Irish girl's name?

[essjay]

I'm one name short for a key character in my novel. I've got the rest of the family, just not the daughter. They're of Irish heritage, which explains the unusual name for the mother. The boy's meant to be a teenager of about sixteen, and the girl a few years younger, maybe thirteen.

Father: Ciaran Mullarky
Mother: Mairead Mullarky
Son: Conor/Connor James Mullarky (can't decide which spelling I prefer, currently leaning towards just the one 'n'.

I find most Irish names are too difficult to pronounce and while I love Saoirse and Caoimhe I know most people wouldn't know how to say them so I backed down on using an Irish name for the girl. My initial rethink was Hadley/Harley Rose, but would that be too trendy and mismatched with her family? She's a bit of a tomboy, feisty and defiant. I'd quite like to use an Irish girl's name if I can, but I can't find one that's both common enough not to cause problems for most people and that I also like enough to use. Failing that, any other names that you think may fit?

[mischa]

Aoife (ee-fa)
Bridget
Maeve
Clodagh (cloh-duh)
Grainne/Grania (GRAWN-yuh)
Roisin (roe-sheen)
Fionnuala/Finola
Niamh (neev)
Moira/Maura
Kathleen
Sinead
Siobhan
Oona/Una
Orlaith/Orla


I don't know if you're aware but Mullarky/Mullakey is very similar to the word "malarkey" which is "foolish or insincere talk". My family of Irish heritage says it all the time: "He's full of malarkey".Have you considered other Irish surnames like Moriarty, Mulligan or Morrissey?

[strawberry shortcake]

Definitely use one "n", two "n"s is the Anglicised version. Some ideas:

Bridget nn Bridie
Fiona
Ciara
Cora
Nora
Aoife
Ailbhe/Alva
Sorcha
Ida
Shannon
Sive (think this would be great)
Roisin
Aoibheann
Aideen
Maeve
Sinead
Orla

I think Sive would be fabulous

[violetgray]

An Irish girl whose a tomboy...
I third Bridget or the gaelic form Brigid
Maggie
Kate
Molly
Anna/ Annie
Gracie
Nora- nn Nory
Rose/Rosie
Ciara- pronounced like Keira
Erin
Aisling- pronounced like Ashlyn

Is this story set in modern times or back in the day?

I lot of Irish both now and back over one hundred years ago gave normal Christian names to their children like Bridget, Anna, Maggie, and Kate, especially if they immigrated to America. I would strongly suggest picking a classic name with a spunky nickname like Maggie or Molly because thats what they did and those names still sound irish. You could also look at the most popular names in Ireland and pick out some for yourself.http://www.behindthename.com/top/lists/ir/2010

[niteowl13]

Fianna
Branna or Brenna
Brea (Love, love, Bree/Bria)
Siobhan - one of my favorites, and most people know it is pronounced shiv-on
Shannon
Fallon
Tamsin
Tara or Taryn - it says modern, invented on nameberry, but I am quite certain that it is an Irish name
Meara

[maja]

I think Nora would be fab, but Fallon, Moira and Riona are also nice.

[lauren-kay]

My most favourite names have already been mentioned: Brenna and Clodagh!

[erinlw]

How about Siobhan, Aislinn, Brigid, or Caitlin?

[michaela]

Grace
Clare
Kerry
Bridget
Catherine nn Cathy/Kitty
Fiona
Ciara

[girlychock]

I really like the Irish name Cailin. It's very simple and just means girl, but it's pretty. And her brother would be named Connor, which starts with a C as well.