AYN-gus
The young god of love from Brú na Bóinne, in the older spelling of Aonghus.
Boy · 0 babies in 2025
Irish names
Irish-language names are more popular than ever: in 2025 both the top boys' name and several of the top girls' names were Irish. Here is how to say them, what they mean and where they come from.
AY-dan
The English form of Aodhán, "little fire", the name of the Irish monk who founded Lindisfarne.
Boy · 72 babies in 2025
AY-den
A spelling of Aidan, from the Irish Aodhán, "little fire", given in Ireland since the 1960s.
Boy · 35 babies in 2025
AF-rik
A medieval Irish girls' name, very rare by 1923 and revived in recent decades.
Girl · 11 babies in 2025
AL-va
An old Irish saint's name, once a boy's name, now given in Ireland to girls.
Girl · 95 babies in 2025
AWN-ya
An Irish name meaning "radiance", borne by the goddess of Cnoc Áine in Limerick.
Girl · 53 babies in 2025
ASH-ling
The Irish word for a dream or vision, and a top 10 name in Ireland around 1990.
Girl · 26 babies in 2025
AY-a
A new Irish girls' name that seems to be built on the old name Aodh, meaning fire.
Girl · 6 babies in 2025
AY-dawn
"Little fire": the Irish original of Aidan, after the saint of Lindisfarne.
Boy · 19 babies in 2025
AY-la
A modern Irish girls' name, rising every year since 2020 and possibly linked to Aodh.
Girl · 32 babies in 2025
EEV
A short Irish name from the word for beauty and a pleasant smile.
Girl · 23 babies in 2025
EE-va
A form of Aoife, possibly meaning "beauty", popular in Ireland in the 2000s.
Girl · 13 babies in 2025
EE-van
An old Irish name linked with words for beauty and delight, most popular around 2012.
Girl · 26 babies in 2025
EE-vee
A new Irish girls' name, related to Aoibhe and first given in numbers in 2020.
Girl · 19 babies in 2025
ee-VEEN
A soft Irish name built on aoibh, beauty, with the fond little ending -ín.
Girl · 82 babies in 2025
EE-vin
The Irish word for delightful, at its most popular in Ireland in the early 2010s.
Girl · 30 babies in 2025
EE-fa
A name from Irish legend, and Ireland's top girls' name in 2000.
Girl · 121 babies in 2025
AYN-gus
The modern Irish spelling of Aengus, the young god of love at Newgrange.
Boy · 0 babies in 2025
ART
An old Irish name meaning "bear", borne by legendary high kings and Leinster kings.
Boy · 12 babies in 2025
BAR-a
The short form of Finbarr, the name of the saint who founded Cork.
Boy · 29 babies in 2025
BAY-vin
"Melodious woman": an old Irish name borne by Brian Boru's mother and a goddess of myth.
Girl · 15 babies in 2025
BLAW-heen
Irish for "little flower", and more popular now than at any time in the CSO records.
Girl · 42 babies in 2025
BLAW-nid
"Little flower", from the Irish bláth, and the name of a heroine of the Ulster Cycle.
Girl · 15 babies in 2025
BREN-dan
The name of Saint Brendan the Navigator, and a top 20 boys' name in 1960s Ireland.
Boy · 9 babies in 2025
BRY-an
The name of Brian Boru, and one of Ireland's most common boys' names for decades.
Boy · 18 babies in 2025
BREED
The Irish form of Brigid, the name of Ireland's best-known woman saint and of an older goddess.
Girl · 10 babies in 2025
BRIJ-it
The English form of Brigid, one of Ireland's patron saints, and a top 10 name in the 1960s.
Girl · 20 babies in 2025
BROH-na
The name of a 6th-century saint of County Down, strongest in the north of Ireland.
Girl · 18 babies in 2025
KY-la
An Irish name usually explained as "beautiful", climbing fast since 2020.
Girl · 59 babies in 2025
KAY-lan
An English spelling of Caolán, "slender", that shot up the Irish list in the 2020s.
Boy · 116 babies in 2025
KAWCH
The Irish equivalent of Kate, short and simple, at its peak in Ireland in 2025.
