Usage As A Given or Family Name
As a given name, Erin is used for both sexes, although, given its origins, it is principally used as a feminine forename. It first became a popular given name in the United States. Erin is also a name for Ireland in Welsh, and is one of the 20 most popular girls' names in Wales.
As a family name, Erin has been used as one of the many spellings of the name of the Scottish clan "Irwin" - which was involved in the Scottish Plantations of Ireland. However, their name was originally derived from the place of the same name near Dumfries, and means "green water", from Brittonic ir afon.
Read more about this topic: Erin
Famous quotes containing the words usage and/or family:
“...Often the accurate answer to a usage question begins, “It depends.” And what it depends on most often is where you are, who you are, who your listeners or readers are, and what your purpose in speaking or writing is.”
—Kenneth G. Wilson (b. 1923)
“Do not let your bachelor ways crystallize so that you can’t soften them when you come to have a wife and a family of your own.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)