690+ Irish Names (With Meanings and Popularity)

This feminine form of Arliss, is familiar via the recent HBO series. But why not just use Arliss?

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.

Cool a few decades ago, along with Lori and Tori. Currently out of fashion but may make a retro tomboy choice as an offbeat spin on Charlie.

Perfect name for the child of dog enthusiasts, and much more distinctive than the trendy Connor.

A name possibly derived from Etain, an ancient Irish sun and horse goddess whose name is still used. Adina is a related choice.

This name of eighteen Irish saints of the past is relatively popular in Ireland, though little known outside it.

That er sound -- as in Myrna, Myrtle, and Bernice -- sounds terminally dated.

Irish surname derived from the name Gairbhín, a diminutive of garbh, "rough". It's barely been used as a first name, but could be a similar-yet-different alternative to names like Nolan and Sullivan.

Finella and cousin Fenella, which are found most often in Scotland, would make pleasing imports.

Pleasant Irish last name that could be a more masculine alternative to the overused Cassidy. Early kings of Leinster bore the name, which relates to the first name Caomhan or Kevin and can also be spelled Kavanagh, Cavanagh, Cavenagh, and Kavanaugh.

Muirgen in Irish mythology was turned into a mermaid and then brought back to land after 300 years and transformed back into a woman -- which must have been quite a shock. Muirgen's original name was Liban. Muirgen may also be spelled Muireann or Muirenn.

It may be a longshot – especially since it was given to less than 5 boys in the US in 2021 – but Piran could conceivably be a future Kieran, which is shaping up to being the next Kevin. Piran is the patron saint of miners and of Cornwall.

With Galway and Ireland in play as names (not to mention Shannon and Kerry), there's no reason this one can't work, too.

When British rocker Steven Patrick Morrissey decided to use his last name alone, it became a viable option for baby namers, a lot cooler than Morris or Maurice.

A name that's on the rise for boys but rarely used -- though possible -- for girls.

Feeny and its alternative spelling Feeney have several origins in Irish. They are anglicised forms of the surnames Ó Fiannaidhe (descendant of Fiannaidhe, meaning warrior), and Ó Fidhne (descendant of Fidhne, from the word for tree or wood). Feeny is also a place name in Northern Ireland, meaning "the woods. Although many Irish surnames are in style, like Keegan and Sullivan, this is one you've probably never met on a person before.

Relaxed, with an appealing touch of swagger.

Has an incomplete feeling....

Magee became one of the first gender-bending Irish surname names so popular today thanks to New York television newswoman Magee Hickey. In case you don't know, the g is hard, as in Maggie, but with the opposite emphasis.