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.
2. Eoin
This popular boys name can also be seen spelt as Eoghan in Ireland. In tradition, this name means “born of yew (tree)” or “youth”.
Phonetically: o-win
1. Seán
Seán is an extremely popular Irish boys name in Ireland. It means “gift from God”.
Phonetically: s-awn
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