Gaelic Names

Branton may be more unusual than Brandon but it will forever be confused with that name.

Long popular in Ireland and England, Ciarán is the name of Ireland's first-born saint and twenty-five other saints. While this is the authentic Irish spelling, it is more familiar in the US in the Anglicized Kieran spelling.

The 6th century Irish saint Mirin emigrated to Scotland and now is the patron saint of both the Glasgow suburb of Paisley and the game of football. Mirren is one modern spelling; the Cornish Merryn, best known as the name of the seacoast town St. Merryn, is also related. The name is usually used for girls.

This Anglicized spelling adds a bit of a, well, sheen to the very popular Irish name Oisín.

What it really means: you're a "Casablanca" fan.

Actress Kirstie Alley popularized this short form that's been off the popularity register for a decade.

Once considered too sacred to give to children in Ireland, it is now among the most common names there, along with variants including Pauric and Padraic. Basketball great Patrick Ewing used it for his son.