Parents may choose an Irish name for their new baby because of their Irish ancestry, but Irish baby names may also be selected for their beauty, uniqueness, or religious meaning. Many Irish names are taken from saints, prophets, and Irish legend and have a spirit of nobleness and tradition about them. Included here are some of the most popular and honored Irish names, selected from favorites in both Ireland and the United States. Gaelic pronunciations can be tricky, so check the baby name resources at the end for help with these traditional Irish names.
Adam — Origin: Hebrew and English. Meaning: Man, earth, red, of the red earth. Fame: Biblical Adam, the first human; Adam Clayton, rock guitarist for U2. Ranked 4th out of all boys’ baby names in Ireland1, 65th most popular in the US, 20072.
Brendan — Origin: Gaelic. Form of Breandán. Meaning: Prince, raven. Fame: Saint Brendan of Clonfert; actor Brendan Fraser.
Bryan — Origin: Gaelic. Form of Brian. Meaning: Noble, strong one, virtuous. Fame: Bryan Ferry, Bryan Adams, musicians; Bryan Singer, film director. Ranked 78th out of all boys’ baby names in US.
Evan — Origin: Gaelic, Welsh, Hebrew. Meaning: God is gracious, swift, young fighter. Fame: Olympic figure skater Evan Lysacek; musician Evan Toth. Ranked 40th most popular US baby boys name.
Gavin — Origin: Welsh. Form of Gawain. Meaning: white hawk of battle, little hawk. Fame: Gavin Newsom, 42nd mayor of San Francisco, CA; Singer Gavin Rossdale. Ranked 32nd most popular baby name in US.
Jack — Origin: Hebrew. Form of John. Meaning: God is gracious, God has shown favor. Fame: Actor, comedian Jack Black; musician Jack White of White Stripes and The Raconteurs. Ranked 2nd out of all boys’ baby names in Ireland.
James — Origin: Hebrew, English. Meaning: Supplanter. Fame: Ranked 5th out of all boys’ baby names in Ireland.
Liam — Origin: Germanic, Hebrew. Form of William. Meaning: Determined guardian, my people. Fame: Actor Liam Neeson, Irish politician Liam Twomey.
Michael — Origin: Hebrew. Meaning: Who is like God? Fame: Archangel Michael of the Old Testament; actor Michael Douglas; filmmaker Michael Moore. Ranked 2nd out of all boys’ baby names in US.
Nathan — Origin: Hebrew. Meaning: He (God) has given, rewarded. Fame: Nathan, son of King David and Bathsheba in the Hebrew Bible; actors Nathan Lane and Nathan Fillion. Ranked 24th out of all boys’ baby names in US.
Irish Baby Boys Names P-Z
Patrick — Origin: Latin, Irish. Meaning: Nobleman, patrician. Fame: Saint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland; actors Patrick Stewart and Patrick Dempsey.
Ryan — Origin: Gaelic, English. Meaning: Little king. Fame: English footballer Ryan Taylor; actors Ryan Phillippe and Ryan Gosling; TV presenter Ryan Seacrest. Ranked 16th out of all boys’ baby names in US.
Sean — Origin: Gaelic, Hebrew. Form of John. Meaning: God is gracious. Fame: Comic book writer Sean McKeever; actors Sean Connery, Sean Bean, Sean Astin. The most popular baby boys name in Ireland.
Shane — Origin: Hebrew, Irish. Form of John. Meaning: God is gracious, gift from God. Fame: Musician Shane MacGowan of The Pogues; actor Shane West. Title character of famous 1953 western, Shane, played by Alan Ladd.
Aisling — Origin: Gaelic. Meaning: Dream, vision. Fame: Irish actress Aisling O’Sullivan; author and journalist Aisling Irwin. Aisling is a character name used by popular authors Katie MacAlister and Laurell K. Hamilton.
Allison — Origin: Germanic, French. Form of Alison. Meaning: noble, of the noble sort, of noble birth. Fame: Actress Allison Janney; author and medium Allison Dubois; Canadian musician Allison Crowe. Ranked 46th out of all girls’ baby names in US.
