You are here: Home / Archives for Common Irish Names

Common Irish Names

Find common Irish names for both girls and boys. Research the meaning and listen to the audio so you can learn the pronunciation and how to pronounce some of the most common names in Irish and Gaelic correctly! Also view: Top Irish Boys Names and Top Irish Girl Names

Siobhan

Meaning of the Irish name Siobhan. Listen and learn how to pronounce Siobhan so you can get the correct pronunciation for this Irish girl name.

MEANING: Siobhan is another Irish form of Joan meaning “God is gracious.” A popular name in Ireland where the anglicised versions are often used. Siobhan McKenna, an Irish actress who died in 1986, was considered by many as a woman who personified all that was good about being Irish.

GENDER: Girl | Female

IRISH NAME: Siobhan

PRONUNCIATION: shiv + awn”

ENGLISH: Shevaun, Shavon, Chevonne

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Siobhan and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for Siobhan:
Play Audio for Siobhan

Next: View All Irish Girl Names

Aedan

Meaning of the Irish name Aedan. Listen and learn how to pronounce Aedan so you can get the correct pronunciation for this Irish boy name.

MEANING: A diminutive form of the name Aed meaning “”fire”” and would imply “”born of fire.”” It became a popular name in honour of St. Aidan of Iona (c. 630 AD) who founded a famous monastery on the island of Lindisfarne which he used as a base to evangalize the North of England. In art Aidan is usually represented as a stag, a reference to the legend that he saved a deer that was being hunted by making it invisible.

GENDER: Boy | Male

IRISH NAME: Aedan Aodhan

PRONUNCIATION: “”aid + an”” or “”aid + on””

ENGLISH: Aidan or Aiden

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Aedan and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for Aedan:
Play Audio for Aedan

Back to Irish Boy Names

Aidan

Meaning of the name Aidan. Listen and learn how to pronounce Aidan so you can get the correct pronunciation for this boy name.

MEANING: A diminutive form of the name Aed meaning “”fire”” and would imply “”born of fire.”” It became a popular name in honour of St. Aidan of Iona (c. 630 AD) who founded a famous monastery on the island of Lindisfarne which he used as a base to evangalize the North of England. In art Aidan is usually represented as a stag, a reference to the legend that he saved a deer that was being hunted by making it invisible.

GENDER: Boy | Male

IRISH NAME: Aidan Aedan Aodhan

PRONUNCIATION: “aid + an” or “aid + on”

ENGLISH: Aidan

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Aidan and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for Aidan:
Play Audio for Aidan

Back to Irish Boy Names

Aiden

Meaning of the name Aiden. Listen and learn how to pronounce Aiden so you can get the correct pronunciation for this boy name.

MEANING: A diminutive form of the name Aed meaning “”fire”” and would imply “”born of fire.”” It became a popular name in honour of St. Aidan of Iona (c. 630 AD) who founded a famous monastery on the island of Lindisfarne which he used as a base to evangalize the North of England. In art Aidan is usually represented as a stag, a reference to the legend that he saved a deer that was being hunted by making it invisible.

GENDER: Boy | Male

IRISH NAME: Aiden Aedan Aodhan

PRONUNCIATION: “aid + an” or “aid + on”

ENGLISH: Aiden

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Aiden and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for Aiden:
Play Audio for Aiden

Back to Irish Boy Names

Aine

Meaning of the Irish name Aine. Listen and learn how to pronounce Aine so you can get the correct pronunciation for this Irish girl name.

MEANING: Ancient Irish name from the noun aine that means “splendor, radiance, brilliance.” Aine is connected with fruitfulness and prosperity. The queen of the Munster fairies was called Aine as was one of the wives of Fionn Mac Cool (read the legend). Aine appears in folktales as “the best-hearted woman who ever lived – lucky in love and in money.”

GENDER: Girl | Female

IRISH NAME: Aine

PRONUNCIATION: awn + ye”

ENGLISH: Anya, Anna, Hannah

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Aine and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for Aine:
Play Audio for Aine

Back to Irish Girl Names

Brandon

Meaning of the name Brandon. Listen and learn how to pronounce Brandon so you can get the correct pronunciation for this boy name.

