Today, County Tyrone in Ireland (highlighted red in the map above) sounds like the same name as the common name, Tyrone (originally from Greek). However, Ireland's Tyrone actually comes from the Anglicized version of the Irish name, Tír Eoghan, which is actually pronounced "tier owen" or "cheer owen" depending on the Irish dialect.

Tír Eoghan translates to "Land of Eoghan" which refers to the kingdom of a King Eoghan in ancient Irish history. Some say this king was the son of King Niall of the Nine Hostages.

How did County Tyrone, Ireland come to be pronounced the same as the Greek name? It comes from the Anglicization or transliteration of the Irish words. Like the Irish word for "girl," cailín, became Colleen in English because translators needed to use English letters and syllables, Tír Eoghan became Tyrone because when spoken, Tír Eoghan, sounds like Tier-own, so English translators wrote it as Tyrone, and it would have been pronounced like Tier-own, like the Irish is supposed to sound.

But over time, the original Irish pronunciation was lost because speakers would read and pronounce what they saw in writing, Tyrone, like the name they were familiar with. And so, the English pronunciation of the Irish Tyrone killed off the original pronunciation and became "Tie-rohn," which in Greek means "sovereign, lord, or king."

Today, both County Tyrone, Ireland and the name, Tyrone, are pronounced the same way. However, it's interesting to see how these, originally, very different sounding names converged into Tyrone, yet they both have meanings linked to kingship. Make note of this because it is one of many lessons from God that taught me you CANNOT jump to conclusions and say things are equal because they simply appear to be.