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Flynn

Irish

"descendant of the red-haired one"

A winning last-name-first Celtic choice, Flynn is still mostly used for boys, such as the son of Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr. Though Flynn is definitely one of the Irish surname names, from Quinn…

Ireland

Place name

Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin put Ireland on the map when they chose it as a first for their daughter, saying that geographic names were a family tradition. And it seems they were a bit ahead of the…

Siobhán

Irish Gaelic

"God is gracious"

Lovely Irish name which has inspired many Anglicized variations, but using the original form preserves the integrity of one of the most beautiful Gaelic girls' names.

Keegan

Irish

"son of Egan"

Another two-syllable surname zooming up the ladder for boys, and poised to be grabbed by the girls.

Kieran

Irish

"little black-haired one"

Kieran is a boys' name that could cross over, as an update of outmoded Karen or a variation on trendy Kiera (or Keira or Kyra). Keren Ann is an Israeli-born singer. The proportion of babies named…

Murray

Scottish

"from the land by the sea"

An old-man name that sounds cute when used for a little girl, and is starting to seem cool again for boys too. For girls, it might be associated with Mina Murray (later, Mina Harker) from Bram…

Niall

Irish

"cloud"

While Niall -- pronounced as Neil or like the river Nile -- is conventionally a boys' name, it might theoretically work for girls.

Neve

Anglicized spelling of Irish Niamh or Italian and Portuguese

"snow"

Introduced to the American public by actress Neve Campbell; it was her Dutch-born mother's maiden name. Neve is an interesting and fresh new possibility, one which Conan O'Brien chose for his…

Nicola

German; English, from Greek

"people of victory"

Nicola, an elegant Latinate feminization of Nicholas, has long been standard issue for English girls but for some reason has never voyaged across the Atlantic, which we consider a pity, especially as…

Orla

Irish

"golden princess"

Orla is an Irish name closely associated with the high king Brian Boru, as it was the name of his sister, daughter and niece. It was very popular in the Middle Ages – the fourth most popular name in…

Paili

Irish variation of Polly

Authentic Irish choice, easy to spell, tricky to pronounce.

Pippa

English, diminutive of Philippa

"lover of horses"

Pippa, a peppy condensation of Philippa that turns it from serious to sprightly, has come into the public eye in a big way via the former Kate Middleton's sister. Pippa can and is given as a name in…

Regan

Irish

"little king"

Like somewhat more popular twin sister Reagan, this vibrant last-name-first Irish choice makes a strong, straightforward option. She does have a couple of downsides though. Regan entered the girls'…

Reilly

Irish

"courageous"

Riley is the spelling of this lively Irish name most often picked for girls, but this version is occasionally used.

Renny

Irish

"little prosperous one"

This name may be interpreted as an offbeat Anglicized form of the Gaelic Rathnait, though it could also be considered a diminutive of Renee, Renata, Lorenza, Lauren, Lorena, and similar. Influencers…

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…

Saoirse

Irish

"liberty"

Before the young Irish actress Saoirse Ronan made her mark in the films Ladybird and The Lovely Bones , few of us had heard this name, let alone known how to pronounce it. But now it is slowly way…

Shane

Irish variation of Sean or Shannon

As a boy's name, Shane is related more directly to the 50s movie cowboy and the Irish name Sean; for a girl, it might be a variation on Shannon, Shana, or Shawn. Parenthood star Erika Christensen…

Siobhan

Irish Gaelic

"god is gracious"

Siobhan is the Irish variation of Joan, which is derived from the ancient Anglo-Norman name Jehanne. In this way Siobhan is indirectly related to the name Sinead—the Irish form of Jeannette, which…