MEANING: There are at least seventeen saints who bear the name but St. Breandan the Navigator is probably the best known. Tradition has it that he was born in County Kerry, set sail in a small boat with a group of monks in the early 6th century, visited an island inhabited by birdmen, rode on the back of a whale and was the first European to set foot on the shores of the Americas, nearly a thousand years before Columbus. In the 1970s Tim Severin recreated St. Breandan’s voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in a flimsy, hide-covered rowboat known as a “”curragh.”” St. Breandan is venerated in Ireland as the patron saint of seafarers and travellers.

GENDER: Boy | Male

IRISH NAME: Brandon Breandan

PRONUNCIATION: “bren + dawn”

ENGLISH: Brandon

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Brandon and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for Brandon:
Play Audio for Brandon

Back to Irish Boy Names

Brian

Meaning of the Irish name Brian. Listen and learn how to pronounce Brian so you can get the correct pronunciation for this Irish boy name.

MEANING: From brigh “”high, noble, strong.”” This is one of the most widespread Irish names ever, in honour of the most revered High King of Ireland, Brian Boru (read the legend) who defeated an army of invading Vikings at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 but died of wounds he received in the battle. Kincora – a poem by James Clarence Mangan (translated).

GENDER: Boy | Male

IRISH NAME: Brian

PRONUNCIATION: “”bree + an””

ENGLISH: Brian (pron. “”bry + an””)

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Brian and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for Brian:
Play Audio for Brian

Back to Irish Boy Names

Ashling

Meaning of the Irish name Ashling. Listen and learn how to pronounce Ashling so you can get the correct pronunciation for this Irish girl name.

MEANING: From aislinge which means “a vision” or “a dream,” Aisling is the name given to a popular poetic genre from the 17th and 18th centuries in which Ireland is personified as a beautiful woman in peril. A very popular name in Ireland now.

GENDER: Girl | Female

IRISH NAME: Ashling Aislin Aislinn

PRONUNCIATION: ash + ling”

ENGLISH:

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Ashling and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for Ashling:
Play Audio for Ashling

Back to Irish Girl Names

Barbara

Meaning of the name Barbara. Listen and learn how to pronounce Barbara so you can get the correct pronunciation for this girl name.

MEANING: Anglicized as Barbara. May come from gorm “illustrious” or “splendid” and flaith “queen, princess.” Lady Gormlaith, a legendary beauty, was queen of the Danes in Ireland as wife of Olaf, The Viking leader of Dublin; later she was wife of Malachy II, king of Ulster and finally married Brian Boru (read the legend), king of Munster and later king of all Ireland. Her three sons, Sitric, Murdach and Donough continued to rule Ireland after The Battle of Clontarf where Brian Boru died in 1014.

GENDER: Girl | Female

IRISH NAME: Barbara Gormlaith Gormla Gormley

PRONUNCIATION: gorm + lee”

ENGLISH: Barbara

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Barbara and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for Barbara:
Play Audio for Barbara

Back to Irish Girl Names

Cassidy

Meaning of the Irish name Cassidy. Listen and learn how to pronounce Cassidy so you can get the correct pronunciation for this Irish girl name.

MEANING: From cas ”curly-haired.” The Cassidys were the hereditary physicians to the Maguires, the chiefs of County Fermanagh between 1300 and 1600. As their healing skills became widely known, many Cassidys were employed by other chieftans, particularly in the north of the country.

GENDER: Girl | Female

IRISH NAME: Cassidy

PRONUNCIATION:

ENGLISH:

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Cassidy and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for Cassidy:
Play Audio for Cassidy

Back to Irish Girl Names

Catherine

Meaning of the name Catherine. Listen and learn how to pronounce Catherine so you can get the correct pronunciation for this girl name.

