RUADH – Gaelic byname meaning “red”, often a nickname for one with red hair.
In Britain, redheads are also sometimes referred to disparagingly as "carrot tops" and "carrot heads" (the comedian "Carrot Top" uses this stage name).
Nighean Ruadh is Gaelic for "the red-haired girl."
Although red hair is frequently associated with Scotland, Ireland, and England, people of color can also be born with natural red hair. For example, places like Morocco and Central Asia have higher proportions of redheads.
/ˈrɛdhɛd/ A redhead is a person with red hair. Although sometimes it looks more like orange, “orangehead” isn't a thing. Only about one percent of the entire population is a real redhead.
A person with naturally red hair might be said to have a fire crotch or be insulted as a fire crotch.
Having red hair and blue eyes is the rarest hair/eye color combination possible. The odds of a person having both of those recessive traits is around 0.17%. Instead, most redheads have brown, hazel or green eyes, according to Medical Daily.
Contrary to what many people assume, redheads did not originate in Scandinavia, Scotland or Ireland, but in central Asia. Their coloring is due to a mutation in the MC1R gene that fails to produce sun-protective, skin-darkening eumelanin and instead causes pale skin, freckles and red hair.
Red hair has long been associated with Celtic people. Both the ancient Greeks and Romans described the Celts as redheads. The Romans extended the description to Germanic people, at least those they most frequently encountered in southern and western Germany. It still holds true today.
Growing Up Ginger In Ireland
Growing up as a redhead in Ireland brings memories of bad jokes and teasing in the schoolyard. From “ginger nut” to “carrot-top” to “copper-head”; I've heard them all.
La Dame Blanche, or the White Lady, is a figure featured in the mythologies of various Celtic countries. She is often identified with Macha of ancient Irish mythology, and is variously known as the Dryad of Death, Queen of the Dead, and the Crone form of the Goddess.
Red Jamie/Seumas Ruadh
The notorious Highlander known as Red Jamie is very clearly Jamie's nickname because of his red hair. Seumas Ruadh is the Gaelic translation of this name.
The term 'ginger' originated in the UK. It was initially created to insult a redhead.
Where in the world are the most green eyes? The highest concentration of people with green eyes is found in Ireland, Scotland, and northern Europe. In fact, in Ireland and Scotland, more than three-fourths of the population has blue or green eyes – 86 percent!
Both characteristics come from recessive genes, which like to come in pairs. Redheads probably won't go grey. That's because the pigment just fades over time. So they will probably go blonde and even white, but not grey.
Did some Vikings have red hair? Contrary to what pop culture has us believe about Vikings, most of them didn't actually fit the prototype of blond hair, blue eyes, and rugged looks. In fact, research suggests that genetic analysis of this Norse tribe found that a majority of Vikings had red hair.
Red hair is one potential manifestation of a gene mutation in the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R). While red hair most frequently occurs among European peoples, it is also present among persons of Asian descent or Africans with European admixture (though extremely rare).
Redheadedness is a north and western European trait, but the pattern of redheads in the British Isles is more consistent with the ancient indigenous Celtic inhabitants who were here before the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons.
According to an article by evolutionary biology professor Mark Elgar, PhD, of the University of Melbourne, blue-eyed redheads are the absolute rarest, with 0.17% of the population having that combination of hair and eye color. So if that describes you, you're most likely one in a million (or more!).
Lifespan: up to 20 years in captivity, 5-10 years in the wild.
Clancy: Is of Irish origin and means 'red-haired warrior. '
What are some good redhead names? For boys, Irish names such as Rory, Flynn, and Clancy translate to mean red or red-haired. For girls, names such as Scarlett, Crimson, and Ruby are great names for a redhead.