These Irish baby names and how to pronounce them are absolutely precious. Whether you are honoring your Irish descent, love Irish history, or are just giving a nod to Irish culture, this list of baby names will help you find the perfect name.
Known for its rich history, Irish folklore, and rolling landscapes, the Republic of Ireland is a magnificent place. Many Gaelic, Celtic, and Irish names have been popular for years (looking at you, Finn and Riley!) But others you may have never heard of before.
You’ll find both common names and unique Irish baby names with meanings on this list. This list includes a mix of traditional Irish name spellings and Anglicized spellings, so you can pick your favorite.
You may also notice that many of the names are derived from Irish surnames. These names are more popular among new parents that want to honor their Irish heritage, versus those that want a traditional Irish moniker. If you love the idea of using last names for first names, click here for a complete list.
All of these names have Celtic or Irish roots, making them the perfect choice for your wee lad or lass. If you’re a lover of all things Ireland, you’ll go crazy for these baby names of Irish origin. You’ll find the names in alphabetical order, with the meanings included, so you can pick the perfect name for your Irish babe!
Good luck on your hunt for the best Irish baby names! With this list of over 150 Irish names and pronounciations, I’m sure you’ll find something you love.
Best Irish Girl Names
Ailbhe – pronounced “el-va”, this classic Irish girl name means “white, bright”.
Aileen – a traditional Irish girl name meaning “light”. It is pronounced “eye-leen”.
Aislinn – this beautiful Irish girl name means “dream”. It is pronounced “ash-lin”.
Aoife – means “joyful, radiant” or “beautiful woman”. This name is one of the top Irish baby names. It is pronounced “ee-fa”.
Aoibheann – pronounced “ee-van”, this traditional Irish girl name means “beautiful”
Ashleen – a beautiful name meaning “dream”
Brenna – derived from the Irish male name Brennan, the meaning of the name “ is drop of water”
Bria – this short Irish girls’ name means “noble”
Brianna – this girl’s name means “strong, virtuous”
Bridget – also spelled Briget or Bridgit, this name means “power, strength”
Brigid – meaning “power, strength”. Brigid is an ancient Irish name that has been declining in popularity in Ireland. Saint Brigid of Kildare is an Irish saint known for being the saint of poets/
Brinna – also spelled Brynna, this name means “little drop of water”
Caoimhe – this comes from the Gaelic word “caomh” and means “beautiful, precious”. Caoimhe is pronounced “kee-va”.
Cara – a short Irish name that means “friend”
Casey – an Irish unisex name meaning “vigilant”. There are many alternative spellings including Kasey, Caycie, Kacie and Kaycie.
Cassadina – a variation of Cassidy, this name means “curly haired”
Cassidy – derived from the Irish surname Caiside, the name Cassidy means “curly-haired”.
Ciara – also spelled Kiera or Keira, this name is pronounced “keer-ah” and means “little dark haired one”.
Cliodhna – means “shapely”, this name is pronounced “clee-nah”. In Irish mythology, Cliodhna was the Queen of the Banshees.
Corey – a gender neutral name meaning “hollow”. It is also spelled Corrie.
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Croía – this Irish name comes from the Irish word for “heart”. This is the perfect baby name for parents that love unique names. This short Irish name is pronounced “cree-ya” and is a fairly popular Irish name
Dara – the name Dara has many origins, but the Irish version of the name means “oak tree”
Darcy – means “the dark one”. This unique Irish girl name is easy to both say and spell
Deidra – means “broken hearted one”. Alternate spellings include Deidre and Deirdre.
Delaney – derived from the Irish surname, this name means “from Dubhshláine”.
Devin – a gender neutral Irish name meaning “poet”
Eábha – the Irish form of Eve, this name means “life”. This is a popular name in Ireland for girls and is pronounced “ay-va”.
Eithne – a unique Irish name meaning “grain”. This name is a variation of the Gaelic name Aithnea, and is pronounced either “en-ya” or “eth-nah”.
Elva – a unique Irish girl name meaning “white”. This is one of best Irish girls names – I love that it is a short Irish name that is also very feminine.
Enya – an Irish name meaning “fire”
Erin – an Irish baby girl name meaning “Ireland”. This is a fairly popular Irish name in the United States.
Fallon – means “descendent of a ruler”
Fiadh – pronounced “fee-ah”, this traditional Irish baby name means “wild” or “little deer”. Fiadh was one of the most popular Irish baby names for girls in 2020.
Finley – this is a gender neutral name of Gaelic origins that means “fair”. Finley is popular today as both a male and female name in the United States.
Fiona – the name Fiona means “fair one”.
