Irish Names that Start With E

  1. Eamon
    • Origin:

      Irish variation of Edmund
    • Meaning:

      "wealthy protector"
    • Description:

      Eamon is one of the traditional Irish names that has not yet emigrated to the US. This Irish name pronounced ay-mon was popularized by early president of the independent republic Eamon de Valera (birth name George), who was born in the United States to an Irish mother and a Cuban father. Eamon definitely has possibilities as a successor to the epidemically popular Aidan/Aiden.
  2. Erin
    • Origin:

      Irish
    • Meaning:

      "from the island to the west"
    • Description:

      First-wave Irish name and place name—the poetic name for Ireland—now supplanted by newer alternatives such as Maeve and Delaney.
  3. Enya
    • Origin:

      Irish
    • Meaning:

      "fire"
    • Description:

      This phonetic Anglicization of the Irish name Eithne was made familiar by the single-named Irish singer and composer. St. Eithne was the daughter of a king and an early Irish convert to Christianity.
  4. Elva
    • Origin:

      Feminine form of Alf or anglicized form of Ailbhe, Danish, Icelandic, Irish
    • Meaning:

      "elf; bright, light, white"
    • Description:

      Elva is a multicultural choice, being both an anglicization of the Irish Ailbhe and an feminine form of the name Alf, meaning "elf". Popular in the US at the beginning of the 20th century, it remained in the charts until the 1970s before falling out of favor.
  5. Eilis
    • Origin:

      Irish variation of Elizabeth
    • Meaning:

      "pledged to God"
    • Description:

      Familiar in the US thanks to the lovely movie Brooklyn, based on the Colm Toibin novel of the same name. Popular in medieval times, it is still used in Ireland (properly spelt with a fada: Eilís) could make an alternative to the super-popular Isla. Eilish and Eibhlis are alternate forms.
  6. Eames
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "son of the uncle"
    • Description:

      An upscale surname with a nice modern design connection to the creators of the Eames chair and other midcentury furniture classics, Charles and Ray Eames.
  7. Eabha
    • Origin:

      Irish form of Eve
    • Meaning:

      "life"
    • Description:

      Eabha, along with Aoife and Aoibhe and even the Anglo Ava, are all Eve sisters or soundalikes in the Irish Top 100. Outside of Ireland, though, this Gaelic spelling would prove difficult. Confusingly for English speakers, this name beginning with E is pronounced as Ava, while the A-beginning Aoibhe is like Eva.
  8. Eilish
    • Origin:

      Anglicized variation of Eilis, Irish form of Hebrew Elizabeth
    • Meaning:

      "pledged to God"
    • Description:

      Eilish is one of those Irish names that, thanks to a celebrity, has suddenly become much more familiar to English speakers. Irish-American singer Billie Eilish (Eilish is actually one of her middle names) introduced the wider world to this Irish name as actress Saoirse Ronan did with hers.
  9. Eoghan
    • Origin:

      Irish Gaelic
    • Meaning:

      "born of the yew tree"
    • Description:

      Pronounced like Owen, this was the name of several early Irish kings and saints, as well as a celebrated Ulster hero. Often spelled with two 'n's in Scotland, it has been Anglicized as Ewan, Ewen, Euan, Owen, Hugh, or Eugene.
  10. Eithne
    • Origin:

      Gaelic
    • Meaning:

      "nut kernel"
    • Description:

      Pretty and soulful name of a goddess from Irish mythology and several Irish saints. Singer Enya, born Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, has made the Anglicized spelling familiar. Eithne comes from the vocabulary word "kernel", which was used as a term of praise in old bardic poetry.
  11. Edan
    • Origin:

      Irish and Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "little fire; era"
    • Description:

      This cross-cultural name is a spelling variant of two different popular names: the Irish Aidan and the Hebrew Idan. While Idan is a Top 100 choice in Israel, Aidan - and Aiden - in a number of English speaking countries. Pleasingly simple and concise, Edan may however be mistaken for Eden.
  12. Egan
    • Origin:

      Variation of Aidan, Irish
    • Meaning:

      "little fire"
    • Description:

      Egan's likeness to the word eager gives this Irish surname a ready-to-please, effervescent energy, and it would make an appropriate substitute for the overused Aidan.
  13. Emer
    • Origin:

      Irish
    • Meaning:

      "swift"
    • Description:

      Popular in Ireland, though not as popular as its spelling variant Eimear, Emer is a mythological name, associated with the legendary wife of the warrior hero Cuchulainn. She was said to possess the six gifts of womanhood: beauty, voice, speech, wisdom, chastity, and needlework.
  14. Eibhlin
    • Origin:

      Irish form of Aveline and Evelyn, German
    • Meaning:

      "desired; or water, island"
    • Description:

      The Irish Gaelic form of Evelyn or Aveline, this name is more authentically spelled Eibhlín. It appears in the title of a love song by 17th century composer Cearbhall Óg Ó Dálaigh, called Eibhlín a Rún.
  15. Ennis
    • Origin:

      Irish
    • Meaning:

      "from the island"
    • Description:

      An appealing Irish placename with a unisex feel, Ennis would be a fresh alternative to Dennis and Ellis. It's little-used for boys and even rarer for girls, but since Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons used it for their son, it could be one to watch.
  16. Ethne
    • Origin:

      Variation of Eithne, Irish
    • Meaning:

      "kernel"
    • Description:

      Ethne is one of the many Irish Gaelic names whose spelling and pronunciation -- it's en-ya -- will prove endlessly confusing to English speakers.
  17. Eachann
    • Origin:

      Irish
    • Meaning:

      "keeper of horses; brown horse"
    • Description:

      Authentic Gaelic name with pronunciation problems in the US. In Scotland Eachann has been anglicized as Hector, not because of its sound, but because the Trojan hero Hector had the reputation as a mighty horseman.
  18. Euston
    • Origin:

      Irish
    • Meaning:

      "heart"
    • Description:

      Euston is best known as a London railway station, which got its name from a stately home and village in the English county of Suffolk. Ultimately it is thought to mean "settlement of a person called Efe". Unlike its Top 1000 soundalike Houston (as in Texas), Euston has never been recording on the charts.
  19. Etain
    • Origin:

      Irish
    • Meaning:

      "jealousy"
    • Description:

      The Etain (or more properly Étaín) of Irish mythology was a beautiful fairy turned into a fly (or in some versions, a butterfly), by a jealous queen. The insect Étaín fell into a glass of milk and was swallowed by yet another queen, then reborn as a beautiful maiden. Its pronunciation is similar to the number eighteen.
  20. Eachna
    • Origin:

      Irish
    • Meaning:

      "horse"
    • Description:

      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.

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