MEANING: Devotion to St. Catherine came to Ireland with Christianity. Revered for her courage and purity, Catherine in the Irish form, Cathleen, became such a popular name that W. B. Yeats chose it for the heroine of his 1899 play “The Countess Cathleen” which was inspired by an Irish folktale. In a time of famine the Devil offers food to the starving poor in exchange for their souls. But Cathleen convinces Satan to take her soul instead. When she dies the Devil comes to collect her soul but God intervenes and carries Cathleen to heaven, saying that “such a sacrificial act cannot justly lead to evil consequences.”

GENDER: Girl | Female

IRISH NAME: Catherine Caitlin Cathleen

PRONUNCIATION: koit + leen” “kath + leen”

ENGLISH: Catherine

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Catherine and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for Catherine:
Play Audio for Catherine

Back to Irish Girl Names

Conor

Meaning of the name Conor. Listen and learn how to pronounce Conor so you can get the correct pronunciation for this boy name.

MEANING: Means “”lover of hounds.”” Conchobhar MacNessa was the king of Ulster and, according to legend, was born on the same day as Christ. Conchobhar, an uncle of Cuchulainn (read the legend), loved Deirdre and wished to marry her. But she fled with his nephew Naoise and his brothers. Conchobhar gave chase and althought he promised to forgive them, he killed Naoise and her abductors. In the battle a sling-shot lodged in his brain which doctors could not remove and on hearing of the crucifixion of Christ he over-exerted himself in his rage and the sling-shot fell out and he died. In 2003 it was the fourth most popular baby name for boys in Ireland.

GENDER: Boy | Male

IRISH NAME: Conor Conchobhar

PRONUNCIATION: “con + r”

ENGLISH: Conor

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Conor and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for Conor:
Play Audio for Conor

Back to Irish Boy Names

Colleen

Meaning of the Irish name Colleen. Listen and learn how to pronounce Colleen so you can get the correct pronunciation for this Irish girl name.

MEANING: From the Irish cailin meaning “girl” and used by the Irish in the USA and Australia as a way of connecting to their Irish roots.

GENDER: Girl | Female

IRISH NAME: Colleen Coleen

PRONUNCIATION:

ENGLISH:

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Colleen and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for Colleen:
Play Audio for Colleen

Back to Irish Girl Names

David

Meaning of the name David. Listen and learn how to pronounce David so you can get the correct pronunciation for this boy name.

MEANING: It is an old Irish name meaning “”swiftness, nimbleness.”” Daithi, the last pagan king of Ireland, ruled from 405 AD to 426 AD, and he had twenty-four sons. Along with Crimhthan the Great (366 A.D.) and Niall of the Nine Hostages (379 A.D.) (read the legend) Daithi led Irish fleets to raid the Roman Empire. He was killed by lightning in the Alps and is buried under a standing stone called “”King Daithi’s Stone.”” As in all these matters there is debate over where the stone is located, either in County Roscommon or on the Aran Islands, off the coast of County Galway.

GENDER: Boy | Male

IRISH NAME: David Daithi Dahey Dahy

PRONUNCIATION: “dah + hee”

ENGLISH: David

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce David and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for David:
Play Audio for David

Back to Irish Boy Names

Dylan

Meaning of the name Dylan. Listen and learn how to pronounce Dylan so you can get the correct pronunciation for this boy name.

MEANING: From dealan “”a flash of lightning”” or it may come from an Irish word for “”faithful, loyal.”” A common surname it is the Irish form of the Welsh name “”Dylan.”” As Dylan it was the tenth most popular name for Irish baby boys in Ireland for 2003.

GENDER: Boy | Male

IRISH NAME: Dylan Dillon

PRONUNCIATION:

ENGLISH: Dylan

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Dylan and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for Dylan:
Play Audio for Dylan

Back to Irish Boy Names

Hugh

Meaning of the Irish name Hugh. Listen and learn how to pronounce Hugh so you can get the correct pronunciation for this Irish boy name.