Glenna – a Gaelic name meaning “derived from the valley or glen”
Imogen – pronounced “imma-jen”, this name means “maiden”
Kaitlyn – a name meaning “pure”. There are many spellings of this name, including Katelyn, Kaitlin, Caitlyn, Caitlin and Kaitlynn.
Kathleen – means “pure”
Kaela – an Irish girl name meaning “laurel crown”
Keagan – a gender neutral name meaning “descendant of the fiery one”
Keeley – this girl name means “war”
Kelly – a gender neutral Irish name that means “bright headed”
Kennedy – a gender-neutral surname name that means “chief with helmet”
Kera – means “dark haired one”
Kerry – a Gaelic name meaning “dusky”
Keva – this adorable Irish girl name means “gentle, beautiful”
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Kiana – the feminine form of Kian, this unique Irish girl name means “divine”
Kiley – meaning “graceful”, this name is also spelled Kylee or Kylie
Kyla – means “slender”, derived from the name Caol
Lana – means “child”. Lana is a very unique Irish girl name!
Laoghaire – pronounced “lee-ree”, this name means “calf herder”. Laoghaire Mackenzie is a character from the Outlander series.
Mackenzie – a gender neutral name that is of Irish and Scottish origins. It means “son of Kenneth”. There are many different ways to spell Mackenzie, including McKenzie, Mackenzee, Mackenzi, Mackenzie, Makenzie, and more!
Maeve – means “intoxicating”
Máire – a form of Mary, meaning “of the sea of bitterness”. It is pronounced “moy-ra”
Maura – means “star of the sea”
Maureen – means “star of the sea”
McKenna – derived from the Gaelic-Irish surname “Mac Cionaoith”, this name means “son of Cionnaith”. It is also spelled Mackenna or Makenna.
Meabh – pronounced “may-ve”, and means “intoxicating”. This is the traditional Irish spelling for “Maeve”.
Meara – means “jolly”
Merielle – also spelled Meriel, this Irish girl name means “sea nymph”
Moira – means “drop of the sea” and is the Anglicized version of the name Máire
Molly – meaning “star of the sea”. Molly is of Irish origins as the nickname for Mary.
Moreen – meaning “great”
Moria – a variation of Maureen, also meaning “star of the sea”
Myrna – an Irish name meaning “beloved”
Related: 100+ Forgotten Vintage Girl Names In 2021
Niamh – this name means “bright” and is pronounced “neeve”. Niamh is a classic Irish girl name that is full of character and personality!
Nora – an Irish name meaning “light” or “honor”
Noreen – a name meaning “honor”
Orla – Orla is an Irish girl name that means “golden princess”.
Orlagh – a classic Irish girl name, a variation of Orla, also meaning “golden princess”
Quillan – a gender neutral Irish name meaning “cub”
Quinn – an Irish name meaning “descendent of Conn”
Regan – an Irish name meaning “little king”
Riley – a unisex Irish baby name meaning “wood clearing”. There are many spellings of the name Riley, including Rylee, Rylie and Reilly.
Riona – a beautiful Irish name meaning “queenly”
Róisín – a girls’ name meaning “little rose”. This name is great for parents that love flower baby girl names.
Saoirse – means “liberty” and is pronounced “sur-sha”. It is one of the most common Irish names of 2020. This name was made famous by actress Saoirse Ronan
Shannon – this Irish girl name is pretty common in the United States. Shannon means “wise river”.
Shauna – the feminine version of the name Sean, this girl name means “God is gracious”
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Shea – from the Irish surname O’Shea, this unisex Irish name means “esteemed”
Sheena – also spelled Sheenah, this name means “God is gracious”
Sheila – means “heavenly”
Siobhan – pronounced “sha-vawn”, this popular Irish girl name means “God is gracious”
Sloane – a unique girl name of Irish origins meaning “raider.”
Tawney – means “a green field”
Teagan – meaning “attractive”
Tiernan – this unisex name means “lord”
Tierney – a form of Tiernan, this name also means “lord”
Best Irish Boy Names
Aiden – an Irish name meaning “little fire”. This name does have an alternate spelling of both Aidan and Ayden. Aiden has been one of the most popular boys’ names in the United States for many years.
Aneislis – means “thoughtful”, this Irish boy name is pronounced “ah-neez-lis”.
Aodhan – a variation of Aiden, this name means “little fire”. This is is an old Irish name that has many variations.
Barry – means “fair head”
Braden – means “salmon”
Brady – means “descendent of Bradach”
Brennan – derived from an Irish surname, meaning “sorrow”
Brian – also spelled Bryan, this name means “noble”
Briant – a variation of Brian, also meaning “noble”. This name is also spelled Bryant.
