690+ Irish Names (With Meanings and Popularity)

Riley is the spelling of this lively Irish name most often picked for girls, but this version is occasionally used.

There are many more appealing Irish surnames than Foley, and certainly more positive meanings. If Foley is a genuine family name, this would be all right in the middle.

Anglicized spelling of the difficult-to-decipher Gaelic Aoibheann, the name of several Irish princesses, this name rhymes with Steven. Eavan Boland is a distinguished Irish poet who teaches at Stanford University.

This Irish surname packs a lot of attitude, projecting an image of spunk and sass. The Welsh singer Duffy, born Aimee Anne Duffy, is best known for her songs Mercy and Warwick Avenue.

Cool a few decades ago, along with Lori and Tori -- but no more.

Although the Mc or Mac prefix always means "son of", the first names McKenna and MacKenna are used in the US exclusively for girls, with the McKenna spelling outpacing this one 14 to 1. There are no boys recorded with either spelling of the name.

Breccan may be the original saints' name, but in the modern U.S., the spelling Brecken is the most popular form, followed by Breckin. A winner by any spelling.

Sadbh is the modern Irish form of the more streamlined but equally confusing Sadb or Sadhbh: these names are pronounced to rhyme with five. In Irish mythology Sadb or Sadbh or Sadhbh, a goddess lover of Finn McCool's, was turned into a deer only to vanish and (somewhere in there) give birth to Oisin.

Aiden/Aidan is just beginning to wander into the girls' side of the name popularity list, but it's so huge for boys in all its spellings that it will be a long time before it can be called a unisex name.

A jovial and jaunty Irish name, the title of a long-gone TV crime drama, this would make an appealing choice. Slight downside: Maddy is already a mega-popular nickname for Madeline/Madelyn and Madison, so this Mad- name might not feel as distinctive as the stats would suggest.

As seen on SNL, Pat is the ultimate androgynous name. Stick with long form Patrick, and make sure everyone calls him Patrick.

Connelly is a rollicking and rare example of the popular surname genre that may work even better for girls. A huge update on Colleen.

Carey is a surname name that works equally well on babies of all genders - Jazz great Carey Bell and motorcross champion Carey Hart are just two examples of how handsome this name can be for a boy.

Conjures up pleasant images of lakes, but the pronunciation challenge makes the Anglicized Loughlin preferable.

This Latinized form of a name that's well used in Italy and Spain is sometimes heard, oddly enough, in Ireland.

While Keegan has been rising in popularity for a number of years, this variant spelling has dropped in the lists.

A distinctive alternative to Conan.

The spoiled only son of the richest family in town in a fifties movie.

A name from the East African Kikuyu language with a sweet meaning; and a simplified spelling of McKenna.