MEANING: Hugh is a translation of an ancient name Aodh meaning “”fire.”” A name with nationalistic connotations as Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone and Red Hugh O’Donnell, Earl of Tyrconnell together led a rebellion and won some major battles against the forces of the English queen Elizabeth 1st, before being defeated at the Battle of Kinsale in 1601.

GENDER: Boy | Male

IRISH NAME: Hugh

PRONUNCIATION: “”hue””

ENGLISH:

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Hugh and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for Hugh:
Play Audio for Hugh

Back to Irish Boy Names

Kevin

Meaning of the Irish name Kevin. Listen and learn how to pronounce Kevin so you can get the correct pronunciation for this Irish boy name.

MEANING: Means “”gentle child”” or “”well born.”” St. Kevin founded a great monastery at Glendalough in County Wicklow in the seventh century. Noted as a man who wasn’t always comfortable in the company of other human beings, he was very much at home with the animals. One story tells that while Kevin was praying a blackbird came and nested in his hand. He remained at prayer, motionless, until the eggs had hatched. In another story, when he dropped his psalter in a lake an otter came by and retrieved it. The name is still very popular in Ireland.

GENDER: Boy | Male

IRISH NAME: Kevin Kevan

PRONUNCIATION:

ENGLISH:

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Kevin and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for Kevin:
Play Audio for Kevin

Back to Irish Boy Names

Patrick

Meaning of the name Patrick. Listen and learn how to pronounce Patrick so you can get the correct pronunciation for this boy name.

MEANING: From the Latin patricius “”nobly born.”” The patron saint of Ireland, it is hard to differentiate between fact and myth. What is probably true is that he was born in Britain around 373 AD and was brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of seven, possibly by Niall of the Nine Hostages (read the legend). Forced to guard sheep on the Slemish Mountains in Country Antrim for six years he had a vision urging him to convert his captors. He escaped to France where he trained as a priest before returning to Ireland where he banished the snakes (i.e. paganism) and converted the population to Christianity. Both Patrick and Padraig are very popular names in Ireland.

GENDER: Boy | Male

IRISH NAME: Patrick Padraig Padraic

PRONUNCIATION: “paw + drig” or “paw + rik”

ENGLISH: Patrick

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Patrick and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for Patrick:
Play Audio for Patrick

Back to Irish Boy Names

Shaun

Meaning of the name Shaun. Listen and learn how to pronounce Shaun so you can get the correct pronunciation for this boy name.

MEANING: Irish form of John meaning “”God’s gracious gift.”” Shane is a very popular variant of the name in Northern Ireland in memory of Shane O’Neill whose forces won notable victories over the armies of Queen Elizabeth 1st in the sixteenth century.

GENDER: Boy | Male

IRISH NAME: Shaun Sean

PRONUNCIATION:

ENGLISH: Shaun

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Shaun and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for Shaun:
Play Audio for Shaun

Back to Irish Boy Names

Shawn

Meaning of the name Shawn. Listen and learn how to pronounce Shawn so you can get the correct pronunciation for this boy name.

MEANING: Irish form of John meaning “”God’s gracious gift.”” Shane is a very popular variant of the name in Northern Ireland in memory of Shane O’Neill whose forces won notable victories over the armies of Queen Elizabeth 1st in the sixteenth century.

GENDER: Boy | Male

IRISH NAME: Shawn Sean

PRONUNCIATION:

ENGLISH: Shawn

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Shawn and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for Shawn:
Play Audio for Shawn

Back to Irish Boy Names

William

Meaning of the name William. Listen and learn how to pronounce William so you can get the correct pronunciation for this boy name.

MEANING: The Irish form of William, originally a German name will + helm””desire + helmet”” and suggests “”strong protector.”” It is currently a very fashionable name in Ireland and across the world.

GENDER: Boy | Male

IRISH NAME: William Liam

PRONUNCIATION:

ENGLISH: William

AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce William and read along with the meaning)

Play Audio for William:
Play Audio for William

Back to Irish Boy Names

Sitemap

Top Irish Names for Girls

Top Irish Names for Boys