Irish Names for Girls: The Complete List

A name from the East African Kikuyu language with a sweet meaning; and a simplified spelling of McKenna.

Grainne is the Irish form of the name often Anglicized as Grania. It was the name of the ancient grain goddess and also of the fiancee of mythological hero Finn McCool and lover of Dermot, who was a heroine of the seas.

Sadbh is the modern Irish form of the more streamlined but equally confusing Sadb or Sadhbh: these names are pronounced to rhyme with five. In Irish mythology Sadb or Sadbh or Sadhbh, a goddess lover of Finn McCool's, was turned into a deer only to vanish and (somewhere in there) give birth to Oisin.

The unusual and intriguing Tullia has been used since Roman times as a feminine of the illustrious family name Tullius, as in philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero. Modern parents who like Tallulah or Lillia but want something even more unusual would do well to consider the nearly-unknown Tullia, which may also be varied to Tulia, rhyming with Julia.

Stylish and boyish but could work for a girl -- especially one with brown eyes -- and Sully is a quirky and jaunty nickname.

Would make a truly original alternative to the overused Sarah.

Although the Mc or Mac prefix always means "son of", the first names McKenna and MacKenna are used in the US exclusively for girls, with the McKenna spelling outpacing this one 14 to 1. There are no boys recorded with either spelling of the name.

With both the Dillon and Dylan spellings, usage of this gender-neutral names runs about ten to one boys to girls. But Dylan is used about 20 times as often as Dillon for both genders. Which might be a vote in favor of Dillon, though for better or worse, this spellings distances the name from singer Bob and poet Thomas.

Eachna is the name of an Irish goddess renowned for her beauty, brains and stylishness; in early legend, a Connacht princess named Eachna was deemed to be one of the loveliest and cleverest women int he world.

Eachna is pronounced ahk-na, so despite its nice namesake story, it would provide a pronunciation challenge outside the Irish culture.

An Anglicized form of Medb borrowed by both Shakespeare and Percy Bysshe Shelley for the of queen of the fairies. Perfect if you want something both adventurous and simple.

Variation of Isolde, the name of a great Celtic heroine. The mononymous French singer Yseult is the most notable bearer today.

While the most famous Channing is the very male Channing Tatum, the name is now given about a third of the time for girls. It makes an attractive surname-name for either gender.

Anglicized spelling of the difficult-to-decipher Gaelic Aoibheann, the name of several Irish princesses, this name rhymes with Steven. Eavan Boland is a distinguished Irish poet who teaches at Stanford University.

This fanciful Irish extension of Bridget is known here through the wacky Amelia Bedelia books for kids -- an association your child may or may not like.

Cool a few decades ago, along with Lori and Tori -- but no more.

Aidan is an ancient Irish saint's name with a fire meaning that's mega popular for boys, most often spelled as Aiden. The name is occasionally used for girls, sometimes as Aidyn or Ayden, as well. Aidan was the name of a famous seventh-century Irish saint, and is related to the Irish word for fire.

This Anglicized spelling of Irish Aislinn or Aisling has enjoyed some popularity in the US as an updated Ashley.

Kaitlin is a variation of Caitlin that's on a steep decline; it dropped out of the Top 1000 in 2013, after more than three decades on the list.

This Irish surname packs a lot of attitude, projecting an image of spunk and sass. The Welsh singer Duffy, born Aimee Anne Duffy, is best known for her songs Mercy and Warwick Avenue.

Dearbhla along with its Anglicized form Dervla are both well-used in modern Ireland. There was a medieval Saint Dearbhla. The spelling Deirbhile is also used.