Girl · 19 babies in 2025
KATE-lin
The Irish form of Catherine, and a top 50 name in Ireland around 2000.
Girl · 25 babies in 2025
KAL-an
An Irish surname and Kilkenny town name, used as a boys' name since the 1990s.
Boy · 17 babies in 2025
KEE-va
An Irish name from caomh, "dear" or "gentle", a favourite in Ireland since the 1990s.
Girl · 130 babies in 2025
KEE-veen
The Irish original of Kevin, the name of the saint of Glendalough, and at its best in 2025.
Boy · 26 babies in 2025
KEE-lawn
Caolán, from caol, "slender", long a favourite in Northern Ireland.
Boy · 56 babies in 2025
KAR-a
The Irish word for friend, or the Italian for dear, and a girls' name since the 1960s.
Girl · 94 babies in 2025
KAR-a
A softer spelling of Cara, often linked to the Irish for "friend", at its peak in 2025.
Girl · 61 babies in 2025
KA-hal
An old Irish name meaning "strong in battle", worn by kings of Munster and Connacht.
Boy · 64 babies in 2025
KEE-an
An old Irish name meaning "enduring", borne in legend by the father of Lugh.
Boy · 166 babies in 2025
KEER-a
A feminine form of Ciarán, from ciar (dark), and number 2 for Irish girls in 1998.
Girl · 44 babies in 2025
KEER-awn
"Little dark one", the name of two early Irish saints, including the founder of Clonmacnoise.
Boy · 49 babies in 2025
KILL-ee-un
An old Irish saint's name, carried to Germany by the missionary Kilian.
Boy · 276 babies in 2025
KLEE-uh-na
The fairy queen of south Munster, remembered in Clíodhna's Wave at Glandore.
Girl · 15 babies in 2025
KLOH-da
A name taken from a Waterford river, popular in Ireland but rare elsewhere.
Girl · 100 babies in 2025
KUL-um
"Dove": the name of Colm Cille, the Donegal saint who founded Iona.
Boy · 15 babies in 2025
KON-al
An ancient Irish name, borne by an Ulster hero and the king behind Tír Chonaill.
Boy · 59 babies in 2025
KOH-nan
Conán, "little hound", an ogham-old name worn by the bald joker of the Fianna.
Boy · 30 babies in 2025
KON
An old Irish name borne by Conn of the Hundred Battles, the half-legendary High King.
Boy · 30 babies in 2025
KON-or
The double-n spelling of Conor, from the Irish Conchobhar, a legendary king of Ulster.
Boy · 3 babies in 2025
KON-ur
The name of Ulster's legendary king Conchobar, and Ireland's top boys' name in the late 1990s.
Boy · 211 babies in 2025
KOR-mak
An ancient Irish name, borne by Cormac mac Airt, the wise High King of legend.
Boy · 38 babies in 2025
KREE
The Irish word for heart, used as a boys' name only in the last decade or so.
Boy · 9 babies in 2025
KREE-a
A new Irish-style name built on croí, "heart", and in the Irish top 10 by 2025.
Girl · 219 babies in 2025
KREE-a
A new spelling of Croía, built on the Irish word croí, "heart".
Girl · 36 babies in 2025
KOO-an
An old Irish name, spelled four ways, that has shot up the list since 2020.
Boy · 101 babies in 2025
KUL-an
The smith whose hound gave Cú Chulainn his name, in the tales of Ulster.
Boy · 10 babies in 2025
DAW-ra
An Old Irish name from the Táin, back in use since the twentieth century.
Boy · 84 babies in 2025
DAH-hee
An old Irish name meaning swiftness, carried by a legendary king of Connacht.
Boy · 185 babies in 2025
DAR-a
An Irish name usually linked with the oak, given to boys and some girls.
Boy · 52 babies in 2025
DARR-a
An Irish boys' name often linked to the oak, in the top 30 every year since 1996.
Boy · 205 babies in 2025
DAG-lawn
The Irish-language form of Declan, the name of the saint of Ardmore.
Boy · 0 babies in 2025
DEK-lan
The name of St Declan of Ardmore, a Waterford saint said to have preached before Patrick.
