Erin is a Hiberno-English derivative of the Irish word "Éirinn". "Éirinn" is the dative case of the Irish word for Ireland - "Éire", genitive "Éireann". The dative form is the one usually used in spoken Irish where the written language would require the nominative "Éire". Poets and nineteenth-century Irish nationalists used Erin in English as a romantic name for Ireland. In this context, along with Hibernia, Erin is the name given to the female personification of Ireland, but the name was rarely used as a given name, probably due to the fact that no saints, queens, or literary figures were ever called Erin.According to Irish mythology and folklore, the name was originally given to the island by the Milesians after the goddess Ériu.Erin go bragh ("Éirinn go brách" in standard orthography), a slogan dating from the 1798 revolution, is often translated as "Ireland forever". The etymology of the word as it drifted throughout the Gaelic region gave rise to its use by the early Scots to both mean Ireland and "west" - as Ireland lies to the west of Scotland.