I just met an Irish guy named Costello, the fuck? How is that not Italian?

Next your gonna tell me there's an Italian name like "McPattyleanein" or something.

  • Erika3sis [she/her, xe/xem]
    ·
    3 months ago

    "Costello", apparently from "Mac Oisdealbhaigh" according to Wiktionary. Oisdealbhaigh itself is from os ("deer") + dealbhach ("in the form of")

    Wait, wouldn't that mean that "Costello" is a descendant of...

    Show Screencap from Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan, or My Deer Friend Nokotan, showing deer-girl Shikanoko Noko with a smile reaching for her antlers. A classroom blackboard is visible in the background. On the left-hand side of the screen we see that a desk is covered in deer crackers. There is a black-haired schoolgirl in the background looking at Shikanoko Noko with apparent bewilderment.

    • Diuretic_Materialism [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      3 months ago

      "Costello", apparently from "Mac Oisdealbhaigh"

      Oh yes a totally intuitive anglicization!

          • Erika3sis [she/her, xe/xem]
            ·
            3 months ago

            Irish spelling actually makes a lot of sense if you have even a little bit of background in Irish grammar, pronunciation, and language history, but the problem is that most people don't have any background at all in those things, so the letter choices just seem completely arbitrary. It's truly the "Yup, that's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation." of orthography.

          • Staines [they/them]
            ·
            edit-2
            3 months ago

            Gaelic is confusing to English speakers because they expect the letters to have the same sounds. Mhath (good) for example is pronounced "vah"

  • InevitableSwing [none/use name]
    ·
    edit-2
    3 months ago

    I always thought Costello was simply an Italian surname because of Abbott and Costello.

    Lou Costello (1906–1959), Italian-American actor and comedian (born Louis Francis Cristillo), part of Abbott and Costello

    I was a boy in the 1970s. I watched a zillion hours of tv as a teen and teen - especially cop shows. If I heard the name Costello in fiction - I bet it was the surname of cop or a criminal in a tv cop series due to this guy.

    Frank Costello (born Francesco Castiglia; January 26, 1891 – February 18, 1973) was an Italian-American crime boss of the Luciano crime family.