Aoife — Origin: Gaelic, Scottish, Irish, Hebrew. Meaning: Beautiful, radiant, joyful, life. Fame: Warrior princess of Irish legend; Teen Vogue Creative Director Aoife Wasser. Featured character in an episode of Vicar of Dibley. Ranked 4th most popular baby girls’ name in Ireland.
Briana — Origin: Gaelic. Meaning: Noble, strong, virtuous, she ascends. Fame: Women’s World Cup soccer (football) player Briana Scurry; actress, dancer Briana Evigan.
Irish Baby Girls Names C-E
Chloe — Origin: Greek, Hebrew. Meaning: Verdant and blooming, young shoot, green herb. Fame: Actress Chloe Sevigny; Irish singer Chloe Agnew. Ranked 14th most popular baby girls’ name in Ireland.
Ciara — Origin: Gaelic. Meaning: Dark, saint, spear. Fame: Saint Ciara of Kilkeary; singer Ciara Newell of Bellefire. (Pop singer Ciara does not use the name’s Irish pronunciation.)
Eileen — Origin: Gaelic. Form of Eibhlín, Helen. Meaning: light, light from the sun, pleasant. Fame: Author Eileen Wilks; actress Eileen Brennan.
Emma — Origin: German. Meaning: Whole, complete, universal. Fame: Famed title character of Jane Austen’s Emma; actresses Emma Thompson and Emma Samms. Ranked 2nd most popular baby girls’ name in Ireland, 3rd in US.
Kate — Origin: Greek. Form of Katherine. Meaning: Pure, virginal. Fame: Singer, songwriter Kate Bush; actress Kate Mulgrew.
Katie — Origin: Greek. Form of Katherine. Meaning: Pure, virginal. Fame: Olympic swimmer Katie Hoff; actress Katie Holmes. Ranked 3rd most popular baby girls’ name in Ireland.
Laura — Origin: Latin. Form of Laurus. Meaning: Laurel (symbol of honor and victory), laurel-crowned. Fame: Frontier author Laura Ingalls Wilder; First Lady Laura Bush; singer Laura Branigan.
Leah — Origin: Hebrew, Irish, Assyrian. Meaning: Weary, light of the sun, ruler. Fame: American comedy writer Leah Krinsky; actress Leah Remini.
Lillian — Origin: Hebrew, Latin, English. Meaning: Lily, purity, innocence. Fame: American playwright Lillian Hellman; actress Lillian Gish. Ranked 33rd most popular baby girls’ name in US.
Sarah — Origin: Hebrew. Meaning: Princess, lady. Fame: Singer Sarah MacLachlan, soprano Sarah Brightman, author Sarah Dessen. The most popular baby girls’ name in Ireland, ranked 18th in US.
Shauna — Origin: Gaelic, Hebrew. Meaning: God is gracious, gift. Fame: Actress Shauna Macdonald; writer Shauna Seliy.
Siobhan — Origin: Gaelic. Meaning: God is gracious, kind. Fame: World Cup female footballer, Siobhan Chamberlain; singer Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama and Shakespears [sic] Sister.
Sofie — Origin: Greek, Scandinavian, French. Meaning: Wisdom, wise. Fame: Professional golfer Sofie Andersson; Danish actress Sofie Gråbøl. Ranked 5th most popular baby girls’ name in Ireland.
Resources
1Irish Baby Names Report for 2006. Central Statistics Office, Ireland.
2Irish Names at Baby Names World. Search Irish name meanings, origins, histories, message boards, and get pronunciation help at Baby Names World.
Baby Names and Meanings at YeahBaby. Search Irish names, popularity, celebrity names, and get pronunciation help with Gaelic names at YeahBaby.
Baby Name Meanings at Think Baby Names. Find popular names, alternate spellings, and pronunciation help for Irish and Gaelic names at Think Baby Names.