Boy · 11 babies in 2025
DAIR-dra
The tragic heroine of the Ulster Cycle, and a top 10 girls' name in 1960s and 70s Ireland.
Girl · 0 babies in 2025
DEER-mid
The Fianna warrior who ran away with Gráinne, and the root of the name Dermot.
Boy · 16 babies in 2025
DIR-in
An old Irish girls' name of uncertain meaning, borne by the poet Doireann Ní Ghríofa.
Girl · 23 babies in 2025
DOH-nal
The Irish original of Donal and Donald, from old Celtic words meaning "world ruler".
Boy · 5 babies in 2025
DUN-a
An English form of Donncha, the name of Brian Boru's son, now more popular than ever.
Boy · 37 babies in 2025
DOH-nal
The everyday Irish form of Domhnall, from old Celtic words meaning "world ruler".
Boy · 11 babies in 2025
DUN-uh-kha
An old Irish royal name, the source of Duncan, borne by a son of Brian Boru.
Boy · 86 babies in 2025
AY-va
The Irish form of Eve, now one of Ireland's top two girls' names.
Girl · 306 babies in 2025
AY-da
A short Irish girls' name that first appeared in 2019 and had its best year in 2025.
Girl · 30 babies in 2025
AY-deen
The modern Irish form of Étaín, the heroine of one of Ireland's oldest love stories.
Girl · 21 babies in 2025
AY-la
A new Irish name, often linked to the word for swan, that entered the top ten in 2025.
Girl · 215 babies in 2025
AY-mun
The Irish form of Edmund, best known through Éamon de Valera.
Boy · 11 babies in 2025
AY-na
The Irish form of Enda, the saint who founded a monastery on the Aran Islands.
Boy · 66 babies in 2025
eye-LEEN
The Irish form behind Eileen, carried by the poet Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill.
Girl · 11 babies in 2025
EYE-leen
The English spelling of Eibhlín, a top 20 name for Irish girls in the 1960s.
Girl · 8 babies in 2025
EE-mer
The wife of Cú Chulainn in the Ulster Cycle, and a popular Irish name of the 1990s.
Girl · 21 babies in 2025
AY-rin
An Irish form of the word for Ireland, more popular in the North than the South.
Girl · 17 babies in 2025
EN-ya
An old Irish name borne by the mother of Lugh and the mother of St Colm Cille.
Girl · 0 babies in 2025
EE-mer
The wife of Cú Chulainn, said to have all six gifts of womanhood.
Girl · 5 babies in 2025
EN-ya
A sound-it-out spelling of the Irish Eithne, made famous by the singer Enya.
Girl · 13 babies in 2025
OH-in
An old Irish royal name behind Tyrone and Inishowen, often anglicised as Owen.
Boy · 41 babies in 2025
OH-in
The Irish form of John, used for every John in the Irish Bible.
Boy · 53 babies in 2025
ERR-in
An old poetic name for Ireland, from the Irish Éirinn.
Girl · 75 babies in 2025
FAY-lawn
An old Irish name meaning "little wolf", rising steadily in the 2020s.
Boy · 29 babies in 2025
FAY-lim
A shortened form of the old Irish Feidhlimidh, borne by kings of Munster and Connacht.
Boy · 10 babies in 2025
FAY-lim
A short form of the old Irish Feidhlimidh, carried by kings of Munster and Connacht.
Boy · 9 babies in 2025
FER-dee-a
The foster-brother of Cú Chulainn, who fought him for days at the ford of Ardee.
Boy · 11 babies in 2025
FUR-gal
"Man of valour": an old Irish name at its most popular in early 1970s Ireland.
Boy · 0 babies in 2025
FEE-a
The modern Irish word for deer, and a close cousin of Fiadh.
Girl · 18 babies in 2025
FEE-akh-ra
An old Irish name, borne by one of the Children of Lir and by Saint Fiacre.
Boy · 45 babies in 2025
FEE-a
A 21st-century Irish favourite meaning "wild" or "deer".
Girl · 355 babies in 2025
FIN
The old spelling of Fionn, as in Finn McCool, in Ireland's top 20 since 2020.
Boy · 220 babies in 2025
FYUN
"Fair": the name of Fionn mac Cumhaill, leader of the Fianna.
Boy · 336 babies in 2025
FIN-awn
An old Irish name shared by several early saints, written in English as Finnian or Finan.
Boy · 15 babies in 2025
fin-OO-la
"Fair shoulder": the daughter of Lir, turned into a swan for 900 years.
Girl · 0 babies in 2025
FOH-la
A goddess of the land in Irish myth, and an old poetic name for Ireland.
Girl · 28 babies in 2025
ga-ROHD
The Irish form of Gerard, brought by the Normans and given in Ireland ever since.
Boy · 19 babies in 2025
GRAWN-ya
The princess who ran off with Diarmuid, and the Irish name of the pirate queen Grace O'Malley.
Girl · 28 babies in 2025
EER-la
An Irish name that matches the word for earl, rising steadily since the 2000s.
Boy · 35 babies in 2025
EER-la
The name of Saint Iarlaith of Tuam, known in English as Jarlath.
Boy · 68 babies in 2025
EE-da
The name of Saint Íde of Killeedy, the "foster mother of the saints of Ireland".
Girl · 9 babies in 2025
KEE-gan
An Irish surname, Mac Aodhagáin, now used as a first name for boys.
Boy · 11 babies in 2025
KEE-lan
An English spelling of the Irish Caolán, given in Ireland since the 1980s.
Boy · 22 babies in 2025
KEE-va
The sound of the Irish name Caoimhe, spelled the way it is said.
Girl · 9 babies in 2025
KEV-in
The English form of Caoimhín, after the saint of Glendalough, a top 20 name for decades.
Boy · 39 babies in 2025
KEE-an
An English spelling of the Irish Cian, "enduring", most popular in Ireland around 2001.
Boy · 29 babies in 2025
KEER-an
The English spelling of Ciarán, "little dark one", a top 50 name in Ireland for decades.
Boy · 11 babies in 2025
KIL-ee-an
The English spelling of Cillian, the name of Irish missionary saints in France and Germany.
Boy · 38 babies in 2025
LEE-sha
An Irish girls' name of uncertain origin, said LEE-sha, around the top 100 for years.
Girl · 38 babies in 2025
LEE-a
A short Irish name, often linked with the poet Líadan, at its best rank in 2025.
Girl · 32 babies in 2025
LEE-um
The Irish short form of William, in Ireland's top ten every year since 2019.
Boy · 313 babies in 2025
LOKH-lin
A form of Lochlann, the old Irish name for Viking lands, busiest in 2025.
Boy · 16 babies in 2025
LOKH-lan
The old Irish name for the land of the Vikings, and a cousin of Scottish Lachlan.
Boy · 25 babies in 2025
LOR-kan
Lorcán, the Irish name of Saint Laurence O'Toole, patron of Dublin.
Boy · 61 babies in 2025
MAYV
The English form of Méabh, the warrior queen of Connacht who started the Táin.
Girl · 83 babies in 2025
ma-RAYD
The Irish form of Margaret, at its height in Ireland in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Girl · 10 babies in 2025
MAWR-cheen
The Irish form of Martin, carried by the writers Máirtín Ó Cadhain and Máirtín Ó Direáin.
Boy · 0 babies in 2025
MAL-a-kee
An Irish name borne by a twelfth-century saint of Armagh and a high king of Ireland.
Boy · 10 babies in 2025
MAYV
The legendary queen of Connacht who started the Táin, and the Irish form of Maeve.
Girl · 125 babies in 2025
MEE-hawl
The Irish form of Michael, the archangel's name, and climbing in Northern Ireland.
Boy · 26 babies in 2025
MWIR-in
An old Irish name usually read as "sea-white", carried by early abbesses of Kildare.
Girl · 22 babies in 2025
NEE-sha
The doomed hero who loved Deirdre, now given to both girls and boys in Ireland.
Girl · 39 babies in 2025
NASS-a
The mother of Conchobar mac Nessa, the fierce Ulster princess of Irish legend.
