Hello all,
I have adopted a Thoroughbred racehorse here in NY and I am not a big fan of his current name. His racing name is Prince Dubai. He is turning into an amazing hunter/jumper horse and I would like to change his name to something like

"Shadow Prince"

"Shadow Jumper"

"Dancing Shadow"

I would like the Irish (general) translation for those names and if you are so inclined, would you please include the phonetic pronunciation? I would be very grateful. Also any other applicable and graceful sounding suggestions are welcome!

Thanks in advance.

Hi, I'm caretaking a thoroughbred property for a friend at this very moment.

There are a few older words for "Prince" that sound better than the loanword prionsa. Using these, some possibilities for "Shadow Prince" are:

Bárr na Scáilí BAWR nuh SKAW-lee /bɑ:r Nə skɑ:l´i:/
Flaith na Scáilí FLAE nuh SKAW-lee /fLæ: Nə skɑ:l´i:/
Mál na Scáilí MALL nuh SKAW-lee /mɑ:L Nə skɑ:l´i:/
Rí na Scáilí RHEE nuh SKAW-lee /r´i: Nə skɑ:l´i:/ (Modern meaning more like "king of the shadows")
Tórna na Scáilí TOR-nuh nuh SKAW-lee /to:rNə Nə skɑ:l´i:/

na Scáilí literally means "of the shadows"

For "Shadow Jumper", perhaps:

Léimeadóir na Scáilí LAY-muh-doorh nuh SKAW-lee /l´eim´ədo:r´ Nə skɑ:l´i:/

For "Dancing Shadow", perhaps:

Scáil ag Rince SKAW-lih RING-kih /skɑ:l´ə riŋ´k´ə/
Scáil ag Damhsa SKAW-lih DOW-suh /skɑ:l´ə dausə/

(Haven't got my dictionaries with me, so spelling checks welcome)

Await further input ...

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

Just found a old word for hero Scál, very similar to the word for "Shadow" Scáil:

Scál na Scáilí SKAWL nuh SKAW-lee /skɑ:L Nə skɑ:l´i:/ "Shadow hero"

or perhaps just:

Scál SKAWL /skɑ:L/ "Hero"

or even just:

Scáil SKAWL(y) /skɑ:l´/ "Shadow"

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

Ohmigosh! So awesome so far! I really dig the way Shadow Jumper - Léimeadóir na Scáilí sounds. I also LOVE that you added "Hero" as a suggestion!

I hope to get more input for confirmation that these are accurate! Thank you Breandán!

Is scáil a Connacht word? I'm more familiar with scáth.

Here's a few more suggestions to add to the list (but wait for corrections because I'm not the most fluent person here).

Prionsa Scáthanna: Prince of Shadows (Breandán, is there any need for the article here, can you say Prionsa Scáilí)
Prionsa Dorcha: Dark Prince
Léim Scátha: Shadow Leap
Scáth Rince: Dancing Shadow, or Shadow Dancer

Scáil/scáth ag Rince sounds a bit awkward to me. Rinceoir is the usual word for dancer, but I have heard "Caiíní Rince" for "Dancing Girls" so that's where I got Scáth Rince from.

[Edited for spelling]

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Táim ag foghlaim fós. Fáilte roimh gach aon cheartúchán.

Hi Mick,

Thank you for responding! I think I like the sound of Prionsa Dorcha. I may get myself in trouble for not knowing but how do you pronounce "Rince"?

Its perfectly correct according to focal.ie

I would have interpreted Scál as phantom rather than shadow.

e.g Baile in scáil (old. Ir) or Buille an scáil- the phantom's frenzy. Although I guess ghosts and phantoms are shadowy creatures.

I also think flaith is better than modern prionsa, although prionsa would be better recognised. Flaith nowadays is interpreted as sovereign and has lost the connection to prince for many.

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Please wait for corrections/ more input from other forum members before acting on advice

pronounced very roughly "ring-keh"

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

Yeah, Scáil Rince would work too, I guess, although the nuance is different.

Scáil ag rince is short for scáil atá ag rince and implies it is dancing before your very eyes, whereas scáil rince is more "a shadow with a tendency to dance" and could also be interpreted as "a shadow of a dance".

Isn't a cailín rince a girl who dances for a living rather than one actually dancing in front of you? or can it be both?

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

You may want to know how to pronounce that as well, as it's probably not pronounced the way you think!

Prionsa Dorcha: PRIN-suh DUR-uh-khuh

Redwolf