What’s Your Gaelic Name?

By: Zoe Samuel
Estimated Completion Time
3 min
What’s Your Gaelic Name?
Image: Diane Macdonald / Photographer's Choice RF / Getty Images

About This Quiz

The Gaelic languages (technically referred to as the Goidelic languages) form one of two branches of language native to the British Isles and Ireland. Gaelic languages include Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic. 

While Scottish Gaelic is widely spoken by cultural enthusiasts and Irish is spoken widely in Ireland and beyond, Manx, the language native to the Isle of Man (an island in the middle of the Irish Sea, and home of the Bee Gees), died out and only recently saw a small resurgence because of a deliberate effort to revive it as a piece of the island's cultural heritage. Gaelic words are loaded with meaning taken from the history of when the words came into existence. Even the name "Gaelic" comes from an Old Irish word taken from the Welsh, meaning "pirate", owing to a period of raids along the coasts of the Irish Sea. The origins of the language reach back to an ancient kingdom along the west coast of Scotland, parts of Northern Ireland, and islands in the Irish Sea. While the language has changed over the years, because it was never the lingua franca the way Spanish, English and French were, the Gaelic languages weren't corrupted by the inclusion of words from other languages.

Let us delve deep into this ancient tongue. Your personality has an ideal Gaelic name for it, a name steeped in meaning. Do you want to know what it is? Take this quiz and find out.

How often do you pray?
Twice a day
Never
On the high holidays
On the sabbath

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How often do you feel compelled to take charge?
Rarely
Always
Most of the time
Never

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What sort of site would you visit on vacation?
Houses of worship
Palaces
Ruins
Museums

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How many books do you read per year?
1 book
4 books
12+ books
7 books

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Of these, which sort of live entertainment would you enjoy the most?
Pantomime
Stage play
TED talk
Modern dance

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How do you show pride in your accomplishments?
I avoid pride at all costs.
I brag, openly.
I like to collect trophies I display in private.
I repeat them.

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When you were put in a group to work on a project in school, what role did you play on your team?
I would work on my specialty.
I was in charge.
Inevitably, I did the most challenging work.
I usually ended up doing the work for everyone else.

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What was the uppermost extent of your education?
High school
Master's degree
Doctorate
Bachelor's degree

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Which of these guides your decision making?
Faith
Killer instincts
Logic
Intuition

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How obedient are you?
Extremely
Not at all
Mostly
Very little

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How planned out is your career?
Not at all
To the inch
90%
A bit

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What school team were you a part of when you were growing up?
Glee
Basketball
Chess
None

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Which of these places would you most like to visit on a holiday?
Salisbury Cathedral, one of the most beautiful cathedrals
Peel Castle, an old fortress once maintained by Vikings
Bletchley Park, where Alan Turing broke the Enigma Code
Royal Albert Hall, to see great opera

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How many hours do you work in a day?
9
12
8
16

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With what would you fill your days, if you were so wealthy that you did not have to work?
Philanthropy
Entrepreneurship
Study
Creative expression

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What do you do to keep fit?
Walks
Weights
Running/Cycling/etc.
Dance

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How do you get your news?
Friends on Facebook
The Economist
The New York Times
I don't pay attention to the news.

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How do you decorate your home?
I live in a humble home.
I only buy expensive things that showcase my success.
It's full of book cases and interesting images, like maps and illustrations from long ago.
It's an eclectic mix, with some rooms decorated in a modern way and others very traditional.

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How do you get to work?
Walk
Drive
Trains
Bicycle

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From what pool of people do you draw your friends?
My religious community
Networking for my career
Common academic interests
The arts community

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How do you dress on a typical day?
Chinos and a button down shirt or similar
Business attire
Tweed
Comfortable, inexpensive, fashion forward

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What app can you not live without?
Church Caster Lite
TDAmeritrade
Wolfram Alpha
The camera

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What kind of music do you listen to?
Smooth jazz
Hardcore rap
Classical
Electronica

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What professional sport do you follow most closely?
Football
Basketball
Baseball
Diving

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Which of these American car brands appeals to you enough that you'd buy one if you were in the market for a new car?
Lincoln
Cadillac
Tesla
Jeep

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What section of the newspaper do you read first?
The opinion pages
The business pages
The science section
The arts section

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Which social media platform do you use the most?
Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook
Instagram

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How would you describe your home?
Suburban ranch house
Apartment in a white glove building
A dorm room
A converted industrial space

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How much time do you spend with your colleagues outside the workplace?
A half hour a week
An hour every day
A few hours a week
All my spare time

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Which myth do you identify with the most?
The murder of Osiris
The Epic of Gilgamesh
The myth of Perseus
The story of King Arthur

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You Got: