Dervla and Derval are female Irish given names, anglicised from Deirbhile and Dearbháil, respectively. Dearbhla is a Gaelicised hybrid of the two names.[1] Deirbhile means 'daughter of the filí' [poet]. Dearbháil, a common medieval name,[2][3] may mean 'daughter of Fál', Fál being a poetic name for Ireland;[2] or else 'true desire'.[4]

People with these names include:

Deirbhile, Dervla

Derbáil, Dearbháil, Dearbhail, Derval

Dearbhla

Fictional

References

  1. ^ Cresswell, Julia (1996). Collins Gem Irish First Names. HarperCollins. pp. 89–90. ISBN 9780004709420.
  2. ^ a b Corráin, Donnchadh Ó; Maguire, Fidelma (1981). Gaelic personal names. Academy Press. ISBN 9780906187395.
  3. ^ O'Brien, Kathleen M. "Derbáil / Dearbháil". Index of Names in Irish Annals. Medieval Scotland. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  4. ^ Coghlan, Ronan (1979). Irish Christian names: an A–Z of first names. Johnston and Bacon. ISBN 9780717942503.
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