Irish Boy Names Starting with D

Daimhín is an old Irish name, a diminutive of damh, which in Old Irish meant “ox” or “stag.” The usual gloss “little deer” is close, but “little stag” is more exact. Its early form was Daimíne: medieval genealogies name a Daimíne, son of the Airgíalla king Cairpre Daim Argait, as the ancestor of the Síl nDaimíne.

No. 829 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 3 baby boys.

Daire (Dáire) is an old Irish name usually explained as “fruitful, fertile.” Its early form is related to a Gaulish word meaning “tumult, rage,” so the name may carry a sense of violence as well as fertility. Darragh and Dara are anglicised forms.

No. 88 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 65 baby boys.

Daithi, written Daithí or Dáithí in Irish, is an old Irish name meaning “swiftness, nimbleness.” It was borne by the semi-legendary king Nath Í, also known as Dathí, and his descendants, the O’Dowds, long kept the name in use. It has also served as an Irish form of David.

No. 59 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 94 baby boys.

Dálaigh comes from the surname Ó Dálaigh, “descendant of Dálach.” Dálach is connected with dáil, “assembly, meeting,” and is explained as “one who frequents assemblies,” hence a counselor. The same word gives Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament.

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

Daniel in Irish is Donal, meaning “ruler of the world.” Say it DOE-nal.

No. 13 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 225 baby boys.

Dara in Irish is Daire, meaning “fruitful, fertile.” Say it DI-re.

No. 108 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 52 baby boys.

Daragh in Irish is Daire, meaning “fruitful, fertile.” Say it DI-re.

No. 509 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 6 baby boys.

Darcy has two separate roots. In Ireland it is often an anglicized form of the surname Ó Dorchaidhe, “descendant of Dorchaidhe,” a personal name meaning “dark man,” from dorcha “dark.” Families of the name lived at Partry in County Mayo and in County Galway, and the Darcys became one of the fourteen Tribes of Galway, one of only two of Gaelic Irish rather than Anglo-Norman origin.

No. 829 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 3 baby boys.

Darragh in Irish is Daire, meaning “fruitful, fertile.” Say it DI-re.

No. 19 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 205 baby boys.

David in Irish is Daithi, meaning “swiftness, nimbleness.” Say it DAH-hee.

No. 45 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 114 baby boys.

Davin is best known in Ireland as a surname, one of the English forms of Ó Daimhín, “descendant of Daimhín.” Daimhín is a diminutive of damh, an Old Irish word for an ox or stag, so “little stag” is a closer gloss than the usual “little deer.”

No. 829 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 3 baby boys.

Deaglan, written Déaglán in Irish and anglicised Declan, comes from the Old Irish Declán. Its meaning is uncertain, but the first part is probably the Old Irish dag-, “good.” It was the name of St Declan, a 5th-century saint who founded the monastery of Ardmore in County Waterford, where his feast is kept on 24 July.

Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2005.

Declan in Irish is Deaglan. Say it DECK-lan.

No. 348 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 11 baby boys.

Dermot in Irish is Diarmuid. Say it DEER-mid.

No. 829 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 3 baby boys.

Derry is used as a short form of Diarmuid and its English form Dermot, and sometimes of Alexander. As a word, Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish doire (also daire), “oak wood, grove,” which gave the city of Derry its name.

Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2016.

Desmond is an anglicized form of Deasmhumhain, “South Munster,” from deas “south” and Mumhain, the Irish name for Munster. Desmond was a medieval kingdom in the south of Munster, one of Ireland’s four provinces, ruled by the MacCarthys. After the Anglo-Norman invasion its eastern half became the Earldom of Desmond, held by the FitzGeralds.

No. 402 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 9 baby boys.

Diarmuid is an old Irish name whose meaning is debated. Woulfe explains it as “a freeman,” from dí, “without,” and airmit, “injunction”; another suggestion pairs dí with airmait, “envy,” giving “without envy.” Dermot, Dermod and Darby are among its English forms.

No. 272 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 16 baby boys.

Dillon is an Irish surname of Norman-French origin, also used as a first name. Woulfe traces it to an old Germanic personal name, Dill, Dillo or Dilli, but gives no meaning for it. As a first name, Dillon is also a variant spelling of the Welsh Dylan, an unrelated name formed from the Welsh prefix dy- and llanw, “tide, flow.”

No. 829 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 3 baby boys.

Donagh in Irish is Donncha, meaning “brown warrior.” Say it DONE-acka.

No. 146 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 37 baby boys.

Donal is an anglicised form of the Irish Domhnall (Old Irish Domnall), an old name meaning “ruler of the world.” It joins Old Irish words for “world” and “rule”; Woulfe traces it to an early Celtic form meaning “world-mighty,” though he also allows “mighty in the deep.”

No. 509 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 6 baby boys.

Donald in Irish is Donal, meaning “ruler of the world.” Say it DOE-nal.

Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2019.

Donncha comes from the Old Irish Donnchad, from donn “brown” (in poetry also “noble, chief”) and cath “battle,” so “brown warrior” or “strong warrior.” In 1923 the name scholar Patrick Woulfe called it an ancient and very common name, found in every part of Ireland.

No. 64 for boys in Ireland in 2025 (spelled Donnacha), with 86 baby boys.

Doolin in Irish is Dubhlainn, meaning “black Flann.” Say it DOVE-lin.

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

Dubhlainn appears to come from the old Irish name Dubhfhlann, “black Flann.” Woulfe explains the surname Ó Dubhlainn (Doolan, Doolin), borne by a family of the Uí Maine in County Galway, as “descendant of Dubhfhlann.” Flann is itself an ancient Irish name meaning “ruddy.”

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

The closest Irish name to Dylan is Dillon. Dillon is said DIL-on.

No. 69 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 84 baby boys.