--- description: Some Irish people reportedly dislike the term "St Patty's," as the nickname is only applicable to Patricia — a woman's name — and not a man title: Why Some Irish People Don't Want You to Call It St. Patty's Day image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt03be6a313f632147/6988be55656a3f094ebcf249/gettyimages-481207305.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why Some Irish People Don't Want You to Call It St. Patty's Day by [Aric Jenkins](/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 15, 2017 9:58 PM CUT  Image of the crowds gathered in Temple Bar after St. Patrick's day parade in Dublin, Ireland. Image of the crowds gathered in Temple Bar after St. Patrick's day parade in Dublin, Ireland.Nazrie Abu Seman—Getty Images by [Aric Jenkins](/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 15, 2017 9:58 PM CUT You might want to be careful using the term “St. Patty’s” this [March 17](http://time.com/4698114/st-patricks-day-home-brewing-homebrewing-beer-gadgets-supplies-equipment-gear/ "undefined"). Some Irish people reportedly dislike the term “St. Patty’s,” as the nickname is only applicable to Patricia — a woman’s name — and not a man, which St. Patrick was. “St. Paddy’s” is appropriate, however, because the alternative spelling is a nickname for Pádraig, a variant of Patrick, according to website [PaddyNotPatty](http://paddynotpatty.com/ "undefined"). The Dublin International Airport addressed the issue itself on its Facebook page in 2014\. “Please share this simple message with your friends and relations in the United States and Canada,” a post on the page in the Gaelic language reportedly read. “Using the power of your network, hopefully we can banish the scourge of St Patty once and for all.” The meme still crops up every year on Facebook and elsewhere. St. Paddy’s Day [this year](http://time.com/4699003/outvets-boston-st-patricks-day-parade-permitted/ "undefined") arrives on Friday. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4703066/st-patricks-day-paddys-pattys-dublin-ireland/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4703066/st-patricks-day-paddys-pattys-dublin-ireland/"},"headline":"Why Some Irish People Don't Want You to Call It St. Patty's Day","datePublished":"2017-03-15T21:58:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:51:42.429Z","description":"Spelling really matters to some","url":"https://time.com/4703066/st-patricks-day-paddys-pattys-dublin-ireland/","keywords":["Holidays","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt03be6a313f632147/6988be55656a3f094ebcf249/gettyimages-481207305.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aric Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt03be6a313f632147/6988be55656a3f094ebcf249/gettyimages-481207305.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Saint Patrick's Day","caption":"Saint Patrick's Day","creditText":"Nazrie Abu Seman—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4703066/st-patricks-day-paddys-pattys-dublin-ireland/","name":"Why Some Irish People Don't Want You to Call It St. Patty's Day"}}]}] ```