690+ Irish Names (With Meanings and Popularity)
Across 35 pages
of 35
Tully
Irish, Scottish
"flood, peaceful; hill"
Tully is a relaxed, rarely used Irish surname possibility which might provide an alternative to Tommy, Eli, or Troy. It has a long history of usage and a number of meanings, depending on which root…
Tynan
Irish
"dark, dusty"
A much fresher Ty name than Tyler or Tyson.
Tyrone
Irish
"land of Owen"
Immigrated into American pop culture in the person of 1940s superstar Tyrone Power, Jr. It has been on a steady decline since the 1970s.
Uilliam
Irish variation of William
A spelling that would definitely attract a lot of attention -- and a certain amount of confusion as well.
Ulick
Irish
"little William"
You lick. You like. We didn't think so.
Ultan
Irish
"man from Ulster"
This name of eighteen Irish saints of the past is relatively popular in Ireland, though little known outside it.
Caoimhe
Irish, Scottish
"beautiful"
Caoimhe, pronounced (more properly) kwee-va or kee-va, is a pretty and distinctive Gaelic name but one that could well lead to no end of confusion outside the Irish community. Even in its native…
Roisin
Irish
"little rose"
No, the pronunciation--ro-SHEEN--isn't immediately obvious to the non-Gaelic viewer, but the sound of this shiny Irish version of Rose is pretty enough to make it worth considering. Very popular in…
Sinead
Irish form of Janet
"God is gracious"
One of the best known of the Irish girls' names , thanks to singer Sinead O'Connor. Though it's still in the Irish Top 100, it's no longer quite as fashionable in Ireland as Aoife or Aisling. But by…
Yeats
English
"gates"
Yeats, the strong name of the great Irish poet, would work better for a boy. Also has possible pronunciation problem with people who might think it rhymes with Keats. Yeats rhymes with the word from…
O'keeffe
Irish surname
If you love the venerable Southwestern painter but feel Georgia's gotten too overheated, you might want to go all the way to this Irish surname in the fashionable O' family.
Rafferty
Irish
"floodtide, abundance, prosperity"
Jaunty and dapper, Rafferty is one of the most engaging of the Irish surnames, used by Jude Law and Sadie Frost for their son in 1996. Derived from the Irish, O'Raighbheartaigh, it means "(spring)…
Connolly
Irish
"fierce as a hound"
Connolly, an alternate spelling of Connelly, could make a livelier and less common substitute for Connor.
Fitzgerald
Irish and Scottish
"son of Gerald"
Made famous by F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Fitzgerald Kennedy; still works best as a middle name.
Maguire
Irish
"son of the beige one"
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…
O'brien
Irish
"descendant of Brian"
The use of O -prefixes could create the next wave of Irish-inflected names, offering an innovative way of honoring a relative with the old-fashioned moniker Brian. On Downton Abbey , the surname…
O'hara
Irish
"son of Eaghra"
The O'Haras are descended from Eaghra -- pronounced and phonetically spelled Ara -- the lord of Luighne, the modern Leyney in County Sligo. As a name, this makes a satisfying new twist on Harry, and…
Cormac
Irish
"charioteer"
Both offbeat and upbeat, this evocative traditional Irish name that runs through Celtic mythology is known here via award-winning novelist Cormac McCarthy (born Charles). The author's adopted name is…
Finian
Irish
"fair"
This lilting Irish saint's name shone in neon lights on Broadway for the classical 1947 musical "Finian's Rainbow," later made into a film starring Fred Astaire as Finian McLonergan, and there was…
Malachy
Irish version of Malachi, Hebrew, or Secundus, Latin
"my messenger; second"
This spelling, which came to the attention of readers of the best-selling Angela's Ashes as the name of author Frank McCourt's father and brother, the latter of whom wrote a bestseller of his own,…