Girl · 8 babies in 2025
NESS-a
The name of the formidable mother of King Conchobar in the Ulster Cycle.
Girl · 18 babies in 2025
NY-al
An ancient Irish royal name, best known from Niall of the Nine Hostages.
Boy · 19 babies in 2025
NEEV
"Bright": the golden-haired queen of Tír na nÓg, and a 1990s favourite.
Girl · 54 babies in 2025
NOR-a
A short form of Honora, hugely common in Ireland in the 1960s and back in favour now.
Girl · 82 babies in 2025
NOO-la
A short form of Fionnuala, popular in Ireland in the 1960s and rare today.
Girl · 0 babies in 2025
OH-rawn
An early Irish saint's name built on odhar, dun-coloured, back in fashion since the 2000s.
Boy · 110 babies in 2025
OH-gee
A brand new Irish boys' name, first recorded in 2022 and climbing fast.
Boy · 22 babies in 2025
uh-SHEEN
"Little deer": the poet of the Fianna who rode to Tír na nÓg.
Boy · 351 babies in 2025
OH-lan
The name of a Cork saint, still given to a few Irish boys each year.
Boy · 18 babies in 2025
OR-an
An English form of Odhrán, a saint's name, that took off in Ireland in the 2000s.
Boy · 22 babies in 2025
OR-la
"Golden princess": the English form of Órfhlaith, a favourite in 1980s Ireland.
Girl · 30 babies in 2025
OR-la
Órlaith, "golden princess", the name of Brian Boru's sister and of many medieval queens.
Girl · 23 babies in 2025
OS-kar
The grandson of Fionn in Irish legend, made famous across Europe by the Ossian poems.
Boy · 149 babies in 2025
PAD-ee
The best-known Irish pet form of Patrick, now often given as a full name.
Boy · 58 babies in 2025
PAW-drig
The Irish form of Patrick, after the saint who brought Christianity to Ireland.
Boy · 31 babies in 2025
PAW-dee
An Irish pet form of Pádraig that has shot into the top 20 in the 2020s.
Boy · 248 babies in 2025
PAW-dee
An English spelling of Páidí, the Irish pet form of Pádraig, now given as a name on its own.
Boy · 39 babies in 2025
PAD-er
The Irish form of Peter, from the Greek for "rock", and growing again in recent years.
Boy · 20 babies in 2025
RAIL-teen
Irish for "little star", a modern girls' name given since 2000.
Girl · 11 babies in 2025
REE-a
A new Irish girl's name, rising fast and at its highest yet in 2025.
Girl · 72 babies in 2025
REE-an
Ireland's number one boys' name in 2025, a short Irish name with an old history.
Boy · 541 babies in 2025
REE-na
An Irish name usually linked with ríon, the Irish word for a queen.
Girl · 29 babies in 2025
ROH-sha
An Irish form of Rose, climbing steadily and at its highest yet in 2025.
Girl · 46 babies in 2025
roe-SHEEN
"Little rose", the name at the heart of the old song Róisín Dubh.
Girl · 146 babies in 2025
ROH-nan
Rónán, "little seal", a name old enough to appear in ogham and borne by several saints.
Boy · 85 babies in 2025
ROR-ee
The English form of Ruairí, "red king", borne by the last High King of Ireland.
Boy · 93 babies in 2025
ROSS-a
A short, old Irish boys' name that had its best year yet in 2025.
Boy · 25 babies in 2025
ROH-an
An Irish saint's name meaning "little red one", and the name of a tree.
Boy · 78 babies in 2025
ROO-a
The Irish word for red or red-haired, given to boys and girls since the 2000s.
Boy · 15 babies in 2025
ROO-a
The old Irish spelling of rua, "red", and a new boys' name since 2014.
Boy · 20 babies in 2025
ROO-awn
An old Irish name meaning "little red one", carried by the saint of Lorrha.
Boy · 50 babies in 2025
ROOR-ee
The Irish original of Rory, "red king", at its highest rank yet in 2025.
Boy · 85 babies in 2025
ROO-awn
A short form of Ruadhán, "little red one", the saint who cursed Tara.
