20 Most Popular Irish Gaelic Baby Names Today

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The 20 Most Popular Irish Girl and Boy Names

Although many aspects of traditional Irish culture have declined in contemporary Ireland, these 20 popular Irish Gaelic names still thrive.

We can thank the Celtic revival for that, which was seen throughout the 19th century and 20th century.

That was a time of unified resurgence in interest in our Gaelic roots after the Great Famine of the 1840’s, which took a major toll on the Irish cultural identity.

Today, these girls and boys names are still as popular as ever, and with the Gaelic language on the rise again, hopefully, we’ll be seeing more traditional names make a comeback.

For now though, here are the 20 most popular!

For the Girls:

10. Siobhán

The name Siobhán can be spelt with or without a fada (e.g. Siobhán or Siobhan). This girls name originated from Ireland; it is a variation of the name Joan or Jane and means “God is gracious”.

Phonetically: shi-von

9. Deirdre

Deirdre was an extremely popular name for baby boomers in Ireland during the early ’60s and stretches back far into Irish tradition. The name, however, has some pretty dark undertones, meaning “raging”, “broken-hearted” or “fear”.

Phonetically: deer-dra

8. Aisling

This popular Irish girls name came into use in the early 20th century and is still as popular as ever. The name can be spelt as Aisling or Aislinn and means “dream” or “vision”.

Phonetically: ash-ling

7. Maeve

This Irish girls name has numerous many variations, including Maedhbh, Maebh Madb and Medb. This old Irish name means “she who intoxicates”.

Phonetically: may-veh

6. Saoirse

This name was popularized in recent years in media culture by award-winning Irish actress, Saoirse Ronan. The name itself means “freedom”.

Phonetically: seer-sha

5. Niamh

Niamh can also be spelt Niambh, Neve, Nieve, or Neave. It is an Irish female given name and means “bright” or “radiant”.

Phonetically: nee-ve

4. Róisín

This popular Irish girls name means “little rose” and is the Irish variation of the name Rosie or Rosaleen.

Phoneteically: row-sheen

3. Aoife

Aoife (also spelt Aife or Aeife) is an extremely popular Irish girls name. It is thought to come from the Irish word “aobh” which translates to mean “beauty” or “radiance”.

Phonetically: e-fah

2. Ciara

This is the Irish feminine version of the popular Irish boys name Ciarán, which means “little dark-haired one” or “little dark one” in the old Irish language. The name has been anglicised over generations and can also be seen as Keira, Kiera, Kyra or Kira.

Phonetically: ker-rah

1. Sinéad

This is one of the most popular Irish girls names on the go! It is the Irish form of Jane and means “God is gracious”.

Phonetically: shin-aid

For the Boys:

10. Colm

This popular Irish boys name means “dove” by translation. The name originally derives from Latin and is centuries old in Ireland.

Phonetically: coll-um

9. Aidan

This Irish boys name can be seen spelt in a variety of ways. Other variations include Aodhan or Aiden. The name itself means “firey” in the Gaelic language.

Phonetically: aid-en

8. Cian

This name links back to Irish history and legend and has been in use as a boys name in Ireland as far back as history stretches. Fittingly, it means “ancient” in Gaelic.

Phonetically: key-an

7. Pádraig

This is an extremely popular Irish boys name. The name was introduced to Ireland by our very own, Saint Patrick, and means “of the patrician class” (or “of the upper class”).

Other variations of this name include Pádraic and Páraic. This is the Irish version of Patrick.

Phonetically: pad-rig

6. Cormac

This popular Irish boys name has been on the go for centuries and is still as prevalent as ever. The name means “son of the charioteer”.

Phonetically: kor-mak

5. Daire

This Irish boys name can be spelt as Darragh, Dara or Daire. It can also be seen with or without a fada (e.g. Daire or Dáire). It means “wealthy” in the Gaelic language.

Phonetically: dar-ra

4. Ciarán

This popular Irish boys name can be spelt like Ciarán or Kiarán and can be seen with or without fadas (e.g. Ciaran or Kiaran). It means “little dark one” or “little dark-haired one”.

Phonetically: keer-awn

3. Niall

Niall is a common Irish boys name and is thought to translate to mean “passionate” or “champion”, although an exact understanding of the name does not exist.