Irish Names Starting with N

Neala is a modern feminine form of Niall, based on its English spelling Neal. It is not a traditional Irish name and does not appear in Patrick Woulfe’s 1923 list of Irish women’s names.

Neave in Irish is Niamh, pronounced NEE-iv, meaning “radiance, lustre, brightness.”

Nessa was the mother of Conchobhar (Conor) Mac Nessa, king of Ulster.

From niamh “radiance, lustre, brightness.” The daughter of the sea god Manannan she was known as “Niamh of the Golden Hair,” a beautiful princess riding on a white horse.

Niav in Irish is Niamh, pronounced NEE-iv, meaning “radiance, lustre, brightness.”

Noelle in Irish is Nollaig, pronounced NULL-ig, meaning “Christmas.”

Nola is often explained as a short form of Fionnuala, the old Irish name from fionn “fair, white” and guala “shoulder,” so “fair shoulder.”

Nollaig is the Irish word for Christmas. It comes from the Old Irish Notlaic, borrowed from the Latin nātālīcia, “birthday celebration,” from nātālis, “of birth.”

A classic Irish name, it could be a shortened form of Eleanor meaning “torch” or could be from the Latin Honora meaning “honor, reputation” and became so popular in Ireland in the Middle Ages that many people assumed it was Irish.

It is really a shortened version of Fionnuala and in Ireland it is more widely used than Fionnuala.

Naoise is a name from Irish legend, and its meaning is unknown.

Neal in Irish is Niall, pronounced NYE-al, meaning “passionate, vehement.”

Neil in Irish is Niall, pronounced NYE-al, meaning “passionate, vehement.”

The name could come from “passionate, vehement” or from nel “a cloud.”

Noel in Irish is Nollaig, pronounced NULL-ig, meaning “Christmas.”