Irish Names for Boys

If you're looking for a pleasing namesake that's more modern than Darrell/Darryl, this would make an excellent choice. Farrell is an Anglicized form of the Irish Fergal, and was well used as a first name into the nineteenth century, before it faded to mostly surname use.

This somewhat boisterous Celtic name would be at home in a noisy pub or out walking on the moors. In Scotland, it was originally a nickname for someone with dark hair or a swarthy complexion.

Undiscovered Irish surname.

Although Maguire is such a prominent Irish surname —it ranks in the Top 40 in the Emerald Isle —this lively and cheerful family name has rarely been used as a first, unlike more familiar examples like Ryan, Riley and Reagan. The powerful and distinguished Maguire clan was known for their courage, leadership and resilience. The name's many notable associations include the unionizing Pennsylvania coal miners known as the Molly Maguires, actor Tobey Maguire and Dixie Chick Martie Maguire. Other spellings are McGuire and McGwire; two other handsome Irish surnames to consider are Malone and Magee.

A jovial and jaunty Irish name, the title of a long-gone TV crime drama, this would make an appealing choice. Slight downside: Maddy is already a mega-popular nickname for Madeline/Madelyn and Madison, so this Mad- name might not feel as distinctive as the stats would suggest.

When British rocker Steven Patrick Morrissey decided to use his last name alone, it became a viable option for baby namers, a lot cooler than Morris or Maurice.

The names may sound the same, but they have different origins and meanings. Take your pick.

Has a harmonic feel.

With the fashions for tree names, place names, and nickname names, Derry is a three-way winner.

The Arthur variation preferred in Portugal and across much of Eastern Europe. It’s a truly international name, and one that would be easy to wear in the US as well.

Donal is, yes, just Donald with the final d cut off, but that somehow gives it a jauntier, fresher feel. Donal Logue is a Canadian actor and Donal Skehan is an Irish cookbook author.

This name of eighteen Irish saints of the past is relatively popular in Ireland, though little known outside it.

Cagney is one of the spunkiest Irish surnames around, and could make a lively and fresher successor to the tired Casey.

Breccan may be the original saints' name, but in the modern U.S., the spelling Brecken is the most popular form, followed by Breckin. A winner by any spelling.

Gives Carlo a place-name/surname spin.

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.

You might want to honor premier U.S. architect Frank Gehry--even though he was born Ephraim Goldberg. Gehry, pronounced like the more common surname Geary, may be a spin on the name Gary, which means spear, or derive from the Middle English word geary, which means fickle.

In Cool Names, we cite this as an "Artist Name," for twentieth-century abstract painter Grace Hartigan, though for you it may just be an upbeat Irish surname.

Runyon is an Irish surname with considerable flair; some will connect it with Guys and Dolls writer Damon Runyon.

Transformation of the stolid Gilbert into an animated surname name.