Sadhbh (name)

Sadhbh (Old Irish: Sadb, anglicised Sive) is an Irish feminine personal name.^[3] Derived from Proto-Celtic *swādwā '(the) sweet and lovely (lady)',^[4] the name is cognate with the initial elements in the attested Gallic names Suadu-gena and Suadu-rix and with Sanskrit svādú-, Ancient Greek ἡδύσ (hēdýs), Latin suāvis (compare Suada), Tocharian B swāre and Modern English sweet.

PronunciationEnglish: /saɪv/ SYVE
Connacht Irish: ['sˠaːw]
Munster Irish: ['sˠəivˠ]
Ulster Irish: ['sˠaːwə]^[1]

GenderFemale

Word/nameProto-Celtic *sŭādŭā

MeaningSweet-lovely

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Sadhbh

Illustration of Sadb by Arthur Rackham, 1910
Pronunciation	English: /saɪv/ SYVE Connacht Irish: ['sˠaːw] Munster Irish: ['sˠəivˠ] Ulster Irish: ['sˠaːwə][1]
Gender	Female
Origin
Word/name	Proto-Celtic *sŭādŭā
Meaning	Sweet-lovely
Region of origin	Ireland, Irish diaspora
Other names
Related names	Saidhbhín (diminutive)[2]

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The town Cahersiveen in County Kerry roughly translates to 'The Fortress of Little Sadhbh'.

The Whiteboys, a secret agrarian organisation in 18th century Ireland, referred to themselves as "Queen Sive Oultagh's children" ("Sive" or "Sieve Oultagh" being anglicised from the Irish Sadhbh Amhaltach, or Ghostly Sally).^[5] This likely stemmed from the tradition of personifying Ireland as a woman and its people as her children, and was used alongside other women's names as intimidating pseudonyms on Whiteboy letters.^[6]