Irish Names for Girls (with Meanings and Popularity)

Duana

Irish

"song"

Name your daughter Duana after a Duane relative if you like, but please pronounce it doo-ahn-a and not doo-wain-a.

Donnelly

Irish

"dark brave one"

Makes Donna into a cool twenty-first-century unisex Irish surname.

Dervla

Anglicized form of Irish Dearbhla or Deirbhile

"daughter of the poet"

Tongue twister of a name common in Ireland in both its Gaelic and its Anglicized forms. American or British parents looking for an Irish name that's still largely unknown in the outside world might…

Decla

Irish, feminine variation of Declan

Has an incomplete feeling....

Orna

Irish

"little pale green one"

This Irish saint's name sounds like a lopped-off Lorna.

Dearbhla

Irish

"daughter of the poet"

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.

Darren

Irish

"little great one"

Once-popular boys' name works better now for girls, as a kind of Dara/Karen blend.

Darragh

Irish

"oak tree"

A very popular name for boys in Ireland that's well-used throughout the British Isles, Darragh is also occasionally used for girls and certainly sounds feminine or at least unisex to the American…

Dacey

Irish

"from the south"

Dacey is a delicate and lacy Irish name with real possibilities.

Curran

Irish

"hero, champion"

Curran is a curry-flavored Irish surname-y name that could work as well for girls as boys. Curran can be a fresher spin on the Twilight -inflected Cullen.

Cliona

Irish

"shapely"

Attached in Irish mythology to a Cliona who was, among other things, an inspirer of poets. Cliona is well-used in modern Ireland, along with Irish form Cliodhna, though it's largely unknown in the…

Cessair

Irish

"sorrow, affliction"

Lovely and rare (even in Ireland) mythological widow whose tears rained on Ireland.

Ceara

Spelling variation of Irish Ciara

Even though the pronunciation of Ceara and the more usual Ciara is KEER-a, most Americans would tend to mispronounce this spelling variation as Sierra.

Rohan

Irish and Scottish; Hindi

"rowan tree, little redhead; ascension"

Rohan is an Indian (masculine) name derived from Sanskrit and meaning "ascension", however, it is one of those names with cross-cultural possibilities. It can also be a spelling variation of Rowan or…

Carey

Irish

"dark, black"

A unisex name in the same vein as Casey, Cassidy, and Kelly, Carey and its alternative spelling Cary were familiar choices for boys in the first half of the 20th-century, and became popular in the…

Cait

Short form of Caitlin

"pure"

Cait, pronounced like more popular sister Kate, is the form used when shortening Caitlin or any of the other Irish and Gaelic Cait-starting variations of Catherine.

Bronagh

Irish

"sorrow"

Bronagh, along with Anglicized form Brona, is a popular name in Ireland. It's the name of a sixth century mystic as well as a modern television character on Penny Dreadful.

Brona

Irish

"sorrow"

Brona is an Anglicized form of Bronach or Bronagh, the name of a sixth century mystic and follower of Saint Patrick. The name is attracting some modern notice in the US via the character Brona Croft…

Brigidine

Irish variation of Brighid

Brigidine is a unique take on Bridget used by singer Sinead O'Connor. But assuming you're not an Irish rock star, you'd probably do better to stop at Brigid.

Sadbh

Irish

"sweet; goodly"

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…