Deirdre as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Deirdre

What is the meaning of the name Deirdre ?

The baby name Deirdre is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced DEER-druh (IPA: /ˈdɪərdrə/); sometimes DEER-dree (/ˈdɪərdriː/).

Deirdre is Irish in Origin.

Deirdre is the modern Irish form of Old Irish Derdriu, the name of a tragic heroine in the Ulster Cycle whose beauty precipitated exile and war. The meaning is uncertain; folk etymology connects it to Old Irish dér “tear,” which has encouraged the common gloss “sorrowful,” while some scholars suggest a pre-Gaelic origin. The name’s association with loss and fierce resolve comes largely from the medieval tale and its Celtic Revival retellings by J. M. Synge (Deirdre of the Sorrows) and W. B. Yeats.

Reintroduced during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Ireland and Scotland, Deirdre spread to Britain and North America, finding widest use in the mid-twentieth century. Variant spellings include Deidre, Dierdre, Deirdra, and Deedra; the oldest attested form is Derdriu. Nicknames such as Dee and Dede are used in English. Typical English pronunciation is DEER-druh.