Read the dragon names in Fourth Wing aloud and they don't sound like English. Look them up and most of them aren't.
Tairn's full name, Tairneanach, is the Scottish Gaelic word for thunder. Teine is fire. Deigh is ice. Cath is battle.
Rebecca Yarros hasn't published a glossary, and we found no interview where she sets out her sources. But the matches are too exact to be chance. Here is what each dragon is named after.
The Dragons and Their Gaelic Words
Meanings come from Am Faclair Beag, the Scottish Gaelic dictionary that includes Dwelly's classic dictionary. "Exact" means the dragon's name is the dictionary spelling. "Close" means a near spelling we think is the source but can't prove.
| Dragon (rider) | Gaelic word and meaning |
|---|---|
| Tairn (Violet) | Tàirneanach, his full name: thunder. Exact. |
| Teine (Mira) | Teine: fire, flame. Exact. |
| Deigh (Liam) | Deigh: ice. Exact. |
| Cath (Dain) | Cath: battle, fight. Exact. |
| Marbh (Brennan) | Marbh: dead; as a verb, to kill. Exact. |
| Aimsir (Lilith) | Aimsir: weather, season, era. Exact. |
| Aotrom (Ridoc) | Aotrom: light, as in not heavy; light-hearted. Exact. |
| Sliseag (Sawyer) | Sliseag: a chip, a slice, a wood shaving. Exact. |
| Cuir (Bodhi) | Cuir: put, place, send. Exact. |
| Solas (Varrish) | Solas: light, as in brightness. Exact. |
| Cruth (Quinn) | Cruth: form, shape. Exact. |
| Feirge (Rhiannon) | Form of fearg: anger, wrath. Exact, inflected. |
| Chradh (Garrick) | Form of cràdh: pain, torment. Exact, inflected. |
| Sgaeyl (Xaden) | Close to sgàil: shadow, shade. |
| Codagh (Melgren) | Close to cogadh: war. |
| Glane (Imogen) | Close to glan: clean, bright. |
| Thoirt (Sloane) | Close to toirt: giving; worth. |
| Andarna (Violet) | Full name Andarnaurram. No Gaelic match found. |
| Molvic (Aaric) | No Gaelic match found. |
A few dragons are named only in passing and not checked here, among them Baide, Leothan and Dasyn. Daja and Kiralair are gryphons, not dragons, which is easy to miss on fan lists.
The Names Fit Their Riders
Once you know the words, some pairings read like jokes Yarros left for Gaelic speakers.
- Sgaeyl, shadow: bonded to Xaden, whose signet is shadow wielding.
- Marbh, dead: bonded to Brennan, the brother his family believed was dead.
- Tairn, thunder: bonded to Violet, who wields lightning.
- Aotrom, light-hearted: bonded to Ridoc, the squad's joker.
- Sliseag, wood shaving: a fearsome red swordtail named after a chip of wood.
That last one is the best. A dragon with a name that small is either a joke, or a dragon secure enough not to care.
How Tairneanach Shortens to Tairn
Only two dragons have a confirmed long form: Tairn and Andarna. The short names are what riders use. The long one is the real word.
Tairneanach: Gaelic for thunder
The trick is worth copying. Take a long Gaelic word, keep the first strong syllable as the everyday name, and save the full word for the moment it matters.
Twenty Gaelic Words for Your Own Dragon
Every word below is real and checked against Am Faclair Beag. None is already a canon dragon. Shorten them the way Yarros shortened Tairneanach, or use them whole.
| Gaelic word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Stoirm | Storm |
| Dealanach | Lightning |
| Beithir | A fierce beast or serpent; also a thunderbolt |
| Nathair | Serpent, adder |
| Lasair | Flame, flash |
| Éibhleag | Ember |
| Luaithre | Ashes, dust |
| Gual | Coal, char |
| Ceò | Mist, smoke |
| Oidhche | Night |
| Dorchadas | Darkness |
| Sgàil | Shadow, ghost |
| Cnàimh | Bone |
| Iarann | Iron |
| Creag | Rock, crag |
| Reòthadh | Frost |
| Sneachd | Snow |
| Gaoth | Wind |
| Sgiath | Wing; also a shield |
| Cuthach | Frenzy, madness |
Beithir is the one to steal. It already means a monstrous serpent and a thunderbolt, and nobody in Navarre has it yet.
Match the Word to the Dragon
Dragons in the Empyrean come in six colours, black, blue, red, orange, brown and green, and the rare Irid. Each colour has its own temperament. Reds have the shortest tempers. A dragon's tail type, from clubtail to scorpiontail, has nothing to do with its colour.
- Pick a word that fits the dragon's temper
- Shorten long words to one strong syllable
- Keep accents if you can: Ceò, not Ceo
- Check the meaning in a real dictionary
- Run English words through a translator
- Give a dragon a surname
- Reuse a canon dragon's word
- Guess at pronunciation in front of Gaelic speakers
If you'd rather start from a generated name, the Fourth Wing name generator has a Dragon setting that writes single names in this style. For dragons outside the Empyrean, try the general dragon name generator.
Somewhere in Navarre there is a dragon called "light-hearted" bonded to the funniest cadet in the Riders Quadrant. Pick your word with the same care.
Common Questions
What language are the Fourth Wing dragon names?
Most match Scottish Gaelic words. Tairneanach (Tairn) means thunder, Teine fire, Deigh ice, Cath battle and Marbh dead. A few, like Andarna and Molvic, have no Gaelic match.
What does Tairn mean in Fourth Wing?
Tairn is short for his full name, Tairneanach, the Scottish Gaelic word for thunder. It fits a dragon bonded to a lightning wielder.
What does Sgaeyl mean?
It's close to the Gaelic sgàil, meaning shadow or shade. Her rider, Xaden, wields shadows. Yarros pronounces it "Suh-gale".