Irish Girl Names Starting with A

Aednat, spelled Áednat in early medieval Irish and Aodhnait later, is a feminine diminutive of Áed (modern Aodh), an old name meaning “fire.” It is the female counterpart of Áedán, now Aidan, so “little fire” is a fair gloss. Aodh itself was a very popular name in early Ireland, borne by figures of myth and by several high kings.

Rare in Ireland: fewer than three baby girls a year get the name.

Aibhlinn is a spelling of Aibhilín, the Irish form of the Norman name Aveline, which in English became Evelyn and Eveleen. Aveline was a diminutive of the Germanic Avila, from an Old German element awi whose meaning is unknown, so the popular gloss “wished-for” or “longed-for child” has no firm basis.

Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2022.

Aibreann comes from the Irish for April. The month is spelled Aibreán in standard Irish, while Aibreann and Aibrean are the spellings used for the name. The word goes back to the Old Irish Apréil, borrowed from the Latin Aprilis, the same source as the English month name.

Rare in Ireland: fewer than three baby girls a year get the name.

Aideen means “fire.”

No. 885 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 3 baby girls.

Ailbhe comes from the Old Irish name Ailbe, whose origin is uncertain. It may come from a Celtic root meaning “white” or “bright.” A medieval life of Saint Ailbe explained it as ail, “rock,” and beo, “living,” but scholars treat that as a folk etymology.

No. 50 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 95 baby girls.

Aileen is a variant of Eileen and an English form of the Irish Eibhlín, also spelled Aibhilín. It is not, as sometimes claimed, an ancient Gaelic name from a word meaning “noble.” Eibhlín came to Ireland with the Anglo-Normans. Modern references trace it to the Norman French Aveline, the source of Evelyn, a Germanic name of uncertain meaning; older Irish name books linked it instead with Helen.

No. 718 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 4 baby girls.

Ailis, or Ailís with a fada, is the Irish form of Alice, a name the Anglo-Normans brought to Ireland. Alice comes from the Old French Aalis, a short form of Adelais, from the Germanic Adalheidis, made from adal “noble” and heit “kind, type,” so the name means “noble” or “of noble kind.”

Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2023.

Aine means “splendor, radiance, brilliance.”

No. 91 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 53 baby girls.

Alannah means “darling child.”

No. 103 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 46 baby girls.

Anna in Irish is Aine, meaning “splendor, radiance, brilliance.” Say it AWN-ye.

No. 26 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 143 baby girls.

Anya in Irish is Aine, meaning “splendor, radiance, brilliance.” Say it AWN-ye.

No. 443 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 8 baby girls.

Aoibheann comes from the Old Irish Aíbinn or Oébfinn, from oíb “beauty, form” and finn “white, fair,” so “fair form” or “radiant beauty.” The spelling Aoibhinn matches the modern Irish word aoibhinn, “delightful, blissful.” The usual English form is Eavan, borne by the Irish poet Eavan Boland (1944–2020).

No. 180 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 26 baby girls.

Aoibhín is a pet form of Aoibhe, made with the Irish diminutive ending -ín, “little.” Aoibhe is linked both with Aoife and with aoibh, a literary Irish word for “beauty” that in everyday Irish means a smile or a pleasant expression, so Aoibhín is usually understood as “little beauty.”

No. 62 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 82 baby girls.

Aoife means “beautiful, radiant, joyful.”

No. 34 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 121 baby girls.

Ashling means “vision, dream.”

Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2021.

Ava in Irish is Aoife, meaning “beautiful, radiant, joyful.” Say it EE-fa.

No. 26 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 143 baby girls.