9 Irish girl names beginning with R, with what each one means and how to say it.
Updated October 2026
Radha comes from the Irish word radharc, “sight, vision, view.” It is a modern name built from that word rather than a traditional Gaelic personal name, and it does not appear among the women’s names in Patrick Woulfe’s Irish Names and Surnames (1923).
Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2021.
More about RadhaRegan means “the king's child.”
Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2022.
More about ReganRíadh is one of the newest Irish girls’ names, and dictionaries and name references give no settled meaning for it. It shares its ending and sound pattern with Fiadh. The spelling matches riadh, a literary Irish word for riding or for a course or journey, which goes back to the Old Irish ríad.
No. 80 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 61 baby girls.
More about RiadhRiona in Irish is Rionach, meaning “queenly.” Say it REE-in-ock.
No. 213 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 20 baby girls.
More about RionaRionach means “queenly.”
Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2023.
More about RionachRóise is an Irish form of Rose, and it has long been linked with rós, the Irish word for the flower. The name itself came to Ireland with the Anglo-Normans, whose Roese or Rohais was probably of Germanic origin, and Patrick Woulfe notes that it was borne by a lady of the Maguires in the early 16th century.
No. 103 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 46 baby girls.
More about RoiseRoisin means “little rose.”
No. 29 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 135 baby girls.
More about RoisinRosaleen in Irish is Roisin, meaning “little rose.” Say it ro-SHEEN.
Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2022.
More about RosaleenRyanne is a modern feminine form of Ryan, created in English rather than in Irish. Ryan comes from the Irish surname Ó Riain, “descendant of Rian.” Rian is traditionally explained as “little king,” from rí, “king,” with a diminutive ending, but its real meaning is uncertain: the historian John Ryan wrote that it has never been satisfactorily explained and seems to be older than the written record.
Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2006.
More about RyanneThere are 9 Irish girl names starting with R here. The ones readers look up most are Roisin, Riona and Rionach.
The R names for girls on this page that the most babies were given in 2025, by the Central Statistics Office’s ranking.