Brody – a Gaelic name meaning “ditch”
Caol – pronounced like the anglicized name Kyle, this name means “slender”. It is also spelled Cáel.
Caoimhín – pronounced “kee-veen”, this name is a form of Kevin and means “handsome”
Casey – an Irish unisex name meaning “vigilant”
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Cian – meaning “ancient”, this name is pronounced “kee-an”. Cian was a popular choice for baby boys in 2020.
Cillian – also spelled Killian, this name means “little church”. This was one of the most popular Irish baby boy names of 2020 according to the Ireland Central Statistics Office.
Collin – also spelled Colin, this name means “young one”
Conan – this Irish boy name means “hound, wolf”
Connor – an Irish name meaning “lover of wolves”. This name is also spelled Conor, which was one of the most popular baby boy names of 2020.
Corey – a gender neutral name meaning “hollow”. It is also spelled Corrie.
Cowan – a classic Irish boy name that means “hollow hill”
Cullen – means “young dog”
Dallan – pronounced “dal-en”, this name means “blind one”
Darragh – means “oak”, pronounced “dar-ah”. This was one of the top baby names in recent years.
Declan – a traditional Irish male name meaning “man of prayer”
Delwyn – this Irish and Welsh boy name means “blessed friend”
Desmond – an Irish name meaning “from South Munster”
Devin – a gender neutral Irish name meaning “poet”
Dillon – means “little blind one”
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Donovan – means “dark”
Eagan – an Irish name meaning “fire”
Eamon – meaning “wealthy protector”, this Irish boy’s name is pronounced “ay-mon”. This is a very unique Irish name and is not popular in Ireland.
Eames – an Irish name meaning “wealthy protector”
Eoghan – a Gaelic and Irish baby name that means “born of the yew tree”. It is pronounced like the name Owen and is a traditional Irish baby name.
Dolan – meaning “dark, bold”
Finley – this is a gender neutral name of Gaelic origins that means “fair”
Finn – meaning “white”, this was one of the most popular boys’ names of 2020.
Finnegan – this name means “son of a fair-haired”
Fion – means either “fair” or “from Finland”. Fionn mac Cumhaill, or Finn Maccool, was a hunter-warrior according to Irish legend.
Flynn – means “red” or “son of a red-haired man”
Gallagher – means “descendent of Gallchobhar”
Gillespie – meaning “servant of the bishop”
Grady – means “descendent of the noble”
Keagan – a gender neutral name meaning “descendant of the fiery one”
Keenan – meaning “ancient”
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Kelly – a gender neutral Irish name that means “bright headed”
Kevin – a common Irish boy name meaning “handsome”. This is a popular boy name in the United States.
Kian – an Irish and Gaelic boy name meaning “king”
Kiernan – means “son of a Lord”.
Lachlan – a name of Irish and Scottish origins meaning “from the land of lakes”
Liam – means “protection”. This name is often short for William, but Liam alone is a very popular Irish name last year.
Maccoy – means “son of Hugh”
Mackenzie – a gender neutral name that is of Irish and Scottish origins. It means “son of Kenneth”.
Murphy – derived from an Irish surname, this name means “sea warrior”
Neil – an Irish name meaning “victory”
Niall – means “champion”
Nolan – an Irish boy name meaning “descendent of the famous one”
Owen – the name Owen means “noble” or “youthful”
Patrick – a traditional Irish boy name that means “son of a noble father”
Quillan – a gender neutral Irish name meaning “cub”
Quinlan – this unique Irish name means “fit, strong”
Quinn – an Irish name meaning “descendent of Conn”
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Riley – a unisex Irish baby name meaning “wood clearing”. There are many spellings of the name Riley, including Rylee, Rylie and Reilly.
Rogan – meaning “red-haired”
Ronan – of Irish origin meaning “little seal”
Rory – this Irish boy name means “red king”
Ryan – a very popular Irish boy name that means “little king”
Seamus – a classic Irish boy name meaning “supplanter”. This name is pronounced “shay-mus”
Sean – a variation of John, this name means “God is gracious”
Shane – likely a variation of Sean, this name means “God is gracious”
Shea – from the Irish surname O’Shea, this unisex Irish name means “esteemed”
Tiernan – this unisex name means “lord”
Troy – an Irish name meaning “foot soldier”
Tullie – a variation of Tullus, means “mighty people”
Tullis – a unique Irish name that means “mighty people”
Did you find what you were looking for? To view the list of most popular baby names, check out the data from Ireland’s Central Statistics office. Not all of the names are of Irish origin, but they are the names that Irish parents are giving their babies at the moment.
I hope you love this list of the Best Irish Baby Names! Which were your favorite?
