also legitimate spellings of it in the Irish language:
As you can see I got off lightly with the spelling of 'M-é-a-b-h', imagine the future confusion if I had been given the spelling 'Meadhbh'...