Irish Baby Names: The Ultimate List of Lists

Irish baby names aren’t just for St. Patrick’s Day!

With Liam at #1 in the US, and names like Riley and Aiden not far behind, it’s easy to see that lots of us love Irish appellations – whether that reflects our heritage, or not.

Irish Baby Names: Big in Dublin

• Namerology compares the current list popularity list with favorites from 1969. Interesting that the current list feels more Irish to me – but maybe that’s because the 1969 choices became more familiar in the US over time?
• Ten Irish rarities, complete with diacritical marks and challenging pronunciations, that HerFamily.ie thinks will take off in the coming year. I’m loving Almaith.
• Speaking of diacritical marks, they’re now included in official baby name popularity data.
• Baby Names of Ireland hosts award-winning Frank McCourt’s pronunciations. He shares little facts about the names, too. So if you’re staring at Catriona and trying to add an ‘o’ sound (guilty!), this site will set you straight! (Though it does take some clicking around to find the “play audio” links.)
• More finds from Ireland (and Scotland), rounded up from newspaper birth announcements, way back in 2014. Always fun to see middle names and combinations like Sophie Caoimhe.
• Some great imports from the Irish popularity charts.

Irish Baby Names: Little Bit of Everything

• A long list of possibilities, with pronunciations. The section on Names with Legends Attached is my favorite.
• This list at Romper mixes a few more familiar choices with some rarities.
• Irish Central looks at the Irish (or Irish-ish) names Americans love best. I love the way it shows the more authentically Irish versions of the names.
• Nameberry has an all-new round-up list of Irish names for 2019.
• Amelia has a great video about Irish baby names, and a recommendation for another book, too.
• Some great Irish saints’ names for girls.
• All of the Finn names, choices that feel nicely Irish and plenty Americana, too, thanks to Huck Finn.
• Just for fun: some great Irish names from a French website. It made me see Deirdre with fresh eyes.
• Names from Irish immigration lists circa 1815. They don’t sound particularly Irish to me! But maybe they would have when they arrived in the US? More proof that naming constantly evolves.
• The Mcs and the Macs. We often use them interchangeably in the US (Think Mackenzie and Mckenzie.) But the Irish claim Mc, while Mac belongs to the Scots.
• Irish surnames that could make great first names, courtesy of Ren. Maguire is a favorite of mine.
• Place names are a huge category, so how ’bout some Irish options?
• Unisex Irish names, from Wolfe Momma. I’d never heard most of these!

Irish Baby Names: Individual Appellations

• The UFC’s Conor McGregor named his daughter Croia, pronounced cree-ah, from the Irish word for heart.
• Multiple meanings helped this name go from hipster rarity to rising favorite. Read all about Fiadh here.
• British Baby Names dives into Cillian. The K spelling is way more popular in the US.
• Listen to Saoirse Ronan pronounce her name – and explain it!
• Nancy digs into the challenges of spelling Siobhan – and why Shevawn caught on first.
• Does Clover count as Irish? It should!

This is such a deep and nuanced subject – I know I’ve left out lots of great resources, and plenty of Irish baby names, too! What are your favorites? Would you consider using any of these for a child?

Photo credit: Image by InspiredImages from Pixabay