Boy · 8 babies in 2025
SIVE
An old Irish name, probably "sweet", borne by the mother of Oisín in legend.
Girl · 129 babies in 2025
SIVE
A modern spelling of the Irish name Sadhbh, given in Ireland since 2001.
Girl · 11 babies in 2025
SEER-sha
The Irish word for freedom, a favourite with Irish parents since the 1990s.
Girl · 185 babies in 2025
SAIR-la
A short form of the Irish Saorlaith, usually read as "noble princess" or "free princess".
Girl · 16 babies in 2025
SAIR-la
An old Irish name, usually read as "noble princess", and the full form of Saorla.
Girl · 17 babies in 2025
SHAY
A very short Irish boys' name, given in Ireland since 2007 and rising.
Boy · 13 babies in 2025
SHAY-mee
A friendly pet form of Séamus, registered as a name in its own right since 2012.
Boy · 30 babies in 2025
SHAY-mus
The Irish form of James, given in Ireland all through the CSO records.
Boy · 45 babies in 2025
SHAWN
The Irish form of John, taken from Norman French, and a number one name in Ireland four times.
Boy · 231 babies in 2025
shawn-OHG
"Young Seán", the Irish way of naming a son after a father called Seán.
Boy · 17 babies in 2025
SHAW-nee
A pet form of Seán, long heard on hurling fields and now registered as a name in itself.
Boy · 29 babies in 2025
SHAY-mee
A short, friendly Irish boys' name that has grown quickly since 2020.
Boy · 48 babies in 2025
SEN-an
The name of Saint Senan of Scattery Island, now a top-40 boys' name in Ireland.
Boy · 150 babies in 2025
sho-DEEN
An Irish name meaning "little jewel", from seoid (jewel).
Girl · 15 babies in 2025
seh-TAN-ta
The boyhood name of Cú Chulainn, before he took the place of Culann's hound.
Boy · 15 babies in 2025
SHAYN
Seán as it sounds in Ulster Irish, a top-10 boys' name in Ireland from 1986 to 1997.
Boy · 34 babies in 2025
shin-AID
The Irish form of Janet, and the second most popular girls' name in Ireland in the mid-1970s.
Girl · 4 babies in 2025
shiv-AWN
The Irish form of Joan, brought by the Normans and at its height in early 1970s Ireland.
Girl · 10 babies in 2025
SHEE-fra
The Irish word for an elf or changeling, a girls' name that has grown since the 1990s.
Girl · 42 babies in 2025
SHEE-va
A modern spelling of the old Irish name Síthmaith, from the words for peace and good.
Girl · 37 babies in 2025
SHOON
A short Irish form linked with Siobhán and Joan, given to 30 to 50 girls a year lately.
Girl · 34 babies in 2025
SOR-uh-ka
An old Gaelic name from the word for bright, shared by Ireland and Scotland.
Girl · 15 babies in 2025
TYGE
A common variant spelling of Tadhg, the old Irish name traditionally meaning "poet".
Boy · 42 babies in 2025
TYGE
A strong old Irish name, traditionally "poet", back in the top ten.
Boy · 286 babies in 2025
TAR-a
Named after the Hill of Tara, seat of the High Kings, and a top 100 name here for over forty years.
Girl · 28 babies in 2025
TED-ee
A new Irish spelling of Teddy, and one of the fastest-rising boys' names in Ireland.
Boy · 64 babies in 2025
TEER-nawn
"Little lord", from the Irish tiarna, and a name far more common in Northern Ireland.
Boy · 23 babies in 2025
TEER-nan
Tiarnán, "little lord", the name of a twelfth-century king of Breifne.
Boy · 51 babies in 2025
TOM-aws
The Irish form of Thomas, from the Aramaic word for twin.
Boy · 65 babies in 2025
UL-tan
"Ulsterman": the name of St Ultan of Ardbraccan, patron saint of children.
Boy · 6 babies in 2025
OO-na
An old Irish name famous in legend, and the root of Oona and Oonagh.
Girl · 22 babies in 2025
More Irish girls' names given in 2025
Names spelled with a fada, most popular first.
More Irish boys' names given in 2025
Names spelled with a fada, most popular first.